Skoll Foundation

CEO Sally Osberg snapped this photo today at the United States Capitol, where  Congressional leaders presented  the founder of the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, with the Congressional Gold Medal.

“It takes genius to do something simple, and Muhammad Yunus is a genius,” Sen. Dick Durbin said during the ceremony.

Yunus was honored because of his “efforts to combat global poverty,” and has also won the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Nobel Peace Prize. Those are besides many other awards, including our Global Treasure Award just last week at the Skoll World Forum.

Here’s a new interview with Yunus from the New York Times’ Fixes column: “Yunus is best known for his work pioneering and spreading microfinance. Today, microfinance providers reach about 200 million clients globally. In Bangladesh, the Grameen Bank has 8.4 million borrowers, 96 percent women. Yunus has also developed many other enterprises that offer an array of products and services to the poor, including Grameen Phone, the largest cellphone operator in the country. Over the past two years, his work has come under attack by the government of Bangladesh, which we have reported on here, here and here in Fixes. Below, in an interview conducted a few days ago, Yunus reflects on his life, the role of social business, and the importance of imagination in creating a poverty-free world.”

Read the rest: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/beyond-profit-a-talk-with-muhammad-yunus/

CEO Sally Osberg mentions eight Skoll awardees as examples of how social entrepreneurs are delivering new solutions to global problems in her latest op-ed. An excerpt:

“Imagine that you are a mother living in a village in rural Gambia. At least one of your eight children will probably die before reaching the age of five. It doesn’t matter that there are vaccines or treatments for the disease that will take your child—measles, hepatitis, diarrhea, or perhaps HIV. What you know is that it’s a ten-kilometer walk to the health clinic. When you arrive, you’re likely to find a sign saying the nurse couldn’t get there that day.

Andrea and Barry Coleman, stars in the world of motorcycle racing, saw the problem when they went to Africa to support the work of children’s charities. It wasn’t lack of medicine or healthcare workers. Rather, what was missing were the parts, mechanics, and maintenance for vehicles taking workers and supplies to villages and clinics. The couple wept over wasted vehicles rusting behind health-ministry offices, then returned home and mortgaged their house to found Riders for Health, a reliable, scalable vehicle-maintenance system for healthcare delivery.

The story of Riders for Health is a story of social entrepreneurship.”

Read the rest: http://www.forbes.com/sites/skollworldforum/2013/04/08/how-social-entrepreneurs-deliver-new-solutions-to-global-problems/

Kofi Annan making us laugh.

Four powerful women.

Empowering images.

Those are some memories of the closing plenary, which Stephan Chambers so eloquently emceed, sharing his favorite moments from the Forum.

Annan, who spent his entire career at the United Nations, shared examples of UN employees who were trailblazers and innovators. “You can find innovators in strange places,” he said to audience laughter. He shared lessons he learned from his time at the UN, including: New ideas lead to resistance; give it time; the more people, the more the chance for success; and with determination and inventiveness, we can overcome the biggest barriers.” read more

Initiative Will Expand Successful Monitoring and Management System to Combat Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon 

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today the first breakthrough social enterprise to be supported by the Innovation Investment Alliance—a new Global Development Alliance with the Skoll Foundation.

The organization, Imazon, is a non-profit that uses satellite technology to monitor and track deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Led by seasoned entrepreneurs, Adalberto Veríssimo and Carlos Souza Jr.—both recognized leaders in rainforest conservation—Imazon also strengthens government efforts to find areas at risk for deforestation within municipalities, and motivate landowners to reduce deforestation.

“The Skoll Foundation has supported Imazon since 2010 because of its leadership in reversing deforestation in places like Paragominas, an area once considered the epicenter of Amazon destruction,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. “With this grant from USAID and the Skoll Foundation’s own investment in the initiative, Imazon will scale their efforts in the Brazilian state of Para, an area three times the size of California.”  read more

What a voice!

