oikos Newsletter
September '15

be informed - get involved - make a difference

Dear Reader,

To some of you: welcome back to school! "By all these lovely tokens, September days are here; with summer’s best of weather, And autumn’s best of cheer".  This Helen Hunt Jackson poem beautifully sums up the mood of the September edition of the oikos Newsletter. As always we have a comprehensive lineup of articles that make for interesting reading. From oikos Alumni debating on the food of the future to world leaders discussing the Sustainable Development Goals, in this edition we touch upon some significant sustainability challenges. We also take the opportunity to build on the remarkable success stories of the earlier editions of our flagship oikos Case Competition and invite cases for the 2016 edition. In this edition we get to interact with Ana, from the organizing team of Summer School 2015, for 30 seconds.

Happy reading!
 

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Updates FutureLab 2015 - Almost there! 

We have amazing news! John Elkington, is amongst the many interesting speakers of the FutureLab 2015.  Read more to find out about his incredible experience and to watch the video of the FutureLab 2015 that will inspire us to #MakeEducationMatter. If you are an alumni, faculty, advisor, you still have time to apply by September 25.

New Opportunities to Join the oikos Team! 
Love writing, numbers, strategizing, taking photos? We have something for everyone! Read more to take a look at all the open calls. Amongst others, we are looking for reporters, external auditors, new members for our Newsteam and even Executive Board Members. 

#KnowYourGoals - oikos and SDSN Campaign for SDGs

In September, world leaders will come together in NYC to adopt the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is everyone's right to accurately know about these goals. Read more and participate in our campaign!

oikos LEAP Julian Treasure Webinar on Communicating Effectively

On December 9 at 5pm (CET),  Julian Treasure will address oikos LEAP particiapnts in a webinar  on how to communicate effectivively, special attention to listening and speaking well.  Julian Treasure is a leading sound expert and his five TED.com talks on sound and communication have been viewed over 20 million times; the latest is in the top 30 TED talks of all time.

 

oikos Alumni

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oikos Alumni Debates in Zurich: the Future of Food!

The global population is predicted to reach almost 10 billion by 2050. How can all of these people be fed, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting biodiversity and developing rural economies? Join us for the oikos Alumni Debates where we begin to untangle the challenge and taste (literally) the food of the future. Register now: 12 October 2015 at 18.00 in Zurich, Switzerland!

 

Alumni at the CEE Meeting

This year the oikos Central Eastern Europe Meeting will be held in Vienna on the Circular Economy. On Saturday, 19th of September, oikos alumni will have a special gathering. Be a part of the flourishing Alumni network and join us in Vienna!
  

 

Alumni Meeting at the oikos FutureLab

Our oikos Alumni is welcome to join the oikos FutureLab. On the first day, beside the oikos Alumni Meeting, you will also have the opportunity to hear from John Elkington (world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development) and interact with other inspiring speakers and oikos members. Join us and #MakeEducationMatter! 

 

Get involved!

Being actively part of the oikos alumni network offers plenty of opportunities! Check the oikos Alumni Kit  for learning how to get involved. We are looking forward to hearing from you! Moreover, your ideas, remarks and questions are very important to us, so please take a few minutes to answer our questions. Click on the following link to start the survey.


 LinkedIn for Alumni
Are you an alumna/alumnus? Keep in touch via Linkedin.
 


 

oikos Academic

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The oikos Case Competition - Join for the 2016 Edition!

oikos is delighted to announce the call for cases for the 2016 edition of the oikos Case Writing Competition. The competition promotes the creation of high quality teaching cases in three tracks:

• Sustainable Finance 
• Corporate Sustainability
• Social Entrepreneurship

The competition awards prizes to the first (5'000 CHF), second (2'000 CHF) and third (1'000 CHF) leading cases of each track. The deadline for submissions is December 1st, 2015. Find the call here.. We look forward to receiving your cases!

 

30 seconds with...

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Ana Gagoshvili, oikos Summer School 2015 Organiser, oikos Tbilisi

The oikos Summer School 2015 on social entrepreneurship and social innovation was concluded on September 6th in Mestia, Svaneti Region of Georgia. We gathered 30 participants from more than 18 countries and through various lectures, workshops, field trips and more, participants acquired knowledge on the topics, worked on concrete businesses and engaged in other profit or non-profit activities.
My experience as an organiser was outstanding, even working 24 hours was a privilege for us. Now we miss our sleepless nights and are getting ready for our next projects. However, the Summer School days proved to be a memorable experience that generated concerete businesses for Georgia. To sum  up the experience, it was energetic, constructive, and thought-provoking. The most exciting thing was our partnership with Socionext. The ‘’maestros’’ of social entrepreneurship came to Georgia to deliver their amazing program to our participants and the results were outstanding. 
My team and I, wish to continue making an impact, spread knowledge on social entrepreneurship and continue pushing Georgians to become entrepreneurs. We are excited to be among the leaders in Georgia who deliver impactful projects. We would like to remind you that the Summer School was not just a 9-day event but it has a longer term perspective. We started an innovative  oikos Virtual Business Incubator, which will help all users to develop their idea by accessing business generating tools.  Our team is still working hard on improving it and creating further services on the platform. We hope to be able to share it with you all very soon.  

Thank you and see you soon at the FutureLab!