ABOUT
Learn more about our project :
Script below
Our marketing strategy :
We want corporations to pay their student employees a full salary, while allowing them to spend 10-20% of their working hours volunteering with nonprofit organizations.
The first point to consider concerns the size of the companies to which this project is to be proposed; students tend to prefer part-time jobs so let us assume a job that involves 20 hours a week. Assuming a proportion of 20% as time spent in social work paid by partner companies, this would indicatively translate into 4 hours per week.
Here we have considered a specific proportion and a very generalized case, but it is possible that in some cases this proportion translates into one working day per week, paid by the company, spent instead on social work.
Our project does not start with the idea of considering a specific target group of companies in terms of size, as it is inevitable to consider certain ethical values of these companies, but it might be difficult to apply our idea to small companies and activities at first; Imagining a business with a limited number of employees, say 2 or 3, in this case students, the adhesion to the project by these businesses could result in the need to hire a new employee to "cover" the days spent by the others on social activities, without considering the economic impact that these dynamics could have for such a business. It seems paradoxical to associate ethical value with economic value, yet society imposes certain types of reasoning on companies considering joining projects like this.
Nowadays, in reality, for large companies, ethical and moral value can and does translate into economic value.
It is an increasingly common idea in the collective imagination and in common decision-making criteria, that it is right to spend more on sustainability-oriented products, the higher price justifies values and ideals in which the catchment area recognises itself; Brands that espouse certain values are more appreciated and this is taken into account by companies when deciding on marketing strategies.
One of the most common examples of this is advertising campaigns, of which there are several types: companies launch advertising campaigns to promote a new product, to reposition themselves in the market, to remain recognisable to the catchment area and, increasingly nowadays, considering consumer habits and preferences, to make the company's values known to the market from a sustainable perspective. In this case, 'CSR' (Corporate Social Responsibility) programmes and advertising campaigns come together; companies strive to 'give back' to society, attract socially aware consumers, seek to retain the same consumers and employees, promote issues awareness and achieve long-term economic returns, without forgetting the ethical, social and moral value.
It would be easier for large companies to join such projects, being associated in the collective imagination with these values would bring an economic return that would justify the expense of paying students employed in social work and other related dynamics.
For small businesses, which tend to attract a specific and loyal catchment area, sometimes determined by factors such as location, it would be difficult at first to justify and pay for the above-mentioned issues. Collaborating with large and medium-sized businesses at first would make the project 'recognisable' and incentivise them to join.
It is indisputable to recognise that companies tend to operate with a view to financial gain, but it is possible to exploit this property to enhance and prioritize human value and this project can be a big step in this direction.
The first point to consider concerns the size of the companies to which this project is to be proposed; students tend to prefer part-time jobs so let us assume a job that involves 20 hours a week. Assuming a proportion of 20% as time spent in social work paid by partner companies, this would indicatively translate into 4 hours per week.
Here we have considered a specific proportion and a very generalized case, but it is possible that in some cases this proportion translates into one working day per week, paid by the company, spent instead on social work.
Our project does not start with the idea of considering a specific target group of companies in terms of size, as it is inevitable to consider certain ethical values of these companies, but it might be difficult to apply our idea to small companies and activities at first; Imagining a business with a limited number of employees, say 2 or 3, in this case students, the adhesion to the project by these businesses could result in the need to hire a new employee to "cover" the days spent by the others on social activities, without considering the economic impact that these dynamics could have for such a business. It seems paradoxical to associate ethical value with economic value, yet society imposes certain types of reasoning on companies considering joining projects like this.
Nowadays, in reality, for large companies, ethical and moral value can and does translate into economic value.
It is an increasingly common idea in the collective imagination and in common decision-making criteria, that it is right to spend more on sustainability-oriented products, the higher price justifies values and ideals in which the catchment area recognises itself; Brands that espouse certain values are more appreciated and this is taken into account by companies when deciding on marketing strategies.
One of the most common examples of this is advertising campaigns, of which there are several types: companies launch advertising campaigns to promote a new product, to reposition themselves in the market, to remain recognisable to the catchment area and, increasingly nowadays, considering consumer habits and preferences, to make the company's values known to the market from a sustainable perspective. In this case, 'CSR' (Corporate Social Responsibility) programmes and advertising campaigns come together; companies strive to 'give back' to society, attract socially aware consumers, seek to retain the same consumers and employees, promote issues awareness and achieve long-term economic returns, without forgetting the ethical, social and moral value.
It would be easier for large companies to join such projects, being associated in the collective imagination with these values would bring an economic return that would justify the expense of paying students employed in social work and other related dynamics.
