2012 Taiwan-Singapore Social Enterprise Development Forum
November 23-24, 2012, Taipei, Taiwan
The Gender Equality Policy Guideline was passed in 2010. It is revealed in the Employment, Economy and Social Welfare chapter that the hybrid economic system, a system identified for its mandatory and market oriented characters, is the best shelter to protect financial security for women. The trend of social enterprises has generated far-reaching effects on the society of Taiwan. While a number of NPOs seek to actively transform themselves and contribute to development of social enterprises, others rush to serve as the platform for consolidating, researching and counseling social enterprises, forming the trend of social enterprises. How the abundant social forces can be effectively directed is closely related to the economic life of residents in Taiwan, and how we can identify business model and capitalize on business opportunities to develop social enterprises is a critical topic we should address.
In September 2012, the Department of Gender Equality, Executive Yuan, Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, and Foundation for Women's Rights Promotion and Development visited Singapore as a delegation to exchange insights about development of social enterprise and relevant industry policies. Besides the Community Development, Youth and Sports Department and government departments in charge of women’s development and social enterprises, the delegation also visited top performing social enterprises in the private sector in Singapore. Many are exceptional women and young entrepreneurs and all the insights learned are very valuable for us to promote development of micro-entrepreneurship for women and young adults.
In view of the social enterprises in Singapore that have been developed for years, the Many Helping Hands Policy enforced by the government has maximized the potentials of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises, facilitated establishment of partnership between the government and private groups, opened the door to resolving difficult social issues with innovative approaches and contributed greatly to the economic and social development in Singapore. Through this Taiwan-Singapore Social Enterprise International Exchange Forum, we plan to invite government representatives and representatives from private sectors from Singapore to visit Taiwan, to exchange our experiences and insights about social enterprise development policies and practical operational knowledge, to learn the lessons of successfully operating social enterprises both in Taiwan and oversea areas and promoting relevant operational perspectives and to offer exchange opportunities about international experiences.
This event is co-hosted by the Foundation for Women's Rights Promotion and Taiwan Social Enterprise Innovation and Entrepreneurship Society. It is expected that this event can achieve the following objectives:
- Exchange social enterprise experiences and knowledge regarding successful social enterprise business models between Singapore and Taiwan.
- Facilitate development of social enterprises in Taiwan and relevant initiatives and assist to foster partnership between the government and private sector.
Day 1: Social Enterprise Development Roundtable Forum
| Time | Topic |
| 13：00～13：30 | Reception |
| 13：30～13：40 | Opening Remarks (Ms. Pi-shia Huang, Director-General, Department of Gender Equality, Executive Yuan) |
| 13：40～14：40 | Exchange of Social Enterprises in Taiwan and Singapore – Development of Social Enterprise Policies and Future Outlook Moderator: Chun-feng Lin, Committee Member, Council of Gender Equality, Executive Yuan Presenter: Teo Mee Hong, Executive Director, Social Enterprise Association, Singapore Presenter: Shu-hui Shi, Deputy Director, Office of Socio-economic Development, Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan |
| 14：40～15：00 | Break |
| 15：00～16：30 | Current Development of Social Enterprises in Taiwan Moderator: Jer-san Hu, Secretary-general, Taiwan SEIE Society/ Professor, Fu Jen Catholic University Social Enterprise Research Centre Panelists: Patrick Wang, President, Aurora Social Enterprise Co Ltd Cheng Chang, Chief Editor, 4-Way Voice Ju-man Yang, Founder, 248 Farmers' Market Yi-ying Lin, Executive Director, Hondao Senior Citizen's Welfare Foundation Cheng-quan Li, Director, Southern Garden of Eden, Eden Social Welfare Foundation |
| 16：30～17：00 | Open Discussion |
Day 2: Taiwan-Singapore Social Enterprise Practice Exchange Forum
| Schedule/time | Topic |
| 08：30～09：30 | Reception |
| 09：30～09：40 | Opening Remarks (Mr. Hong -yuan Li, Minister, Ministry of the Interior /President, Foundation for Women's Rights Promotion and Development) |
| 09：40～10：50 | Keynote Speech: Social and Innovative Enterprise Moderator: Jer-san Hu, Secretary-general, Secretary-general, Taiwan SEIE Society/ Professor, Fu Jen Catholic University Social Enterprise Research Centre Keynote SpeechⅠ: The Rise of Change makers and The Marketplace Xchange Speaker: Elim Chew, Founder & President , 77th Street, Singapore Keynote SpeechⅡ: Management Challenges Encountered by Social Enterprises in Taiwan Speaker: Yu-yuan Kuan, Vice Chairman, Child Fund Alliance / Dept. Head, Department of Social Welfare, National Chung Cheng University |
| 10：50～11：00 | Break |
| 11：00～12：30 | Exchanges on Business Model Practices: Employment and Entrepreneurship Counseling Strategies and Model for Minority Group Moderator: Xin-hui Huang, Committee Member, Council of Gender Equality, Executive Yuan Panelists: Joseph Lee, Manager, Bizlink, Singapore Hsiu-yen Yang, Deputy CEO, Children Are Us Foundation Roy Chang, Director, Victory Potential Development Centre for the Disabled May Lin, Executive Secretary, Chinatrust Charity Foundation |
| 12：30～13：30 | Lunch Break |
| 13：30～15：30 | Exchanges on Business Model Practices: Employment and Entrepreneurship Counseling Strategies and Models for Female Entrepreneur and Minority Groups Moderator: Jie-yan Wang, Committee Member, Council of Gender Equality, Executive Yuan Panelists: Sim Sin Sin, CEO, Laksania, Singapore Qiu-xiang Zhong, Project Manager, Taipo Agricultural Production Cooperatives, Gaoshu Township, Pingtung County Shu-te Hwang, Chairperson, Homemakers Union Consumers Cooperative Weihwa Chang, Chairperson, Taiwan Greenlife Labors’ Coop |
| 15：30～15：40 | Break |
| 15：40～17：40 | Exchanges on Business Model Practices: Technical and Vocational Ability and Employment Opportunity Counseling Models for Teenagers Moderator: Sunny Huang, Vice Director, Foundation for Women's Rights Promotion and Development Panelists: Kenny Low, Founder, O School, Singapore Elijah Ted Ng, Founder, Art with a heART, Singapore Yueh-hao Wang, Deputy CEO, The Garden Of Hope Foundation Frank Yao, Director-General, Taoyuan Social Worker Association |
| 17：40～18：00 | Open Discussion |
