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Following a successful, opening and day 1 of the eighth Social Business Day on June 28, 2018, Day-2 marked the final day the ceremony with enthusiasm abound. Social Business Day 2018 took place on June 28 – 29, 2018, in Bengaluru, India as organized by the Yunus Centre and Yunus Social Business India with support from INK and Infosys, and attended by 1200 delegates from 42 countries.

The second day opened with the opening plenary “Corpoates in Social Business” which added to the global discourse of how corporates can engage in social development for which social business can be a pathway. Pecha Kucha presentations featured  the following initiatives: “Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing- A Unique Social Business, Technology for social impact, “Simple Learnings, Simple Perspectives”, “Chittagong Social Business Centre”, “Yunus Sports Hub”, “YSB Global Experiences”, “Perfect Day” and “Creating a Thriving Social Business Ecosystem: for the youth by the youth”, “Social Business Academia Conference 2018” and “Updates on YSB Foundation Taiwan”.

Other sessions added to the diversity and depth of social business’s reach across sectors and areas through the plenaries “Converting Unemployment into Entrepreneurship” and “Social Business and Sports”. Hans Reitz, Co-founder, Grameen Creative Lab, based in Germany.  Dr. Michael Roy, Senior Lecturer in Social Business at the Glasgow Caledonian University, Yunus Social Business Centre for Health and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University, Aarti Wig, Co-founder and Country Director, Yunus Social Business India led these plenary sessions with participation from distinguished panelists that included Achyuta Samanta, MP, Rajya Sabha of India, and Founder, KIIT and KISS of Odissa, India,  Marie Soubeiran, Communication and Engagement Manager, Danone Communities, Managing Director, Grameen Danone Foods Ltd, Bangladesh, Chetna Gala Sinha, Founder and Chairperson, Mann Deshi Foundation, and actor, Film director, activist, and rugby player, Rahul Bose.

The special highlight of the event was the establishing formal relationship between NITI Aayog, Think Tank of government  of India, and Yunus Social Business India, which was formalized by an on-stage MoU signing between Professor Yunus and Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission of Niti Aayog l. Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog addressed the conference  via live videocast where he mentioned Professor Yunus’s life’s works have been an inspiration to him and to generations of development leaders across the world.  Mr Kant also explained the work that the Indian government is doing in working towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and how their work ties in with social buisness.  He apologized for not being present in person, for having been called away to the Parliament, and expressed his plan to visiting Professor Yunus in Bangladesh.

Students of Parikrama and Inventure Academy held a special cultural performance during the closing session in honor of Prof. Yunus.

It was Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus’s closing address to the audience which left everyone inspired. The Nobel Peace prize winner showed the current and next generation leaders in academia and practice that the most honorary pursuit of all in the world is to add to other’s life and is also the need of the hour. "Making money is a happiness, Making other people happy is a super happiness" said Professor Yunus. He underscored how his efforts are meant to help liberate the human minds of its conventional selfish orientation which has the self-destructing inclinations. He urged the audience to work for  building a world of empathy and human values. He said that the infinite potential of the human mind should be allowed to sprawl into creative actions and solutions to the world’s most pervasive problems, beginning with small effort’s.  The houseful Infosys amphitheater cheered to his words of inspiration and brought the curtains down for the Social Business Day 2018 but continued with other related annual events.

Country Forums were held for the following countries and regions: Bangladesh, India, Europe, grearer china with mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the grouo of countries consisting of Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand and Japan. Each forum conducted an intensive discussion on their regional initiatives and key aspects on social business, and plans were  laid out to follow. The day concluded with the Pre-Conference on Social Business Academia that serves as a preparatory meeting for the Social Business Academia Conference to be held in Wolfsburg, Germany in November year. The Pre-Conference which was attended by over 200 academics from universities around the world  allows academicians and researchers, and members of the Yunus Social Business Centres located in various universities discuss how academic research in social business can be advanced. Professor Yunus laid down several ideas to do so including the suggestion that social business itself can serve as a resource-provider for research continuity. He concluded the discussion by inviting the academics and researchers to increase critical discourse in the field, building a strong foothold in universities, and acting to bridge the gap between academia and practice.

After the conclusion of Social Business Day, Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus addressed conferences at Jain University and Bangalore International Center in Bangalore, as well as delivered a special lecture organized by Indian Merchant Chamber (IMC) at Mumbai University hall which is a UNESCO heritage site, and a private dinner hosted by IMC attended by the elites of Mumbai including actress Shabana Azmi and poet Javed Akhtar.

Caption for Photo 2: Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus with celebrated Indian actress and activist Shabana Azmi and film lyricist Javed Akhtar in Mumbai yesterday evening.

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