NEW YORK, NY- June 14, 2007 – StartingBloc (www.startingbloc.org) will bring together one hundred undergraduate students and young professionals from as far as Argentina, Benin, China and France. They will take part in seminars, keynotes and workshops facilitated by Google, AccountAbility, General Electric, Business in the Community and the World Resource Institute among other pioneers in social innovation. The conference will take place at London Business School from July 18-22, 2007.
What unites these young participants is their determination to use business to address social and environmental issues in their communities and to advance their knowledge of corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and cross-sector partnerships. Their interests range from finance to fashion and from aeronautics to architecture and many are already leading or working in socially responsible business and organizations.
Mary Ferreira, Senior Marketing Manager for London Business School’s MBA programme notes that “London Business School is very proud of its association with StartingBloc, and believes that StartingBloc’s absolute dedication to building the next generation of socially responsible leaders is very much in line with London Business School’s own commitment to fostering academic excellence, leadership, and the global capabilities required for success in today’s business environment.”
Since 2003 StartingBloc has graduated over 500 young leaders from 47 countries who are now working together, across sectors, to drive positive social change. Once StartingBloc Fellows graduate from this intensive training program, they gain access to internships, jobs, graduate school admissions, networking events and continuing education through StartingBloc’s partners which include CSRwire, Goldman Sachs & Company, Domini Social Investments, Rabobank, New Leaders for New Schools, MIT Sloan and the Fletcher School among others.
StartingBloc’s Executive Director Joanna Opot notes, “Today’s social and economic problems will not be solved by one leader, one company, one sector, or one nation. We need leaders who have a common framework for understanding the role of each sector, public, private, and social. StartingBloc’s vision is that in ten to twenty years its fellows will be leaders in all fields and use this network to impact cross-sector partnerships on social and environmental issues. “
About London Business School
With its world-class faculty and research initiatives, London Business School is consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers a wide variety of degree and executive programs in business. London Business School’s dynamic, global, collaborative learning community comes from over 100 countries. London Business School is a truly global school, located in one of the world’s most vibrant, best-connected cities.
About StartingBloc
StartingBloc is a New York-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization. StartingBloc provides socially conscious students and young professionals with the training, experience, and networks necessary to drive social, economic, and environmental innovation through their careers and lives as engaged citizens.