Those were Sally Osberg’s words when Annie Lennox left the stage Thursday night after receiving her Honorary Skoll Award. Inspired by those words, I am summing up the 2013 Skoll Awards Ceremony with them. What. A. Voice.

Our six Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship awardees—Gemma Mortensen, Carne Ross, Chris Underhill, Mushtaq Chhapra, Sal Khan and Gopi Gopalakrishnan—give voice to the voiceless. After watching short videos showing how they are empowering people stuck in war, helping the poor who are mentally ill, giving children an education, and helping the poor access healthcare, each awardee gave a short speech sharing how they do what they do, how the Skoll Award money will help them, and inspiring us with real stories from the field. We can’t wait until they are here on video and you can watch them all!

The Skoll Foundation gave a Global Treasure Award to Muhammad Yunus, who talked about “the unlimited creative power and creative potential of human beings.”

The evening’s entertainment included enchanting song by soprano Monica Yunus (Muhammad’s daughter!) and Festival in Exile of Mali.

A magical, inspiring ceremony that left everyone invigorated to change the world like the eight social entrepreneurs we honored.

Wednesday at the Skoll World Forum opening plenary, Harvard Business School Professor Michael E Porter gave a presentation about the new Social Progress Imperative and announced there would be big news: here it is, the official press release! (At 2 p.m. BST Thursday, learn more about it in a Skoll World Forum session that will be streamed online). 

Team led by Harvard Business School Professor Michael E Porter designed index to guide national policies and investments, and shows social progress is about much more than economic growth

(April 11 2013) Oxford, United Kingdom — Sweden is the most socially advanced country globally according to a new index released today at the Skoll World Forum, the premier international platform for accelerating entrepreneurial approaches and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing social issues. Britain is ranked second, above Germany, which ranks fifth, the United States, sixth, and Japan, eighth.

The Social Progress Index, which ranked 50 countries by their social and environmental performance, was designed by Professor Porter and The Social Progress Imperative. They are working in collaboration with economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and leading international organisations in social entrepreneurship, business, philanthropy, and academia including Cisco, Compartamos Banco, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Fundación AVINA, and Skoll Foundation.

read more

We’re thrilled to be in Oxford at the tenth Skoll World Forum. In just three hours (at 5 p.m. BST), you can watch our opening plenary livestreaming here: http://skollworldforum.org/forum-2013/live/

If you’re in the area and want to attend one of our plenaries or awards ceremony, tickets are here ($45 each): http://forumplenaries.ticketleap.com

A Flikr stream of photos from the Forum are here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/44608864@N08/

To learn more about this year’s Forum: http://skollworldforum.org/forum-2013/2013-programme/

We want to tell you about a new book, “Creating Good Work: The World’s Leading Social Entrepreneurs Show How to Build a Healthy Economy,” by Ron Schultz. Experts in the field of social entrepreneurship share their experience, knowledge and wisdom. They give examples of how they overcame barriers to create a lasting impact on the world.

Skoll Awardees who contributed to the book include Karen Tse, Jim Fruchterman, Bart Weetjens, Dorothy Stoneman, Rebecca Onie and Willy Foote. WITNESS, a Skoll Awardee, was represented by WITNESS Senior Communications Manager Coco Chang.

“The lessons contained in this volume are an asset to any social entrepreneur looking for new and innovative ways to have a positive impact and change the world around them, be they at their initial concept phase or a successful venture looking to expand their sphere of influence,” Schultz says.

Learn more about the CGW book, published by Palgrave Macmillian, at www.creatinggoodwork.com.

Skoll Foundation portfolio principal David Rothschild just published a piece on both the Skoll World Forum and Reuters Foundation Alertnet on deforestation. An excerpt:

“A few weeks ago the Skoll World Forum hosted an online debate on how increased global consumption can be balanced with sustainability. The debate asks how a rapidly growing world that is ever consuming can hope to feed everyone, and at the same time address the deforestation that is emitting massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and destroying the world’s greatest tropical forests.  Many contributors made very strong points—even contradicting one another in their approaches and ideas.

