Neue Thinken: Our aspirations

Our curious title may make you wonder, exactly how different are the ideological foundations underlying our project, what's so relatively 'new' about our thinking, the way we do things. Along the course of history, the dichotomy between 'old' and 'new' has always been prevalent. The Age of Enlightenment of the 17th century was a social trend which embraced reason, science and rationality, which departed from the old school of thought of mysticism and magic where social life was centred around the clergy. The New World refers historically to the Americas, discovered through the voyages of Columbus. In traversing beyond the known world, explorers like Columbus had discovered new lands which could breed new ideas like democracy, equality, freedom, a departure from the Old World of Europe, where the pinnacles of power, influence and wealth were the reserve of the aristocracy. So, how does Project Embedded conduct itself as a new idea driving social change??

-Challenge your old worldviews: If you previously thought of profits and social augmentation as something irreconcilable, challenge this view by attending Symposium Neue Thinken, where we introduce you to a field of new ideas that're currently/systematically changing the world, where world leaders and organisations have sat up and noticed.

-Sustainability: If you perceived of student projects as always ad-hoc, existing temporarily to meet current demands, we envision PED as a platform with long-run sustainability.

-A carrier of AIESEC values: If you always though the route to leadership as being extremely bureaucratic, PED furthers the AIESEC values by nurturing leadership and providing ample chances for your personal growth. Previously, haven't you encountered several organisations, committees, jobs which require applicants to have a heavy portfolio of leadership titles and experience before they deemed you acceptable? PED believes in the potential within you and thus looks beyond such bureaucratic procedures.

The "Mathematics" of Social Entrepreneurship

Social enterpreneurship, to be understood explicitly, is a dual functional equation which produces a combination of 2 deliverables: Social returns and Economic returns. Conventional business types work on delivering the maximum of economic return, while normal charities/philanthropic agencies focus on only social returns, while lacking the money returns needed to sustain their operations. That's why social entrepreneurship is a unique equation; it aims to achieve a blend of both deliverables.

Social Entrepreneurship =F(labor, capital, innovation, creativity, zest, passion, business-like rationalism...)

The list of ingredients that enter the social entrepreneurship function is never exhaustive, and if we consider the First Order Conditions

determining the optimal amounts of intangible

inputs, the quantities are infinite.

F.0.C(with respect to passion): F'(social entrepreneurship)=0

(where the function is maximised)

Passion* = positive infinity
F.0.C(with respect to creativity):

Creativity*= positive infinity
(where * denotes the optimal amounts of intangibles)

That's right, we cannot pin down a finite, limited amount of passion, zest, or creativity needed to sustain a social enterprise; these are the pre-requisites of any social enterpreneurs. The social enterpreneur is a vessel of these traits and is himself an input of the equation. And the traditional assumption of diminishing returns does not apply here, when we increase our levels of dynamic passion and compassion, our returns do not increase at a decreasing rate, but expand exponentially.

Quotable Quotes:
"Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social enterpreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating solutions to change society for the better. While a business entrepreneur might create entirely new industries, a social enterpreneur comes up with new solutions to social problems and then implements them on a large scale."
Ashoka Foundation: www. ashoka.org

"Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."
Bill Drayton, Ashoka Founder

"I'm encouraging young people to become social enterpreneurs and contribute to the world, rather than just making money. Making money is no fun. Contributing to and changing the world is more fun." Muhammad Yunus