Nobel Prize laureate and father of microfinance Muhammad Yunus , Music icon Quincy Jones and other global luminaries from Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship select footwear icon to receive award ;
1st Ethiopian to ever win this award
Davos, Switzerland / Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship announced today that Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu , Founder and CEO of soleRebels , has received the Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of The Year Award at the 2012 World Economic Forum on Africa taking place now in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [May 9th-11th].
“We deeply believe that economic as well as social progress can best be achieved through entrepreneurship.” said Schwab Foundation Chairman & co-founder Klaus Schwab. “ Bethlehem embodies the vision and values of the global social entrepreneur community, and we are proud to honour her exemplary work in creating a highly innovative , ethical and sustainable business that continues to make a strong social impact with this special award.”
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is the planets foremost platform dedicated to promoting social entrepreneurship as a key element to advance societies and address social problems. Chaired by World Economic Forum founder Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab, its board is comprised of an array of global luminaries including Legendary Global Music Producer and Icon Quincy Jones; Nobel Prize laureate, father of micro finance + Managing Director of Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus; David Gergen Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; acclaimed best-selling author Paulo Coelho; Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant.
The board selected Bethlehem to receive this award for her pioneering achievements in making soleRebels the fastest growing African footwear brand on the planet , the worlds first fair trade footwear company and a global brand that creates award winning products , creative employment opportunities in her community and equitable and sustainable growth!
“I am truly honored that the Schwab Foundation Board has chosen to recognize me in this manner. I proudly share this recognition with every single one of the talented, industrious, committed and cultured people who everyday work alongside me to make soleRebels what it is - the coolest artisan driven footwear company on the planet .” said Bethlehem .
The award will be presented to Bethlehem by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum in a special gala ceremony to be held TONIGHT at the 2012 World Economic Forum on Africa taking place now in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [May 9th-11th] in the presence of all Forum delegates . Bethlehem is the first Ethiopian to ever win this prestigious award!
The awards will be broadcast LIVE via livestream (18:00-18.30 Thursday Ethiopia time) via the weforum.org website and these channels:
Hailed for BOTH creating award winning products and their model of equitable and sustainable growth, soleRebels is being showcased to World Economic Forum delegates in a series of interactive site visits to the company’s artisan driven factory and soleRebels innovative flagship retail location , the very 1st private African company to ever be profiled by the Forum in this manner.
Hailed for their model of equitable and sustainable growth, soleRebels will be showcased to World Economic Forum delegates including international executives , leading entrepreneurs and global investment managers in a series of interactive site visits to the company’s artisan driven factory and soleRebels' innovative flagship retail location.
bethlehem tilahun alemu , founder and ceo of soleRebels and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader will lead the tours. Forum delegates will have the chance to interact with company founder + ceo and see+experience how she built both the fastest growing African footwear brand on the planet and the worlds first fair trade footwear company
“I am honored that the World Economic Forum has chosen to showcase soleRebels at this important global gathering which itself serves to highlight the DYNAMIC OPPORTUNITY that IS Africa! soleRebels represents an Africa replete with the ideas, creativity, people , energy , and resources to create world class products and companies . I am deeply excited to share what we have been achieving with soleRebels and show how companies like us can continue to shape, define and position African development as a living and breathing reality that is reflective of the voices of African peoples AND is driven by their talents, their aspirations , their desires and their dreams.” stated Bethlehem.
Among the delegations scheduled to tour soleRebels is The Global Leadership Fellows Programme (GLFP) a unique World Economic Forum leadership development programme. Run by the World Economic Forum the programme finds the next generation of leaders both for the Forum’s own management and governance and also that of the world as a whole.
“The world is on the cusp of major changes and emerging markets are increasingly important as a source of incredible innovation and growth . Seeing and understanding bethlehems vision and her achievement of equitable and sustainable growth is an URGENT MUST for anyone seeking to engage with these evolving dynamics in real time ”, commented Prof. Gilbert Probst, Managing Director of the Leadership Office & Academic Affairs at the World Economic Forum.
The 22nd World Economic Forum Africa gathering brings together 700 global and regional business leaders, heads of state/government and ministers, as well as leaders from media, academia and civil society.
Under the theme Shaping Africa’s Transformation, the programme will focus on three core pillars to address key issues and opportunities:
Strengthening Africa’s Leadership
Accelerating Investment in Frontier Markets
Scaling Innovation for Shared Opportunities
Over the past decade, Africa has become one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. Ethiopia is a prime example of Africa’s frontier economies. Home to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa is the perfect setting to convene global and pan-African leaders to shape the region’s transformation.
