Social Entrepreneurship Talk with Zeynep Bodur Okyay

By Ezgi Buse Coşkun and Ayseli Karabekmez

İbrahim Bodur is a name familiar to Robert College students since it's the name of RC's very own library. İbrahim Bodur is an important entrepreneur whose ideologies aim to transform the current system and prioritize social impact instead of profiting through his business. His daughter, Zeynep Bodur Okyay, is an activist and an entrepreneur who continues to follow her father's legacy through her business. Last month, Robert College Social Entrepreneurship Innovation and Creativity Office organized an inspiring event in which they invited Zeynep Bodur to exchange ideas with RC's young social entrepreneurs. This event’s main goal was to reshape the learning hierarchy of ages and prove everyone has something to teach and learn.

Before the event, RC SEIC and RC Social Entrepreneurship Club members gathered to create questions to ask the president and CEO Zeynep Bodur and Zeynep Özler, Corporate Communications Manager at Kale Group Companies. During these sessions, they practiced collective thinking and reflected on important sources from Harvard Business Review. The questions created by the young changemakers aimed to both challenge the entrepreneurs transforming the business ecosystem at large scales and learn from them. On the day of the event, Aybike Oğuz, head of RC SEIC, gave an opening speech, in which she drew attention to the importance of having a social entrepreneurship skill set. She also emphasized that social entrepreneurship should become a habit, not a privilege and that every high school student should graduate by gaining these skills, no matter what discipline they decide to pursue. Believing that everyone has the potential to make a difference and that different communities should support the entrepreneurship ecosystem, Oğuz stated that it is precious to have participants from various school departments in the event. Following this opening speech, Bodur talked about her journey as a changemaker, transforming the ecosystem, and Kale Group's contributions to this process. "I want to have a focused and meaningful life that will leave a mark behind me. It is this impulse that makes me come to work happy, enthusiastic," said Bodur, emphasizing the value of having a vision and purpose through one's life. For Bodur, being a CEO who demonstrates a sensitive and responsible leadership model and fulfilling the responsibility towards her country and stakeholders is crucial for having a meaningful life. When she was asked how she manages to be a successful CEO, she said, "I am focusing on my responsibilities, not the issues." According to Bodur, having the consciousness to give back to society, coping with the different points of view, being self-reliant while getting support from others, and embracing vulnerabilities among the uncertainty of situations are very valuable. Although she believes the individuals sharing these qualities are great fits to make a change in the current system, she also emphasizes the companies' power with the right values to reshape the ongoing cycle. Stating that the community she works with provides excellent convenience for creating change, Bodur underlined that Kale Group, a company founded on values such as vulnerability, belonging, and trust, places great importance on social impact. Another person in this inclusive community at Kale Group is Zeynep Özler, a graduate of RC'98. Özler started her speech by emphasizing the value RC holds in her life journey as she said, "Robert College has created a social entrepreneurship mindset for me. I learned how to ask questions and to express what I know in any environment. I don't pretend to be convinced of anything that doesn't make sense to me." Later she highlighted the importance of prioritizing the search for meaning in life, and crossing paths with people and companies with similar goals is precious. Özler stated that one has to find the potential within; and being creative, courageous, and unique are essential qualities.

Zeynep Bodur Okyay

After hearing about Zeynep Bodur and Özler's journey and learning more about İbrahim Bodur's life, it was time for the students to share their questions and insights. During this part of the program, the students asked questions regarding concepts a business should have. Such as the sustainability of the values inherited in a company. Bodur explained that those values should always be in the process of being questioned while staying connected to certain rituals. The method of change shouldn't be a destructive journey but rather enriching. One of the concepts they discussed was conscious "ecosystem", which is a relatively new term to the business world; however, Kale Group practices this, and Bodur explained that it is when you think about something bigger than yourself and approach business with the sense of justice, equality, and empathy. People who search for harmony and virtue of these values believe in following the path of a "conscious ecosystem in their business world.” Bodur also said that the Kale group tries to practice self-criticism and corporate criticism; by attending awareness training. Another critical question directed to Bodur was if the local social impact could be converted into social paradigm change? She answered that she hopes that's the case and that a paradigm change is inevitable, and the society should be ready to adapt. The impact is already growing with the cooperation between NGOs and social entrepreneurship. The current system that is dominant in the overall business world is an ecosystem, which is the case in the education system. RC students wanted to learn if this education system could be changed into an ecosystem during COVID-19 times. Bodur acknowledged that the pandemic had highlighted the socio-economic differences, resulting in chaos. She claimed education should depend on empathy, curiosity, and passion; however, that's currently not the case. Bodur's response to this was that it was her dream to create such a space for young changemakers and that she's looking forward to that.

The event successfully created a space without a learning hierarchy, there was a great exchange of ideas between the students and important names like Zeynep Bodur and Zeynep Özler from Kale Group companies. Hosting these names that are so valuable to the RC community and can transform the ecosystem on a large scale is an indication that the school administration has taken great strides in supporting the young changemakers within. This event, which broadened the horizons of and inspired all community members, was a gathering where all participants left with important lessons and messages and refreshed their entrepreneurial spirit.