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Last updated: 01 March 2010
The Social Enterprise Ambassadors are successful social entrepreneurs who are using their stories to educate and inspire people about Social Enterprise. The programme is run by a consortium of organisations, led by the Social Enterprise Coalition, and is funded by the Office of the Third Sector.
The Social Enterprise Ambassadors programme was announced in the Government’s Social Enterprise Action Plan in November 2006, and aims to raise awareness and foster a culture of social enterprise in England. Following a workshop with the sector in March 2007 (see workshop outcomes here), a consortium of partners led by the Social Enterprise Coalition won the tender to deliver the programme in June 2007. Recruitment of the Ambassadors was completed in autumn 2007, and 30 were selected for the role. As a group, they are diverse and broadly representative of the social enterprise movement as a whole.
The ambassadors raise awareness of achieving social and environmental goals through enterprise, and act as role models for people interested in a career in the social enterprise sector. They work in three different taskforces to raise awareness of social enterprise amongst people in these areas:
• Young people
• Business and finance
• Public services.
Ambassadors include:
• Penny Newman, chief executive, Fifteen
• Tim Smit, co-founder and chief executive of the Eden Project
• John Bird, founder and chief executive, the Big Issue
• Dai Powell, chief executive, HCT Group
• Lord Victor Adebowale, chief executive, Turning Point
• Tim Campbell, winner of the first 'Apprentice' and founder of the Bright Ideas Trust
• Sophi Tranchell, chief executive officer, Divine Chocolate.
The other ambassadors are social entrepreneurs operating in many markets, chosen through a thorough recruitment process, aiming for a mix of age, experience, gender and region.
The ambassadors are actively involved in Social Enterprise Day. Many are also featured in the Trailblazers Magazine, produced in November 2009.
Angela Smith, Minister for the Third Sector, meeting with the Ambassadors, 22 October 2009