The 1st Annual Social Business Day Celebration in Dhaka: A Great Success for Social Business!

As approximately 300 guests and participants took their seats in the Ball Room of the Pan-Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on the morning of June 28, the anticipation towards the first Social Business Day's daylong program was palpable. The whole place was buzzing, and the buzzword was social business.

Students from the Asian University for Women traveled to Dhaka from Chittagong, where the university is located, to attend this momentous event as did all the students, who are daughters of Grameen families, from the Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing. Seeing these young female upstarts was extremely impressive because one could actually feel their energy and willingness to change the world just by talking to them for a few minutes. Some of them were quite well-versed in the concept of social business and Professor Yunus' books.

Stalls were set up by various Grameen social businesses and other partners right outside the Ball Room to provide visitors with information on how their projects are making the social impact necessary to alleviate and, eventually, eradicate poverty. Between Grameen-Danone's stall which boasted a fridge full of the now renowned Shakti Doi (a highly fortified yogurt formulated to give malnourished children the nutrients they lack most) and the free eye examinations provided by GC Eye Care Hospital (focused on treating easily curable eye diseases, namely cataracts) - visitors had the opportunity to enjoy the products of existing social businesses themselves!

Professor Yunus, the speakers, and the audience watch former president Bill Clinton's message for the continued success of social business

Photo credit: Danny Mueller

In addition to an inaugural address by Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and the creator of Grameen social business, the opening session was marked by speeches from

Mr. Saria Sadique (CEO, BASF Grameen),
Ms. Corinne Bazina (Executive Director, Grameen Danone Foods),
Professor Barbara Parfitt, (Principal, Grameen Nursing College),
Mr. Kazi Huque (CEO, Grameen Intel),
Mr. Shahid Ahmed, (Managing Director, IES Alliance),
Professor Jonathan Shaw (Director, Asian Institute of TechnologyÂ Extension),
Ms. Zarina Hossain (Director of Service Learning and Internships, Asian University for Women),
Mr. Rubayat Khan (COO, ClickDiagnostics Inc, AIESEC Bangladesh, AIESEC International)
Mr. Hiromi Inayoshi (Corporate Identity Designer)

Personal video messages from celebrated social business supporters who were unable to attend the Social Business Day event in Dhaka were also shown, to the delight of everyone in the room, particularly Professor Yunus himself. These surprise well-wishers included

Former US president Mr. Bill Clinton,
Mr. Franck Riboud (CEO of Groupe Danone),
Mr. Hans Reitz (Co-Founder of Grameen Creative Labs),
Dr. JÃ¼rgenÂ Hambrecht (CEO of BASF),
Mr. Emmanuel Faber (COO of Group Danone),
Professor Cam Donaldson (Yunus Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University),
Mr. Jean-MichelÂ Herrewyn (CEO of Veolia Water),
Students and staff from Grameen Creative Lab at Kyushu University, Japan.

If a song had to be linked to Dhaka's celebration of Social Business Day 2010, it would probably have to be "Hear Me Now" by the socially conscious pop duo Green Children. The single was released in 2009 to help fund the GC (Green Children!) Eye Care hospital. The video for it was shot entirely in rural Bangladesh with Grameen families as the star cast! Short documentaries, namely "The Water of Goalmari", about the work of Grameen Veolia, and a short movie introducing Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing were also projected. All the media projected throughout the day - from the personal video messages to the social business-specific films - have one thing in common: the ability to inspire. Seeing is believing, and watching positive impact on tape is as good as it gets!

One of the highlights of the day was the presentation of the "Social Mark" by Mr. Hiromi Inayoshi, who is currently working on designing a symbol and logo for social business as defined by Professor Yunus. Against a background of soft music, Mr. Inayoshi explained the harmony and dynamism behind two adjoining circles - leaving the audience pondering over all the underlying work that goes behind creating a logo. Mr. Inayoshi's verbal illustration of the proposed "Social Mark" was quite evocative: The symbol mark of social business is expected to be recognized as a fresh peace mark.Â Make a circle with your thumb and forefinger of your right hand, and then of your left hand.Â And join these two circles, then the mark of social business is completed.Â It's a new form of sign language as well as a new peace mark. And it tells you in a single phrase "it's a social business."

Another highlight was the official launch of Building Social Business: The New Type of Capitalism to Serve Humanity's Most Pressing Needs in Bangladesh, which was followed by a book signing by Professor Yunus.

The Question & Answer session, one of the last events scheduled for the day, demonstrated the genuine interest of the participants in the concept of Grameen social business. For example, one Afghani student from AUW (which has students from various countries and territories including Afghanistan, Nepal, India and Palestine) asked Professor Yunus how she can start a social business in Kabul in order to promote education amongst women - a tough issue to tackle, but the answer is the same for all potential social businesspeople: the will to address a problem, no matter how difficult. The questions asked demonstrated prior research, a high level of creativity, and of course, a passion to create a world without poverty.

Social Business Day 2010 has been a resounding success. The day was celebrated worldwide both officially and unofficially - and has given the social business movement more supporters than ever. From the United States to Argentina to Japan to India, many will remember June 28 as Social Business Day as a day where the convergence of humankind's selfless and selfish dimensions is celebrated.