March 28, 2005

Hollywood, Business and University Leaders Converge With Social Entrepreneurs at Oxford University

PALO ALTO, Calif. – March 28, 2005 – Social entrepreneurs from around the world will link up with leading figures from Hollywood, big business, philanthropy and academia this week to discuss the importance of leveraging networks for social change at the second annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

More than 600 participants from 40 countries and six continents are scheduled to attend the conference from March 30 to April 1 at Saïd Business School, which is part of Oxford University in England. The conference will focus on “Making Networks Work,” exploring the crucial roles that networks play for social entrepreneurs and their supporters from many angles, including media networks, academic networks and funding networks, all of which contribute to the success of a social enterprise.

“Social entrepreneurs know that their own charisma and drive are not enough to transform society,” explained Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, which created the Forum and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, where the event takes place. “By activating networks, social entrepreneurs can accomplish far more than they can alone,” she said.

Social entrepreneurs are extraordinary individuals who dedicate their lives to creating new solutions that result in lasting improvements to communities around the world. Unlike traditional business entrepreneurs, who operate on a profit model, their motivation is to improve society.

Although the conference is fully booked, the public can join in the dialogue before, during and after the event on Social Edge, a Skoll-sponsored Web site at www.socialedge.org, where social entrepreneurs and other practitioners in the social sector connect to network, learn, inspire one another and share resources.

Among the highlights of the Skoll World Forum will be:

• A panel on the use of media networks in nontraditional ways to achieve social impact that features Jeff Skoll, founder of the Skoll Foundation and CEO of Participant Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films and documentaries; Jake Eberts, producer of “Gandhi,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Chariots of Fire”; and Peter Samuelson, founder of First Star Public Policy Initiative and the producer of “Arlington Road.” Sir Ben Kingsley, who won an Academy Award for his role in “Gandhi,” also will participate in the Forum.
• Fresh perspectives from social entrepreneurs from around the world, including Ann Cotton of CAMFED, which promotes education of girls in sub-Saharan Africa; Martin Burt of Fundacion Paraguaya, which helps entrepreneurs create jobs in Paraguay; Gillian Caldwell of Witness, which puts video cameras into the hands of human rights activists; Stan Thekaekara, founder of Just Change India and leader of the nongovernmental organizations’ tsunami relief effort in southern India, and Margrethe Juncker, who works on HIV/AIDS education in Uganda and Cambodia
• Presentations by leaders in the field, such as Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka; Jerr Boschee, founder and Executive Director of The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs; Charles Leadbeater, writer and policy adviser; Charles Handy, management guru; and Will Hutton, economist, writer and author.
• A discussion with broadcasting leaders, including Pat Mitchell, CEO of the Public Broadcasting System and Michael Hastings, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for the BBC, on the role of public broadcasters in inspiring independent citizen action
• A panel about the opportunity for social entrepreneurships, chaired by Ian Goldin, Vice President of the World Bank, and featuring Kamran Elahian, technology entrepreneur and Chairman of the Global Catalyst Foundation, and David Bornstein, author of “How to Change the World”
• A dialogue on social sector funding networks, led by management guru Charles Handy, with social action funders from Latin America, North America and Europe, to reveal how they assess risk and what motivates them to invest for social change
• An award ceremony honoring recent recipients of Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship that also features a sneak preview of “The New Heroes,” a Skoll-sponsored documentary series about social entrepreneurs that is being produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting and will air on PBS this summer

Those unable to attend the Skoll World Forum may access the content and participate online at www.socialedge.org, which will feature Webcasts from the Forum and blogs from conference attendees. Through March 29, Social Edge is hosting pre-conference networking and discussion on funding networks, media networks and academic networks. Following the Forum, from April 5 to 12, Social Edge will offer a “Reciprocity Network” that invites visitors to offer or request goods and services that are essential for getting a social venture off the ground.

The Skoll World Forum is the largest gathering of social pioneers, thought leaders, academics and social venture professionals with an active involvement or interest in social entrepreneurship. It is designed to support learning that will help social entrepreneurs do their work and also to promote research and education in the field.

About the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship

The Skoll Centre was launched in November 2003 at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University, to promote the advancement of social entrepreneurship worldwide. It was created with a donation by the Skoll Foundation. The Skoll grant supports an endowed lectureship, a director for the Centre’s activities, visiting fellows and five MBA Skoll Scholarships for students who want to apply entrepreneurial strategies to effect sustainable social change.

About the Skoll Foundation

Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., the Skoll Foundation was created in 1999 by Jeff Skoll, the first employee and first president of eBay. Its mission is to advance systemic change in communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs, who are individuals dedicated to pioneering new solutions that result in lasting improvements to complex social problems.

The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through three award programs. The foundation connects social entrepreneurs through its online community, Social Edge, at www.socialedge.org, and via the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through projects such as a four-part public television documentary called “The New Heroes” that will be broadcast in 2005. For more information, visit www.skollfoundation.org.

To the Editor:

For a listing of events and speakers, download this PDF file

For a listing of speakers, click here

For speaker biographies, click here.

For information about the $9.5 million in awards that the Skoll Foundation announced last week, click here

For a biography of Jeff Skoll, click here