The question is daunting, and can seem both overwhelming and discouraging if one thinks about how rapidly the world population is increasing, destined to reach 9 billion by 2050. The question becomes even more challenging when one considers the massive numbers of people entering the lower middle classes, for example in China and India, and their ever increasing consumption patterns including more and more meat, a major driver of deforestation.  Imagine a doubling of the world’s population coupled with a doubling of the world’s consumption: two times two equals four.  Can we really consume four times more and still destroy less tropical forests?

I will start by saying I am not a pessimistic person.  I have been working on tropical forest issues for over 20 years, and I have never been as optimistic about the plight of the world’s tropical forests as I am today.  Just 10 years ago, deforestation seemed out of control.  Billions of dollars was being spent to save the world’s tropical forests, and yet their destruction increased every year. In 2003 and 2004, the years when Amazon deforestation rates peaked, I was living in the Bolivian Amazon along the border with Brazil.  There were entire weeks when the sun seemed to be struggling to burn through a constant haze of smoke from the seemingly endless forest burning.  Despite this, those of us working to save tropical forests made a few gains. But back then, even as gains were made, deforestation continued.  Indigenous peoples gained more rights to their lands. Deforestation continued. Protected areas and biodiversity hot spots were set aside for protection. Deforestation increased.

But something has changed since those times.”

Read the rest: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/blogs/climate-conversations/how-to-balance-forests-and-food

Our staff is gearing up for the Skoll World Forum in Oxford, England next week — some of us are already in Oxford, others are leaving very soon.

Each year, nearly 1,000 of the world’s most influential social entrepreneurs, key thought leaders and strategic partners gather at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford to exchange ideas, solutions and information. What’s in store this year? Kofi Annan will speak at the closing plenary on Friday, Annie Lennox and Muhammad Yunus will receive special awards, we’re launching a book in partnership with HarperOne, we’re giving the Skoll Award to six new awardees, and much more.

If you’re not attending the entire Forum, you can purchase tickets for $45 each to the plenaries and awards ceremony here: http://forumplenaries.ticketleap.com

Or watch our live stream from your computer starting April 10: http://skollworldforum.org/forum-2013/live/

To learn more about this year’s Forum: http://skollworldforum.org/forum-2013/2013-programme/

The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is the premier international platform for advancing entrepreneurial approaches and solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Our mission is to accelerate the impact of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs by uniting them with essential partners in a collaborative pursuit of learning, leverage and large-scale social change.

Co-produced by the Skoll Foundation and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, the Forum shines a spotlight on best practices, new innovations and connecting leaders to one another to further global social progress. Forum delegates represent nearly 65 countries and participate in a range of interactive events in inspiring Oxford locations. We provide a unique platform for delegates to openly share, collaborate, innovate and ultimately, advance social entrepreneurship.

The Washington Post just did an article about the Surui, the first indigenous tribe in the Amazon and globally to earn carbon credits under internationally recognized standards for capturing carbon in trees. Forest Trends and the Amazon Conservation Team were quoted as experts. Here’s an excerpt:

“As a small boy in the early ’80s, Almir Surui hunted monkeys with a bow and arrow, wore a loincloth and struggled with Brazil’s official language, Portuguese.

At 38, he is the tech-savvy, ­university-educated chief of the Paiter Surui, or “the real people,” of this western corner of Brazil.

He can still handle a bow. But Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui says his weapon of choice is technology: Android phones to monitor illegal logging, hand-held Global Positioning System devices to map territory and Google Earth Outreach to show the world what a well-managed forest looks like.

Wielding the tools of the 21st century, the 1,300-member tribe has delved into a complex scheme in which governments or companies pay for forest preservation, contributing to a system that, if fully realized, would help end large-scale deforestation. By determining how much carbon is prevented from being released if the trees on Surui lands are left standing, the tribe hopes to sell carbon credits internationally to offset greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries.”

