Babson College, part of Wellesley University in Boston, has had a continuing relationship with Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah, with a series of forums to improve entrepreneurial skills in young Saudi women. Arab News reports on the latest forum which culminated in the awarding of cash prizes to group projects that would benefit communities, not just individuals.
US-Saudi women’s forum offers opportunity to entrepreneurs
RIMA AL-MUKHTAR | ARAB NEWSJEDDAH: Dar Al-Hekma College hosted the US-Saudi Women’s Forum on Social Entrepreneurship on March 2-3, which offered students the opportunity to present their projects to judges, before first, second and third place winners were announced.
In March 2009, 130 students from local colleges and universities enroled in a two-week session of lectures and workshops on social entrepreneurship.
Again in July 2009, Babson College’s Center for Women’s Leadership and Wellesley Center for Women and ICF International in Washington, D.C. selected 30 students and developed their proposals for six projects on social entrepreneurship.
The final step was to choose the winners and reward them with an amount of money that would help them start their projects.
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March:04:2010 - 21:39
Another great pedagogical idea, or ideas, the ongoing pairing of Dar Al-Hekma College with a variety of top universities internationally, and the social entrepreneurship seminar and projects with prizes toward their realization.
I can hear some feminists complaining that women are being oriented yet again toward social projects, making them responsible for caring for others–yet again. However, since I disagree with this premise as a knee jerk response, I choose to tune them out.
March:04:2010 - 22:44
I, too, think that complaint is a little over-sensitive. There are many very successful Saudi businesswomen and their businesses are the result of their entrepreneurship. I think Babson College is trying to show that there’s more than just money at stake.
March:05:2010 - 01:06
I agree, and also that one can make successful entrepreneurial adventures while benefitting others just as one can make them harming eg. promoting cola drinks as water substitutes.
That particular feminist critique has come up in discussion of a research finding that when gay men are seriously ill with AIDs they tend to turn to a sister for understanding, given that parents may not be alive, or may still be rejecting their sexual orientation let alone their medical status. Also there can be “issues” about sharing their feelings of vulnerability with brothers. I thought it was positive that they would have a sister to lean on at such a time and who could ease their re-entry into the family which was the usual pattern. It is easy to be a overly ideological with any type of approach, even if it is true that women need to protect themselves at times from overextending themselves towards others.
I was struck that the Green enterprise is exactly in line with what the new economy is supposed to be internationally, and that as the official said it benefits all, rather than a specific group, even if the specific group benefits are valuable.
I was also struck that the 3rd prize went to an enterprise for the benefit of the deaf since I recently did a post on the Mansoojat Foundation Workshop in Jeddah for deaf women to learn needle work, and be employable.
Any idea on whether deafness has a particularly high prevalence in Saudi? or is an subject of particular interest?
March:05:2010 - 08:11
I’m not aware that there’s any particularly high incidence of deafness, but with all the close marriages, there might be.
March:05:2010 - 08:53
It is on my list of genetic abnormalities to check, eg retinitis pigmentosa has higher prevalence in some tribes due to intermarriage and leads thus to higher prevalence of genetically blind members of the tribe. I’ll let you know what I find about deafness.