Social Enterprise World Forum sells out with six weeks to go

The tenth Social Enterprise World Forum, to be held in Christchurch next month, has sold out with 1,300 tickets snapped up by delegates from more than 40 countries around the world.

Hosted by the Akina Foundation, this is the first time the event has sold out six weeks prior.

The Social Enterprise World Forum is an international event for social enterprises from all over the world to come together, share wisdom, build networks and discuss how to create a more sustainable future.

More than 100 speakers have now been announced.

Held each year, the event attracts social entrepreneurs, policy makers, community leaders, investors, academics and more

This year's event will run from September 27-29.

"With the Forum kicking off on September 27th, we're also excited to be running the Transitional City Stream, a series of events around the Canterbury region showcasing local social enterprises," says Helene Malandain, programme director.

The Transitional City Stream will comprise tours of more than 20 social enterprises around Canterbury (open to ticket-holders only) and a range of public talks and events.

"This is a new addition to the Forum's schedule that we've developed to enrich the delegate experience and make the event accessible to the wider Christchurch community," Mandain says.

A full day forum, Working on Purpose, will be held in conjunction with Forum at Papa Hou in Christchurch on September 28.

Working on Purpose will bring together public sector and corporate leaders, policymakers and specialists across employee engagement, branding, procurement and CSR.

Any proceeds from the event will also be directly invested into supporting the next wave of social enterprises through the Akina Foundation.

"Organisations see working purposefully with social enterprises as a better way of engaging with employees, contributing to their communities, delivering on their brand promise and making more sustainable procurement decisions," says Louise Aitken, Akina Foundation general manager.

In order to include people who missed out on a ticket, Akina has been looking at ways to accommodate several hundred extra delegates.

Although the main venue, Isaac Theatre Royal, is now at maximum capacity, Akina has opened up a waiting list to buy a lighter version of the 3-day experience.

This will involve live-streaming of plenary sessions in another Forum venue.

With the extra release of tickets this week, the Social Enterprise World Forum will be the largest conference to be held in Christchurch since the February 2011 earthquake.