Read the rest: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazilian-chief-uses-technology-to-help-save-his-tribe-and-curb-deforestation/2013/03/26/097b9338-84e7-11e2-a80b-3edc779b676f_story.html

Skoll Awardee Free the Children launched in the U.S. yesterday, with a model of earning entry through service.

And it was incredible.

Imagine 15,000 middle-and-high schoolers from across the state, screaming, cheering, to inspiring speeches from people such as Martin Luther King III and J.R. Martinez.

None of them bought a ticket – they earn their way in through service by making a commitment to take one local and one global action throughout the year as part of the “We Act” program. We Act supports students and educators with free student-led campaigns and support materials to help turn the event’s inspiration into sustainable change. Together, We Day and We Act provide a blueprint for raising a generation of active global citizens.

“Why we created the We Day is so that no one ever doubts that youths can change the world,” Craig Kielburger said in a press conference.

The event was co-sponsored by Microsoft and Amway, in partnership with the Seattle Seahawks. On stage, Amway announced a new contest. Over the next 10 weeks, applications will be asked to share stories of leadership in community service and 10 winners will receive $10,000 to apply towards the cause of their choice. The top five of those 10 winners will receive a trip to We Day Minnesota on October 8 for themselves and a friend.

We Day is an effective model for Free the Children to enter a new market and expand its mission. They use We Day as an entry into a new school system, to ultimately change the behavior of young people, which lasts throughout their lives.

Based on the young people there yesterday, it looks like this model will be a success, and we look forward to seeing what they do next.

Learn more:

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020655356_wedaycoveragexml.html

http://enumclaw.patch.com/articles/enumclaw-students-attend-we-day-seattle

http://www.weday.com/2013/03/28/we_day_seattle/

Today is World Water Day, so we thought it fitting to share some new water-related stories from our awardees.

Water for People:

In The Christian Science Monitor, Ned Breslin talks about water sustainability.

“‘People are walking past broken taps and going back to polluted water sources,’” Breslin told the CS Monitor. Up to 60 percent of water projects fail within 18 months to two years, Water for People says. “‘[The problem goes] way beyond just banging in infrastructure.’”

In a separate op-ed, his colleague, John Sauer, wrote a blog on Devex.com:
“This World Water Day, on March 22, you will most likely hear that the attention of the global community is now shifting to the post-Millennium Development Goal priority of universal coverage for WASH. With this transition, monitoring must also shift focus, away from the previous indicator of access, toward long-term outcomes focused on ongoing service delivery. This means looking beyond ‘projects’ funded and beneficiaries reached and instead looking at systematic capacity building within government, civil society and private sector institutions. If those involved with WASH programs could better demonstrate their impact – for example using indicators to show capacity built with local partners – this would be progress…
Organizations across the WASH sector are rethinking their role in catalyzing the delivery of water and sanitation services. The water and sanitation crisis is still vast and much more work is needed. New studies suggest that the crisis is far worse than previously reported with as many as four billion people affected by poor sanitation conditions and as many as 1.8 billion people without reliable water services.

Water.org:

In the New York Times Room for Debate series on celebrities and causes, Gary White give a brief but poignant post, noting that “nonprofit leaders should not become obsessed with finding the celebrity connection they believe will allow them to get the funding, marketing or scale they desire. Instead, they should look for a variety of people with complementary talents that form the right mix. This way, an organization will thrive in more ways than one, and drive real and meaningful social change.”

There is also an interesting piece on Inventor Spot about  Matt Damon’s choices to use humor to highlight the water issue and water.org

The author quotes Damon: “The concept of experimenting with comedy to generate new levels of awareness and participation in the cause is something we’ve been toying with for a couple of years,” said Damon. “If Sarah Silverman and I can generate millions of views on YouTube for something ridiculous, then we should be able to do better for one of the most important and solvable issues of our time.”

