Miami University’s Farmer School of Business Convenes Afghan Fulbright Students and Social Entrepreneurship Experts to Develop Business Solutions for Rebuilding Afghanistan

OXFORD, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Farmer School of Business at Miami University today announced it will host the 2012 Fulbright Social Entrepreneurship Seminar for Afghan Students, a five-day program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State that will bring together more than 60 post-graduate Fulbright students from Afghanistan to develop specific social entrepreneurial solutions that will help them build a stable, secure, and prosperous Afghanistan integrated into a stable, secure, and prosperous South Asian region.

“The Fulbright Social Entrepreneurship Seminar for Afghan Students is a meaningful part of our efforts to provide educational opportunities that enable participants to share their perspectives and translate their experiences into real-world impact”

Afghan students are currently studying in post-graduate programs at more than 30 universities in the United States through the Fulbright Program and have been selected to participate in this seminar, which includes a series of on-campus workshops, panels, and experiential learning opportunities in Oxford, Ohio, from Sept. 26 to 30.

This is the second year that Miami University’s Farmer School of Business has been selected to lead the seminar, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and administered in cooperation with the Institute of International Education. With one of the top social entrepreneurship programs in the country, the School has developed and led a number of internationally recognized initiatives that apply innovative business solutions to ongoing social problems.

“The students that are a part of the seminar come from various fields of study, but they share a common goal in that they all want to apply their respective areas of focus to enacting change in Afghanistan through social entrepreneurship and cause-driven businesses,” said Brett Smith, Director of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Miami University’s Farmer School of Business. “During their time in Oxford, students will learn to identify and apply market-driven solutions that simultaneously address myriad social and economic issues that their country is facing every day.”

In addition to meeting with international leaders in social entrepreneurship and working with top faculty from the Farmer School’s Center for Social Entrepreneurship, students will also have opportunities for networking and cultural experiences, including on-campus activities and stays with host families.

“The Fulbright Social Entrepreneurship Seminar for Afghan Students is a meaningful part of our efforts to provide educational opportunities that enable participants to share their perspectives and translate their experiences into real-world impact,” said Meghann Curtis, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. “These students are accomplished individuals and we expect that they will be leaders who develop important social enterprises when they return home. We’re confident that the knowledge that they gain through the seminar and their time in the United States will be a catalyst for positive change in Afghanistan.”

Fulbright enrichment seminars, which are an integral part of the Fulbright experience, benefit Fulbright participants and support the Fulbright Program's overall mission – to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

About the Center for Social Entrepreneurship

The Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Miami University’s Farmer School of Business creates hands-on, experiential learning at the undergraduate level and strives to give students the tools they need to leave their mark on the world.

The Center defines social entrepreneurship as "innovative solutions to persistent social problems (hunger, poverty, education) that create social value through sustainable, systemic change.” Since its founding in 2006, the Center has received global recognition for its work including being: a two-time winner of the Ashoka U Innovation Awards selected to present at the Nelson Mandela Foundation conference in South Africa, and recognized by a variety of major media including BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, Forbes, and TIME magazine.

About the Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 315,000 participants from over 155 countries with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Social Entrepreneurship Seminar for Afghan Students is one of a variety of Fulbright enrichment activities hosted across the United States by ECA each year. Fulbright enrichment activities focus on key policy areas, including energy and food security, democracy and human rights, public health, social entrepreneurship, and women’s issues.