For small businesses, which tend to attract a specific and loyal catchment area, sometimes determined by factors such as location, it would be difficult at first to justify and pay for the above-mentioned issues. Collaborating with large and medium-sized businesses at first would make the project 'recognisable' and incentivise them to join.
It is indisputable to recognise that companies tend to operate with a view to financial gain, but it is possible to exploit this property to enhance and prioritize human value and this project can be a big step in this direction.
TedTalk script:
Why do we think it is important to motivate young people to volunteer ?
"Which Aspect of our social Innovation challenge do we want to talk about here ?
We want to talk about why we think it is important to motivate young people to volunteer.
With a look on “THE 17 sustainable development GOALS” by the UN we get confronted with a lot of important topics and problems.
At first glance, we were overwhelmed. We couldn’t decide on which topic we wanted to concentrate on, or where to start. So we asked ourselves if we want to create something new, and choose one problem to address, or if we want to aim to support pre existing organizations fighting for peace and prosperity for people and the planet
The national report “study on volunteering” shows that in 2009 a number of 4168 voluntary organizations existed in Greece.
Almost every organization, NGO etc. relies on the help of volunteers to address all these different topics/problems. We want to start by recruiting volunteers, to aid pre existing organizations to continue to tackle these problems sustainably.
In today's political climate, students and young people are more passionate about global issues than ever, and constantly being vocal, to hold governments and corporations accountable for their decisions and actions that define the future of our generation.
So, to condense our topic into a realistic, achievable project, we decided to focus on mobilizing students for volunteering / social engagement.
The problem we face as students however, is that although we are motivated to help tackle social issues, our time is filled with studying and working to finance our studies, which leaves little time and resources to spend engaging in sustainability or social work etc.
So we decided that we want to create a system that would enable us, as students, to easily engage in the social issues we are passionate about, while still remaining economically stable.
We realized that what students need to help them engage in volunteering is some kind of compensation. We are conducting a survey at the moment here at Panteion, and so far we have gathered that most students need to spend much of their time outside of university working to finance their studies.
Now, we cant expect non-profits to pay their volunteers, they have to put their resources into their actual projects. So we need the help of corporations and businesses.
You need to imagine as a student in Athens, you are spending 20-25 hours a week in the university either in class or studying for their classes, preparing presentation and group projects. On top of that the average Greek student also needs to provide for themselves financially and cover their own living costs. In order to do that the majority of university students has a part time job that encompasses around 20-25 Hours a week. All those hours a week are already more than a full time job, and they are only making money half of that time. This time spent doesn't include the commute to university or work, or any kind of sport, activities, or social life, let alone time to rest or sleep. Where does that leave time to spent volunteering? The answer is it doesnt. In times with rising living costs and inflation, Students cannot afford to spend their time on unpaid work, when they are partially or totally financially independent.
Now, we can not expect non-profits to pay their volunteers, they have to put their limited resources into their actual projects. So where can we find the funds for this kind of compensation?
While doing research for this project, we became aware of how important it is for the non profit sector and the business sector to work together to tackle problems sustainably. Additionally, corporate responsibility is an integral part to tackling global sustainability issues.
So, what we want in order to encourage student social work is for businesses to pay their student employees to spend a fraction of their working hours volunteering for non-profits or NGOs. This would encompass approximately one working day week (5 hours)
Creating this platform, our customer target is working students. We want to create a platform for students that are working to gain access to companies who offer this system of volunteer work compensation. On the platform we create, there will be an overview who the employers are and which NGOs or non-profits they cooperate with.
So now how do we get companies to participate in this kind of project?
We are aware that this is unrealistic for small businesses as they most likely lack financial capacities. Therefore, our plan is to target large businesses, that potentially already have sustainability targets, and possibly even partners that they work with. Nowadays for large companies, ethical and moral value can and does translate into economic value. Companies use social engagement and sustainability for marketing purposes, because in today's climate, it is an increasingly common idea, that it is right to spend more on sustainability-oriented products, and the higher price justifies values and ideals that you are upholding.
One of the most common examples of this is when companies launch advertising campaigns to promote a new product, to remain recognisable to the catchment area and, to make the company's values known to the market from a sustainable perspective. In this case, Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and advertising campaigns come together; companies strive to 'give back' to society, attract socially aware consumers, seek to retain the same consumers and employees, promote issues awareness and achieve long-term economic returns, without forgetting the ethical, social and moral value.
It is indisputable to recognise that companies tend to operate with a view to financial gain, but it is possible to exploit this property to enhance and prioritize human value and this project can be a big step in this direction."
Working students, Companies, NGOs :
Make a difference in the lives of others and benefit from it !
Make a difference in the lives of others and benefit from it !
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