Before the mix of festivities and chaos hit the streets of Toronto this past weekend, YSEC joined a panel of young entrepreneurs representing the city at the G20 Youth Summit. Known as MY SUMMIT, the event convened youth delegates from all the participating nations.

Moderated by Gavin Sheppherd of The Remix Project – a community organization with several budding social enterprises – the panel was prodded on their thoughts about the challenges and opportunities the city holds for young entrepreneurs.

Their verdict? Canada needs more community hubs and informal associations dedicated to young entrepreneurs, but stands to gain significantly from looming transformations in all social systems – from energy and agriculture, to healthcare and education.

As the delegates spoke about means of influencing the future, social entrepreneurship seemed to captivate their interest.

A delegate from South Korea contemplated the distinction between social enterprise and corporate social responsibility, while another from Mexico was concerned that developed nations were yet again dictating a prescribed development path for emerging economies by suggesting that they develop in cleaner ways. The latter point was an important cue in establishing a framework for collaboration among nations, but misses the point that a global full press of social innovation is needed to adapt to a rapidly shifting world. While it is entirely reasonable to demand that developed nations assume much of the burden of ensuring better social and environmental practices, it is also vital for all nations to do what they can to stimulate, aid and practice wide scale social innovation.

The event revealed the depth of interest young leaders from around the world are taking in social entrepreneurship as a concrete way forward. In contrast to the weekend’s moments of despair in the streets, the sense of promise was palpable. And that’s a very good thing.

On Earth Hour eve, keynote re:Vision speaker Nathaniel Whittemore of Assetmap and Change.org, comments:

Today the first ever Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSEC) of Canada conference, re:Vision 2010, kicks off in Toronto, Ontario. With students, innovation centers, coworking spaces and an increasingly vibrant startup scene, Toronto is a place to watch.

So in response to Nathaniel’s question of whether Toronto is the next social innovation hub our answer is a resounding “YES!” Incidentally, this was echoed by the Center of Social Innovation on their facebook fan page yesterday.

Check out Nathaniel’s full blog post here: Change.org: Is Toronto The Next Social Innovation Hub?

A big thank you to Nathaniel for his great work and contribution in the area of social change, and for being a part of the immensely successful re:Vision 2010.

The Globe and Mail’s Your Business asked three of re:Vision 2010’s speakers to answer “Why is mentoring important, and how did you first get involved in it?”.

Check out their full essays at Globe and Mail: What it means to be a mentor.

Catch Tonya Surman and Nathaniel Whittmore at re:Vision Earth Hour and Mark Simpson at re:Vision 2010. Registration still open. Don’t miss out!

4 sleeps to go! Press releases are on their way! Get a sneak peek at the re:Vision 2010 program book! It’s HOT!

If you haven’t registered yet NOW is the time to do it as spots are filling up fast! Don’t forget we’re running a video contest so enter it and you could win a FREE ticket!

Announcing re:Vision 2010: The Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada’s Inaugural Conference.

The Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada is looking for young people who are spearheading incredible change in communities across Ontario.  YSEC is bringing together 100 young leaders in Ontario: a critical mass of organizers, activists and entrepreneurs who are taking changemaking to the next level.

re:Vision 2010 is a weekend conference for leaders 17-34 featuring experts of local and international acclaim. It’s an intensive weekend focusing on building sustainable initiatives, targeting the root causes of social issues, creating systemic solutions, and growing peer networks.

At re:Vision 2010, participants will:

• Be among 100 young leaders of enterprise and innovation in Ontario.
• Gain insight and advice from accomplished leaders in the field.
• Learn the analytical strategies critical to better understanding their social cause.
• Discover the practical changes their initiative needs to better meet its goals.
• Understand how social enterprise challenges traditional organizational structures.
• Collaborate for innovation, test assumptions, and learn from their peers.

Join us March 27th-28th in Toronto. Applications are accepted with rolling admission.

Apply. Visit: revision.ysec.org Pass it on.

Thursday, March 25, 2010 @ 6-9 pm, Centre for Social Innovation (4th floor)

For this month’s YSEC MeetUP, we’re hosting a Dragon’s Den style (but nicer) Pitch Competition.

