2011 Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship – Second seminar at ESSEC Business School

2/28/2012 - Social Entrepreneurship

Following the first two-week training seminar held in Cambridge, last July, 19 social entrepreneurs selected as 2011 Fellows met from January 3 to January 6 at ESSEC Business School to take part in leadership and intercultural dialogue classes, business plan strategy workshops and cultural visits. This second edition allowed 2011 Fellows to continue making progress on their respective projects after six months of further development.

This enriching seminar, hosted at ESSEC Business School’s CNIT La Défense campus, was an opportunity for social entrepreneurs from the 2011 Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship Program to expand their knowledge and skills base in business as well as the humanities. In classes on leadership in multicultural environments, attendees examined their personal approach and leadership position, while business plan workshops helped them re-center their growth strategies. In keeping with the intercultural goals of the seminar, the Fellows began the intense weeklong Paris seminar with a visit to the Grande Mosquée de Paris, France’s largest mosque, on January 3, and ended the week with a visit to the Copernic Synagogue followed by a Shabbat service.

The 2011 Fellows are now members of the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship Network, equipped with practical tools to enhance the financial sustainability and social impact of their initiatives. The seminar also provided a forum for discussions, idea sharing and peer-to-peer support between Fellows from Jewish and Muslim backgrounds for the most part.

The 2011 group marks the end of a first cycle in the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship program: a new group will not be selected in 2012, to allow program leaders to evaluate the program and new potential opportunities and capitalize on this one-of-a-kind network of social entrepreneurs.