President Obama is in the Middle East today, so we thought it fitting to share this blog from Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of Friends of the Earth Middle East. Here’s an excerpt, co-written by Oded Eran of the Institute for National Security Studies:

“The Israeli-Palestinian political process has been stalled for too long. It could soon be replaced by a third Intifada or a Palestinian version of the Arab Spring. If the renewed Obama Administration wants to try and avoid this possible turn of events, it has to change the paradigm that has guided all previous efforts to reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 1993 Oslo Accords. All of these efforts were predicated on the premise that a simultaneous solution to the three core issues — Jerusalem, borders and refugees — is attainable. It is time to change the paradigm.

Israelis remain divided between those who wish for a two state solution and those who want just one state all under Israeli control. Palestinians remain divided geographically and politically, between Gaza/Hamas and West Bank/Fatah. The longer it takes to resume the negotiations, the more difficult it will be to attain the two-state solution. Tackling the toughest issues first , such as Jerusalem, have proven to only prolong the stalemate.”

Read the rest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/oded-eran/obama-israel-palestine_b_2883257.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Seattle Times journalists went to West Bengal and did an in-depth front page story on two Landesa projects in West Bengal (a Girls Project and a Micro-plot Project), and included background about Landesa’s history. “Seattle-based nonprofit Landesa teaches girls in impoverished villages of India how to garden small plots of land, in hopes they can help their families and, for some, forestall early marriage,” they wrote.

This piece was part of a wide-ranging and compelling front-page Seattle Times series, which also includes:
o A thoughtful front page profile of Roy Prosterman, Landesa’s founder
o A beautiful photo essay that includes images of those Landesa serves, taken by the Seattle Times photographer during her trip to West Bengal: http://seattletimes.com/html/picturethis/2020485595_westbeng.html

In today’s San Jose Mercury News, Skoll Foundation CEO Sally Osberg and Founder Jeff Skoll published an opinion piece called, “McDonald’s signals good news for sustainable fishing.”

An excerpt:
“The restaurant has teamed up with the nonprofit Marine Stewardship Council to certify that all its fish offerings, including its new Fish McBites, are sustainably sourced. It’s the first national chain to exclusively serve certified sustainable seafood.”Fans of McDonald’s iconic ‘Filet-o-Fish’ may notice a new blue label on their sandwich wrappers.

This is a huge victory in the fight to preserve the world’s fish resources. McDonald’s sells about 300 million Filet-O-Fish sandwiches annually. Credible certification programs like the council’s provide a tangible reward to companies that are conducting their business responsibly and simultaneously improving the environment.”

Read the rest: http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_22775756/jeff-skoll-and-sally-osberg-mcdonalds-signals-good

and learn more about the partnership: http://www.skollfoundation.org/mcdonalds-usa-first-national-restaurant-chain-to-serve-msc-certified-sustainable-fish-at-all-u-s-locations/

We’re thrilled to announce Pamela Hartigan’s new Huffington Post blog, which she will update twice a month on topics related to social entrepreneurship. Pamela is the director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. Here is an excerpt from her first blog:

“It’s that time of year when the ‘stars’ come out in full regalia, prefaced by inordinate media attention to prepare us for the BAFTAs (British Awards for Film, Television and the Arts), the Grammys, and the Oscars. But there is another raft of awards that receives much less media attention, yet would make for some of the most riveting and inspiring screen scripts.

This is the time of year when the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, the Echoing Green finalists, the Schwab Foundation Entrepreneurs of the Year awards are announced, highlighting those men and women who have combined innovation, resourcefulness and opportunity to transform the lives of people and the planet. Skoll, Schwab and Echoing Green are well known entities in the social entrepreneurship world, and to be recognized by them opens doors to the many types of resources these entrepreneurs so desperately need to continue to magnify their transformational impact.”

Read the rest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-hartigan/the-promise-of-entrepreneuring_b_2855160.html