Three of Toronto’s top youth-driven ideas will be presented to a panel of Toronto’s social entrepreneur and finance experts. The winner will receive:

• $1,000 as an interest free loan from the YSEC Fund, Canada’s first for youth, by youth, fund for social entrepreneurs
• 5 hours of free consulting with George Brown’s Institute of Entrepreneurship and Community Innovation
• Applicants that fit with the Toronto Enterprise Fund’s (TEF) program mandate will be considered for entry into TEF’s seed funding program (grants run from $5,000 to $50,000).

Who are the judges?

• Sarah Hashem,Business Manager for Central Ontario, Canadian Youth Business Foundation
• Magnus Sandberg, Director of Investments, Social Capital Partners
• Mark Simpson, Professor and Founder, George Brown College’s Institute of Entrepreneurship and Community Innovation
• Eli Malinsky, Director of Programs and Partnerships, Centre for Social Innovation
• Assaf Weisz, Executive Director, Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada

It’s going to be a great show. Don’t miss this entertaining, edge-of-your seat, and historic night!

Admission is $10 online for non-members, and $12 at the door
YSEC Members have free admission! Aren’t a member yet? Learn more here.

Please RSVP to watch the Pitch Competition by March 18, 2010.

This event is made possible with the generous support of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, the Laidlaw Foundation, Sherwood Park Management, and Toronto’s burgeoning movement of young social entrepreneurs.

How does the YSEC Fund work?

Listed below are some rare and exciting opportunities to join the Head Office team at Journalists for Human Rights, an organization that works to improve human rights in some of the most difficult environments on earth.  Check out the descriptions below or visit their website for more details:

1) Position: International Programs Director (1 position, paid with benefits, full-time, based in Toronto): The successful candidate will be responsible for managing jhr’s existing overseas projects (in DRC, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Malawi) from jhr’s Head Office in Toronto, and developing new programming in countries around the world. He or she will travel often and will be responsible for managing a diverse team across many countries. For more information and how to apply visit: 
http://www.jhr.ca/en/getinvolved_headoffice.php#international

2) Position: Overseas Program Coordinator (1 position, full-time, based across Africa): The successful candidate will act as the chief liaison between jhr’s Head Office and jhr’s overseas projects in Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Liberia. He or she will both live and work in the aforementioned countries, with no permanent home-base. They will ensure all overseas programs are achieving maximum results. For more information and how to apply visit:
http://www.jhr.ca/en/getinvolved_international.php#overseas

3) Position: Grant Writer and Fundraising Coordinator (1 position, full-time, salary with benefits, based in Toronto): The successful candidate will write grant proposals to support jhr’s overseas and domestic programming. They will coordinate heavily with jhr’s project management team and financial coordinator in the development of all proposals. They will also manage jhr’s current fundraising initiatives (direct mailings and donor relationships) and develop new fundraising strategies (major donors, corporate partnerships). This is jhr’s first full-time fundraising hire; as such, the successful candidate will be expected to build and eventually manage a fundraising department within jhr. For more information and how to apply visit:
http://www.jhr.ca/en/getinvolved_headoffice.php#grant

4) Position: Financial Coordinator (1 position, full-time, salary with benefits, based in Toronto): The successful candidate will be in charge of a variety of crucial bookkeeping, budgeting, grant reporting and office related tasks. The selected candidate will play a key role in jhr’s development. For more information and how to apply visit:
http://www.jhr.ca/en/getinvolved_headoffice.php#financial

Change.org recently published their top moments of the decade in social entrepreneurship.

It has a slight North American (read: US) slant but there are some noteworthy moments listed for sure.

Check out the list and feel free to share your thoughts here by adding a comment below. We’d love to hear what’s on your mind!

We here at YSEC knew it to be true when we first dreamed up the mission and vision of our organization, so it excites us to see that more and more people are catching on to the idea that making system and social change can be a profitable and sustainable endeavor.

“People are realizing that small positive changes add up,” says Geri Stengel, founder of Ventureneer.com. “Those cumulative efforts are not only creating change but also inspiring amazing new social-impact ventures by others.”

Read more on Entrepreneur.com.