Student Leaders in Community Development

This has been a stellar year for student's in my course truly setting their ideas in motion. In today's edition of Lider Magazine, the story of one such group of young entrepreneurial thinkers appeared which linked both social and financial missions under the title of entrepreneurship. The movement toward sustainable enterprises from all sectors: public, private and non-profit is beginning to build momentum. The story of more than just a chair, Više od Stolice, is being retold via word of mouth and now also being picked in the media. I know that small relatable projects like these which conquer wider social problems, like the lack of access to proper educational environment for children with extra needs, can be solved with incremental but profound steps like those being taken by Martina, Diana, Marko and Mislav-Jure. These students represent the next wave of leaders in our communities and from ZSEM who can and will choose to build sustainable practices into their management strategies. They know how to more effectively catalyze resources and rise to look at existing problems with fresh eyes of opportunity. I also thank many of their peers who support their initiative and join them in the challenge to tackle the relevant issues of today's Croatia with their business acumen, social network and persistence. Cheers to the next generation!

When a Chair is more than just a chair

I have recently sat through 45 pitch presentations from my current group of students at ZSEM. Its been incredibly rewarding as a higher percentage than ever are realistic and with a vision to next generation ideas concering double and triple bottom line. I feel like I am living my dream which feels great. One of the remarkable projects, high on top my list of all time greats is destined to be "when a chair is more than just a chair". The process of getting to this idea was exciting and frustrating and now joyous. The students involved in the project have actually launched their blog and have over 700 visitors in just 24 hours, I believe that qualifies as "an idea worth spreading".

Here is the idea in a nutshell, kids with cerebal palsy do not have affordable chairs suited to their educational needs. My students Diana Mušić, Martina Kristić, Marko Prka and Mislav-Jure Sulić combined their interests, backgrounds and criteria for their social enterprise project resulting in the development of a turnkey plan for a local non profit to raise awareness and funds one chair at a time. The specially designed chairs usually cost around 1,000 Euros and within 2 weeks the students not only identified the need but sourced the solution. They reinvisioned the chair, mocked up a design, found a willing and capable manufacturer and set up a system for the non-profit to transparently collect the funds and dedicate the money for a needed learning aid, the chair. Visitors to their blog will be regularly updated on how much was raised and who will receive a chair and when. With over 9,000 children in Croatia being affected by this motor condition, my students are enabling lives. I thank them and all the other students striving to make change for themselves and others. To learn more about their project visit Više od stolice.