September is an exciting month with the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) being hosted in Brisbane on 28 & 29 September. This is the annual global social enterprise conference bringing together the global community and plenty of great speakers. It will be exciting to relive some of the highlights.

Come along to our 6 October meetup to hear from some speakers/panellists who'll share their highlights. If you're attending SEWF (in person or online), make a note of your highlights and there will be an opportunity to share... and if you can't make it to SEWF, this will be a great recap.

Our meetups are about having fun and enjoying each other’s company while sharing and learning from each other. We start with about 45 minutes of networking before getting into the content. It's a way to make new friends, stay connected with old friends, and the focus is on bringing the community and ecosystem together.

In the Canberra region? Check out the Community-Led Storytelling & SEWF Discussion event which will include a dedicated livestreaming chill zone and is also an opportunity to meet local artists, multicultural entrepreneurs, and social enterprise changemakers.

Joining online? We'll be kicking off the content part of the meetup from about 6:45pm. Join on Zoom.

Tickets include drinks and snacks. $10 for members, $20 non-members. If you're not a current SECNA member, why not join now! This event is free to attend online.

Speakers/Panellists

Lucy Brotherton. Community Capacity Building Officer - Social Investment, City of Parramatta
Lucy Brotherton is a Community Capacity Building Officer at the City of Parramatta. In her role in Council, Lucy implements and facilitates a range of social investment activity in the Parramatta Local Government Area, promoting innovative approaches to create positive and sustainable social change for the diverse communities of Western Sydney. Lucy acts as a linker within the social enterprise ecosystem, using her broad networks in Government and the social investment community to connect people, link organisations and build strength through collaboration.

Usman Iftikhar. Co-founder & CEO, Catalysr
Usman Iftikhar is a systems entrepreneur, passionate about utilising the power of entrepreneurship to collectively solve the global problems such as global climate emergency and the global refugee crisis. He is the co-founder and CEO of Catalysr, an award-winning startup incubator in Australia, which empowers migrant and refugee entrepreneurs (aka migrapreneurs) to launch their own startups. Since 2016, Catalysr has supported 734 migrapreneurs to learn about and launch their own startups. Catalysr’s work has been recognised in the joint UNCTAD, UNHCR and IOM policy guide on entrepreneurship for migrants and refugees, which was co-launched by Usman Iftikhar at the UNCTAD World Investment Forum 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. Usman is also a co-chair of the Program Design and Delivery working group at the global Refugee Entrepreneurship Network, run by Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) UK.

Usman is a 2020 Stanford GSB alumnus, a 2019 Obama Leader, an EHF Fellow, WEF Global Shaper, 2019 Westpac Social Change Fellow, 2018 AMP Tomorrow Maker, Singularity University’s GSP 2017 Fellow, and a Young Social Pioneer alumnus at FYA. In 2018, Usman was named the 2018 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year by HRH Prince Harry among 1.4 billion young people living in the 53 Commonwealth nations. In 2019, he was named as one of the top 50 on Kochie’s Business Builders Power list with Google, on Smart Company’s 30 under 30 list, and also won the Western Sydney Leadership Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement. In 2020, Usman was declared a winner in the ‘Entrepreneurship’ category, for the 40 under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian Leadership Awards. In 2021, Usman was also given the prestigious Western Sydney Champion award by the Committee for Sydney.

Mel Greblo. Founder & CEO, Scriibed
A market failure and a hard won idea sparked Mel Greblo to put her 20+ year career in social impact to work to start Banksia Impact and Banksia Academy. Mel is an artful change-maker, convenor and community builder proven as CEO of two social ventures and director of global human development community, The Coterie.

Sponsors

Thanks to Canva Space for their generous support as the venue and refreshments sponsor.

Proudly supported by City of Sydney.

About SECNA Meetups

SECNA’s purpose is to nurture a healthy and connected social enterprise sector in NSW and the ACT… and beyond, including everyone in and around the ecosystem.

A connected and engaged social enterprise community is key to increasing awareness, understanding, and advocacy - while building strong partnerships and collaboration. This will help us progress to our shared vision of a world where we collaborate to ensure all people, places, and our planet thrive.

That’s what SECNA Meetups are all about. A regular way for us to meet, make new friends, stay connected with old friends, and bring the community and ecosystem together. Having fun and enjoying each other’s company while sharing and learning from each other. Exchanging ideas, celebrating the wins, and learning from the fails. In the spirit of collaboration.

Our meetups aren’t just for current SECNA members. We welcome everyone in and around the social enterprise ecosystem… and even those who are just curious to see what it’s all about. We come together valuing and including our diversity.

We meet on the first Thursday of the month and the focus is on convening and holding space for connection in a fun and friendly way. We also have talks, panels, and interactive sessions on a range of topics related to social enterprise. Most of our meetups are hybrid and provide connection beyond Sydney and Canberra to other metro, rural, and regional locations across NSW and the ACT.

We’d love to hear from you if you’re keen to speak, there’s a topic you’d like covered, or if there’s someone you’d like to hear from. There are also sponsor/partnership opportunities available.

Thanks!

Ben Pecotich, Samara James, Bridget Gunn & Greg Hodgkinson
SECNA Meetups Organising Team

Contact the host of SECNA Meetup #2: SEWF Highlights