Representation on a global stage

The Social Enterprise World Forum 2022, held in Meanjin (Brisbane), was the perfect opportunity for thousands of people across the global social enterprise community to come together – in person and online – to share and learn from each other. 

In 2022, the event saw 2,770 participants from 93 countries coming together for an inspiring two days. While the majority of participants were from Australia, it was an important occasion, as travelling to SEWF hasn’t been within reach for the average Australian social entrepreneur when it has been held overseas. Bringing the event to our shores – along with an international audience – made SEWF22 the perfect opportunity to bring Northern Australian entrepreneurs to the table. 

One way Impact North – an ELP initiative – was able to do this was by securing bursaries for those in their network. The other way was to bring First Nations voices front and centre. 

A voice in program design, echoing through SEWF

Liandra Gaykamaŋu, CEO of Enterprise Learning Projects was one of nine First Nations representatives from around the country to work closely with the hosts of SEWF22, Whitebox Enterprises. 

Her involvement meant that she was able to lead discussions that focused on ways to authentically incorporate and highlight the Indigenous perspective, culture and peoples throughout the planning and execution of SEWF22. She worked together with the First Nations committee to make sure SEWF22 was a culturally safe space for all Indigenous people to feel welcome and connected, ensuring that First Nations voices were heard seamlessly throughout the event, not just at First Nations panels. 

Throughout the program design stage, Liandra was able to highlight various opportunities for First Nations voices, culture and peoples to be represented. 

One key thing she was able to do was to put Lateesha Jeffrey from Wave of Change Consultancy forward to co-host SEWF22. 

Lateesha is a familiar face to those in the Impact North community, who experienced her skill at hosting through the Social Enterprise Summit of Northern Australia (SESNA) in 2021, where she attended as the moderator of the event.

“Being co-MC, it wasn’t just about me, but it was about representation for Aboriginal people. I had support from everyone there, it was really empowering for me and boosted my confidence. My connection to ELP has pushed me into this world that I didn’t even know existed, and thank you to Liandra for nominating me for this opportunity.” 

- Lateesha Jeffrey 

Lateesha at SEWF22

Liandra was also able to introduce the programming team at SEWF to Laura Thompson, to highlight the great work Clothing the Gaps have done as a social enterprise focused on issues facing the First Nations community. 

SEWF22 was a fantastic opportunity for all those in the social enterprise sector, but particularly for First Nations entrepreneurs to be heard not just by their local community, but a global audience who have taken learnings back to their own organisations in their home countries.

Lateesha and Laura on stage at SEWF22