Social Entrepreneurship in the Context of Business and Disability Studies.

This paper is based on my dissertation ‘Social Entrepreneurship in the Context of Business and Disability Studies’, written for the Commerce and Marketing BSc Programme of the Budapest Business School. From the perspective of Disability Studies, the phenomenon of disability is not intrinsically a medical question but rather one of social and human rights. People are disabled because their rights are violated, and they do not receive the appropriate support they require to be a full member of society. To address this issue, the Independent Living movement of disabled people has demanded social services and regulations. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) drafted by the UN became the most important protocol for identifying and safeguarding the rights of disabled people. My research focuses on how social enterprises employing people with disabilities can support independent living as well as strengthening a national economy. As a disabled person myself, I conducted desk research by analysing literature on the theory of independent living, the employment of people with disabilities, and the companies that employ them. To further reinforce my point, I discussed best practices that combine these different approaches. The Hungarian Para-gastro movement is a group of social enterprises that all operate in the gastronomy sector, employing persons with disabilities in a sustainable way.