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The Global Social Business Summit 2022

After 3 Years the biggest gathering of social business met again from the 6th until the 8th of November in Turin for the Global Social Business Summit 2022 to discuss how cultivating a culture of peace is needed to establish a sustainable future. It brought forth the understanding that the challenges we are facing today are more complex than just mere economic, social, and environmental challenges but rather fundamental humanitarian questions of justice. This was explicitly shown by the diverse topics touched upon in the University talk at Sermig, the Young Challenger Program, the annual Social Academia Forum, the 3 Zero Club convention, and the countless sessions. Due to the hybridity of the event, it is estimated that between 700 to 1000 people from 90+ countries were able to attend the Summit.

The conversations and actions sparked by this event showed that the Summit was more than Global Forum rather it is the gathering of a community willing to do everything possible to achieve a future of justice and peace.

Goals GSBS 2022

The goal is to curate a global culture of peace based on justice, inclusiveness, solidarity, harmony, cooperation, and the understanding for the sacredness of human life. Accepting that the design we have built for our society including the concepts of great victories and policies, is what is wrong with our current world. Social Business highlights that the essence of human beings is innovation enabling us to address together global concern in a positive and holistic way. Teaching us to live together in peace with one another in a world of 3 Zeros: Zero Global Warming, Zero Wealth concentration, and Zero Unemployment.

Themes 2022

More than 200 speakers from the private and public sectors – Corporates, Academia and Youth Organizations, Civil Society and NGOs, Governments and social Entrepreneurs contribute to the discourse of the summit.  The GSBS 2022 aimed to highlight the wide spectrum of industries social businesses has been thriving in, such as Technology, Energy, Coffee, Sports, Microfinance, Food, Fashion and the Environment in forms of Panels, Workshops and live discussions. Through this the community was able to talk about these industries, not in isolation, from one another but together, pairing different issues and solutions together. Social businesses have the potential to make these industries more sustainable, more resilient, and more equitable.  

Every step forward is welcome because the problems are huge… they are no longer about economic, social, and environmental challenges. It is about doing everything possible to achieve a future of justice and peace.

HRH Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

The GSBS 2022 in numbers

1173

In person attendees in Turin

54

countries represented

77

Speakers equally gender distributed

17

Plenaries

10

Workshops

6000+

Active online participants

Thousands

of people reached through live stream in Turin city​

230K

Total organic reach 
on 
websites and social media

This will be a turning point for all of us. We’ll save this planet, we’ll create a better planet for everybody, and remember it all began in Turin.

Prof. Muhammad Yunus

Location

In 2022, the city of Turin hosted the GSBS and confirmed once again its social economy and its public-private platform for social impact investing.

Our partner Lavazza hosted us in their Nuvola Headquarters, which was a former power plant transformed into a multi-purpose building hosting cultural and artistic events and activities within a difficult area of the city.

We involved local designers and entrepreneurs who as well value circular economy and social business to curate a unique experience.

Sermig - Arsenale della Pace

On the 6th of November Prof. Yunus together with the social business delegation visited Sermig, the Arsenal of Peace in Turin, to hold the University Dialogue with the youth from Turin as well as some members from the 3 Zero Club. This Event highlighted the power and creative potential of today’s youth in creating a world of 3 Zeros – Zero unemployment, Zero concentration of wealth and Zero Carbon Emissions. This Event was co-organized with one of our partners: Sermig.

Young Challengers Program

In light of the Summit’s tradition the Young Challengers Program took place again, two years in a row. After two month of rigorous training and working together remotely across 36 nations the 67 Young Challengers were ready to pitch their social business idea on the 7th of November and show the social business community that they are ready to be active contributors into the ecosystem.

Social Business Academia Forum

As the Yunus Centre and the Grameen Creative Lab put a great emphasis on the education aspect within the social business ecosystem, together with the university of Turin we hosted the Social Business Academia Forum on the 7th of November. It was an in-person gathering of academics, researchers, and student-involved and interested in Social Business. The Forum’s panels and workshops mainly focused on the role of academic research and its responsibilities in shaping a world of 3 Zeros.

3 zero club convention

The Kickoff of the 3 Zero Club Convention took place on the 6th of November in Sermig. The convention is a hybrid assembly of the global network of young changemakers created by Prof. Yunus with the vision of creating a 3 Zero world. The convention commenced on the 8th of November at the GSBS 2022 and highlighted the innovative initiatives that the club members undertook to address problems around climate change, poverty, and unemployment.

That is how we must reach change today, is by reaching other people’s hearts.

Dr. Jane Goodall
eSports meets Social Business
Global Social Business Summit 2022 was the platform to sign a formal letter of intent between the Global Esports Federation and the Yunus Sports Hub reinforcing the strategic partnership to launch and grow the Esports for Development movement with social business. The letter was signed by Prof. Muhammad Yunus and GEF Board Member Lorenzo Giorgetti. ​
Grameen microfinance model expands to South Africa
The whole community of the Global Social Business Summit got to witness the historical moment when the Grameen Trust in association with the WDB Trust agreed to launch the Grameen Microfinance model in South Africa to ease loan access and tackle poverty among women in the region. The MoU was signed by Abdul Hai Khan, Managing Director of Grameen Trust, Luz Helena Hanauer, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF WDB, Lamiya Morshed, Executive Director of Yunus Centre, and Hans Reitz, Co-Founder, and CEO of The Grameen Creative Lab.
Art meets Social Business
The world renown sister Paino Duo and UNICEF Peace Ambassadors, Ferhan and Ferzan Önder, joined us in the summit not only to inspire the community during the 3days of the summit with their wonderful music, but they also taught us the art of listening. Listening is the initial step and possibly the most crucial to achieving justice and peace in our world.
YCP Winner 2022
During the closing ceremony of the Summit on the 8th of November, the winners of the Young Challengers Program Pitch were announced. The first place went to BanglaMins (Andra Anoaica, Lorenzo Cirillo Brondi, Axelle Lopez de Arias, Duti Syeda Ashfah Taoha), a social business that plans to turn otherwise wasted food that creates methane gas into nutritious baby food. This would not only aid local farmers but also reduce food waste. (In the picture: 1st place winners)
Cross over to COP 27
The summit had the honor to hear from Prof. Jeffrey Sachs himself to not only talk about current world problems but to represent the COP27 and the spirit the spirit of collaboration. In his talk, Prof Sachs brought for the important of social business in our current world as a tool to solve complex issues: „ Every business should be a social business, every business should be responsible to society, and not only responsible to its shareholders"
Announcement of New York
So, what is next? On the last day of the Summit, the Grameen Create Lab and partners are glad to announce that the Global Social Business Summit will return in 2023 with more creativity and more inspiration in New York City. Stay tuned!
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