Gareth Gransaull and Avery Pasternak are HBA 2020 candidates who attended the Social Impact Conference and blogged about their experiences.
Ivey’s second annual Social Impact Conference took place recently, providing Ivey students with a comprehensive toolkit to jump start their careers in the impact space. The theme of this year’s conference was Cornerstones, and it serves as the flagship event of Ivey’s newly-formed Social Impact Club and its mission to educate students about the quadruple bottom line: people, planet, profit, and purpose.
The day included educational resources; ample networking opportunities; and, thoughtful advice from inspiring speakers that allowed students to explore topics such as social finance, corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and moral leadership. The first keynote was delivered by James Temple, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer at PwC, who spoke about the necessity of a collective effort between responsibility and strategy. The second address was given by Narinder Dhami, the Managing Director of the LEAP Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, who provided an introduction to the social finance spectrum, and highlighted LEAP’s work in scaling up projects related to health, education, and employment.
During a panel session, hosted by Diane-Laure Arjaliès of Ivey’s Centre for Building Sustainable Value, speakers from the World Bank, Rumie Initiative, and the Upside Foundation spoke candidly about challenges within the impact space, and the increasing influence of technology in addressing social problems.
The conference also included two skill-building workshops led by CoPower and Wealthsimple. Here students explored topics like green finance and the democratization of wealth.
A highlight of the event was the delicious lunch served by Three Sisters Catering, who prepared a variety of traditional dishes and educated attendees about the cultural significance of each. Cooks Niki Cooke and Candice Elijah are both members of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, located just southwest of London, ON. They get their culinary base from the traditional meals their grandmothers' grandmothers made, as well as more contemporary dishes.
The 2019 Social Impact Conference was an overwhelming success. We would like to extend our thanks to everybody who participating in the conference including the executive team, our generous sponsors, our inspirational speakers and of course, the delegates. We look forward to reviewing your feedback and we hope to see you next year!
