NATIONAL Public Relations, one of the world’s leading communications firms in corporate responsibility, is organizing the fifth annual Tremblant Forum on corporate responsibility and sustainability in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada on September 16 and 17, 2008. Heralding this year’s theme of “Looking Forward, Giving Back,” the forum will assemble over one hundred businesspersons and non-profit executives and academics from around the world to discuss the trends, challenges, and opportunities in community investment, venture philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship.

Renowned journalists will host panelists on strategic philanthropy for three workshops. The first workshop, “Are We Doing Enough?,” will address the widening global gap between social needs and financial means. The second workshop, “The New Model of Philanthropy,” will evaluate the latest models and innovations in social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy. “Find Value in Values,” the last workshop, will map out the mechanics of cause marketing.

The Tremblant Forum ’08 will feature an esteemed host of speakers, including Peter Frumkin, author of Strategic Giving: The Art and Science of Philanthropy, and Dr. Gilles Julien, president of Fondation pour la promotion dela pédiatrie sociale. The forum will also present senior executives from Standard Life Group, Global Endeavor, Molson Coors, Reporters Without Borders, Wal-Mart, the John Molson School of Business, and CARE.

Founder of the non-profit Africa Global Partnership, Inc., and lifelong activist for a better Africa, Paul Rudatsikira is hosting “Social Entrepreneurship for the Next Generation,” a conference in Rwanda that will bring together 100 Rwandan college and high school students for five days and 12 workshops to equip the young adults with the abilities to transform their communities, continent, and world. Eight youth leaders—and students and alumni of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Loma Linda University, and the University of Alberta—will help Rudatsikira train the Rwandan youth in social entrepreneurship and leadership, and will help them seize educational scholarships and advancement opportunities.

The University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada mustered troops for a social entrepreneurship “boot camp” from May 12-14 at the university’s Laurel Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. Limited to 30 participants, the boot camp drilled students and community-group members in business planning, marketing and branding, legal concerns, finding sponsors, and working with granting organizations—all in the pursuit of social change. Waterloo staff intends for the camp to arm participants with the leadership and entrepreneurial skills to garner sponsorship for their noble social aims, especially given the reality of waning government funding. Get More Information.

Name: Global Entrepreneurship Conference 2008; Small Enterprises and Family Business
Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Date: May 23rd – May 24th, 2008

The conference will bring together aspiring entrepreneurs, and will provide them with specific knowledge base, as well as an opportunity to share ideas and work with peers. In such setting, people will be able to get more contacts as well as learn from each other. Some of the presenters are experienced business leaders that will guide participants.

Name: TED Africa
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Date: September 29 - October 1, 2008

TED Conference is one of the most fascinating events in the world. People who attend and present at the conference often make the headlines and front pages of international newspapers. In 2009, the conference’s theme is “Inspiring a better future for Africa through the power of ideas.”

Additionally, TED posts on its site free videos of presentations made at the previous event. We highly recommend you review them. The ones we especially like are by Bono, Jeff Skoll and Richard Branson.