Innovative New Leadership Program For Social Entrepreneurs

  • Media release

TodayI announce that applications are now open for a new Australia-ASEAN Councilprogram to create substantial links between social entrepreneurs across ASEANand Australia.

Firstannounced by Prime Minister Turnbull during the inaugural ASEAN-AustraliaBiennial Summit in Laos in September, the Australia-ASEAN Emerging Leaders'Program (A2ELP) will bring together young professionals from South-East Asiaand Australia who are tackling intractable issues such as poverty, disabilityand environmental degradation in bold, creative ways.

A2ELPwill build lasting links between social entrepreneurs in Australia andSouth-East Asia, including by connecting Australian experts with incubatorprograms in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Myanmar.Participants will be ambassadors for social entrepreneurship and contribute toregional policy dialogues and industry roundtables.

Participantswill attend workshops in Sydney and Melbourne next year to explore the role ofbusiness in driving social change; enhance their understanding of the risks andpossibilities of social ventures; and develop frameworks for measuring thereturn of social ventures. They will engage with social venture leaders drawingon cutting edge knowledge and best practice from the sector.

A2ELPwill be implemented by the Melbourne Accelerator Program at Carlton Connect,and continued online and face-to-face mentoring will ensure that the linksforged through this program endure.

Thisprogram supports the key objectives of the Australia-ASEAN Council in forgingnew partnerships with business and other organisations to further enhanceAustralia's relationship with the countries of South-East Asia.

Forfurther information, visit: http://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/asialink-dialogues-and-applied-research/programs/Emerging-Leaders-Program.

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