The Co-Chairs of the meeting are Kofi Annan, Chairman, Africa Progress Panel (APP) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Switzerland; Gao Xiqing, President and Vice-Chairman, China Investment Corporation (CIC), People’s Republic of China; Bekele Geleta, Secretary-General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Socie ties (IFRC), Geneva; Doug McMillon, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart International, Wal-Mart Stores, USA; and Tidjane Thiam, Group Chief Executive, Prudential, United Kingdom.
Founds GLOBAL SHAPERS community in Addis Ababa; deploys cutting edge social media campaign to select a next generation of emerging leaders
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – World Economic Forum [WEF] Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab has named Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and managing director of trailblazing footwear brand soleRebels and a WEF 2011 Young Global Leader, as Founding Curator of the Forum's newest and most critical venture, the Global Shapers community.
The Forum is establishing this special community of young people in their 20s to provide youth with a global platform to shape the future by integrating the personal, community, and global dimensions. Through the unparalleled convening power of the World Economic Forum, the GlobalShapers Community is diverse in demographics, geographical areas and sectors. However, it is united by a common desire to channel the members’ tremendous energy and enthusiasm into building a more peaceful and inclusive world.
Global Shapers will undertake activities that generate a positive impact by increasing each individual Shaper’s ability to improve the state of their community and by providing opportunities for Shapers to have local and global impact. The community will work in collaboration with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and will operate out of more than 75 local city hubs – from New York to Mexico City, from London to Amman, from Johannesburg to New Delhi, and from Addis Ababa to Adelaide
“I am deeply honored by Chairman Klaus’ designation of me to head this exciting initiative in Ethiopia. As a community grown entrepreneur myself I am excited to be pioneering this effort to engage and interact with talented youth as they strive to make their communities and the world at large a better place,” stated Bethlehem.
The Global Shapers Community is based on the concept of a global network of local hubs in the most important and the most challenging cities in the world. To that end, the Global Shapers Community will undertake events and activities that generate a positive impact within their local community but which also remain connected to global issues through the interactions generated inside each hub, between hubs, and on a global level.
Bethlehem has created a cutting edge strategy to build her Global Shapers community by selecting her group based on input received through outreach conducted via social media. Under the title COME CHANGE YOUR WORLD, she is inviting people to express why they or someone they know in the greater Addis Ababa area should be chosen as a Global Shapers. They can do this via several channels:
1. Post on the dedicated worldSHAPERS facebook page www.facebook.com/ComeChangeYourWorld
2. Twitter their nomination for a Global Shaper using the dedicated worldSHAPERS Twitter @worldSHAPERS
3. Come in person to the soleRebels store in Adams Pavilion at Saar Bayt and submit their nomination for a Global Shaper on a neatly PRINTED document [No handwriting will be accepted]
The written submissions can be no more than 150 words long, while the twitter submissions can not exceed TWITTERS maximum length.
The criteria for selection as a Global Shaper are:
Between 20 and 30 years of age at the time of nomination
From all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds
Highly committed to developing their leadership potential towards serving society
Adhering to the highest standards of moral and intellectual integrity
Possessing unique qualities that set them distinctly apart from the mainstream
Entrepreneurial track record, having already initiated and delivered a major project or founded a company or organization, exceptionally contributing to serving society at large
Ready to deeply engage in the community, reinforcing its mission and objectives and supporting fellow shapers in their individual and professional development
Bethlehem will choose and then lead a team of approximately 10 dynamic, passionate, and emerging young leaders aged 20-30, and forming them into a WEF Global Shapers hub over the course of a year. The hub established by Bethlehem and her team will then become an ongoing entity remaining in place as a permanent part of the World Economic Forums structures. Bethlehem will also pass leadership to a member of the community deemed to have demonstrated the greatest potential for continuing to lead + build upon what has been established by the founders. The entire hubs activities will be online at www.comechangeyourworld.com.
Bethlehem says her aim with using social media tools from the start is to create a LIVING + BREATHING grassroots community that from day one exists BOTH on the ground and in the social media realm. "Doing our outreach and interactions in this way means that everything – from the original selection of members through to the actual initiatives being implemented – can touch the largest number of people while also harnessing the greatest amount of real time input, insights and feedback. Ongoing collaboration is at the core of this initiative so what better way to expand the possibilities of collaboration than utilizing social media.”
The opportunity to become a Global Shaper is doubly exciting for those chosen because in the process of applying their skills to the world’s most pressing problems, Global Shapers will also be able to advance their own personal careers at the same time through the unique scope and depth of opportunities that are simultaneously available to sister organizations of the World Economic Forum. This includes interacting with Young Global Leaders, Social entrepreneurs, Technology Pioneers, Foundations Members, Global Agenda Councils, and many more.
For the next 4 weeks, Phase 1 of the initiative will be live with Bethlehem inviting everyone in the wider community to Twitter and post about who they feel are the most dynamic 20-30 year olds who should be in the inaugural Global Shapers community.
World Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab expressed excitement over Bethlehem’s appointment and approach:
“We went looking for an excellent Founding Curator for the Global Shapers community and are delighted that Bethlehem has agreed to take on this unique role. As a Founding Curator Bethlehem leads the local Global Shaper Community in the first year of operation, the most critical year of this initiative as it sets the tone and vision and for all subsequent years for this critical community.“
I have just returned from Dalian China and the World Economic ForumsSUMMER DAVOS meeting which I was privileged to attend in my capacity as a Young Global Leader and as a panelist.
The whole thing is inspiring. It’s enlightening, and a bit intimidating, and even infuriating. Let’s face it: it takes some kind of OOOMPH to say you’ve got answers to the world’s problems.
The overall theme of this year’s jamboree was MASTERING QUALITY GROWTH.
My Panel was titled New Frontiers of Consumption. Our aim with this panel was to examine emerging and frontier markets, youth consumer attitudes, the role of technology, and how to satisfy the demand for quality and sustainability. It was a discussion that was as dynamic as the subject and the forum itself.
Prior to your panel its full rock star treatment as you are sequestered backstage waiting to be brought out onto the stage.
Once onstage, you realize there are people here. Lots of them. To see me!!!?!?! and listen to what I have to say!!!?!??!?? And wait a minute, is that the founder of GOOGLE ?!??!?! and Facebook ?!?!?!? and INFOSPACE !!!?!?!?!!?????? Ok. Quickly realize this thing is BIG. Then there is a long pause and, mercifully, the adrenaline kicks in….. so on we rolled!!!
I think I did ok [ ]
But there were some loud thuds in the audience during my talk - must have been marketing people falling off their chairs when I suggested that we stop looking at consumers as consumers and start looking at them as what they are: people!!!
Here are some more highlights:
Future trends in consumption are being defined by emerging markets, whose demographic strength is shifting economic power away from the West.
The spread of technology is allowing consumers, especially the young, have a greater say in what they consume, and has increased knowledge of the social impacts of production.
The current model of consumption growth is environmentally unsustainable. There are simply not enough raw materials in the world to provide billions more consumers with the level of material consumption traditionally enjoyed by the West.
There is a debate over whether a shift to sustainable consumption should be driven by governments or consumers. While more informed consumers lead to more demand for sustainable consumption, advocates for government action argue that strong regulation – as well as accurate pricing of environmental and social costs – is needed to shift consumption growth from dwindling finite resources to non-material growth.
The World Economic Forum has announced that Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and managing director of trailblazing footwear brand soleRebels, will be a featured speaker at this years Annual Meeting of the New Champions.
In 2007 the World Economic Forum established the Annual Meeting of the New Champions [AMNC], held annually in China and alternating between Dalian and Tianjin. The AMNC has since become known as the “Summer Davos”, and provides a platform for emerging, high-growth companies to work alongside already established global companies and top political and academic leaders to identify fresh new ideas and innovative new technologies that will lead to further global growth. This year's AMNC will take place 14-16 September in Dalian, China. Premier Wen Jiabao will deliver the plenary address.
This year's meeting takes place under the theme MASTERING QUALITY GROWTH. An intensive and interactive three-day program will explore the following four elements of this new business matrix:
Embracing Disruptive Innovation
Pursuing New Frontiers of Growth
Shaping New Industry Models and Policies
Sustaining a Creative and Entrepreneurial Culture
Bethlehem’s session is titled New Frontiers of Consumption and will examine how consumer priorities are evolving across new economic, demographic and technological frontiers. She will also address the following core issues:
Emerging and frontier market consumers
Young consumer attitudes
The role of technology
Satisfying demand for quality and sustainability
“I am honored and excited to be addressing this forum . It will give me a chance to share what soleRebels has been doing in regards to creating a global footwear brand while simultaneously promoting a very dynamic model of sustainable development. It will also be a great forum to hear what others think of this model and discuss where elements from this model can have meaningful + global impact,” stated Bethlehem.
Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab described Bethlehem’s upcoming speech in the context of the meeting:
“Complexity, interconnectivity and sustainability are emerging as the dominant new realities of the 21st century. A consequence of these realities for industry leaders and policy-makers is the rebalancing of the global economy, which in turn requires recognition of both the qualitative and quantitative measures of growth. To master quality growth at the global level, leaders must discern various policy priorities of multiple government ministries and industry regulators. At the regional level, leaders need to determine the next frontier for growth. At the organizational level, leaders must determine if the entrepreneurial and creative talent is in place to work across all these levels. Bethlehem is extremely well positioned to address all of these interlinking realities in a comprehensive manner, most of all with an authentic voice , one that comes from her experience of having implemented this exact type of vision.”
soleRebels' founder, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, was 
Friends,
