Jeff Skoll's DVD Introduction for The New Heroes

Hello, my name is Jeff Skoll.

In a few minutes I'm going to turn over the job of hosting this program to my friend Robert Redford. But first I would like to tell you some of the story behind the program you are about to see.

In the 1990's I helped to create a company called eBay that made it possible for people to trade, discover common interests, and foster community. eBay's success was founded on our belief that people are basically good and can be trusted to do the right thing not only for themselves, but also for the world around them.

Today, I continue to be guided by that belief. It is at the core of what we do through the Skoll Foundation and through my media company, Participant Productions, both of which are dedicated to bringing about positive social change. Let me tell you just a bit about how I came to think as I do, and what I believe we can do together.

When I was growing up in Canada, I could see that the world was headed in a dangerous direction. Drugs, diseases, environmental problems, crime - things just seemed to be getting worse. Furthermore, it seemed to me that the widening gap between rich and poor seemed to exacerbate these problems.

As I grew older, it dawned on me that it didn't have to be this way wealthy nations and people who have more than they need actually have the ability to change this situation for the better.

What is required are new solutions to big, complex problems and people with the courage and determination to make a difference.

THE NEW HEROES tells the stories of extraordinary men and women hard at work proving, every day in every corner of the world, what can be done. Where others see problems, they see solutions. They develop new tools, design new business models, and unleash human potential. They are society's change agents, people we call social entrepreneurs.

They are not entrepreneurs in the usual sense - focused on a bottom line. Social entrepreneurs measure their bottom line in lives saved, in societies and systems transformed. Social entrepreneurs are in the business of building better communities and a better world.

I believe THE NEW HEROES, and other social entrepreneurs like them around the world are our best bet to create a more peaceful, prosperous and hopeful world. And it's in our best interest to get behind them, in whatever way we can.

I want to thank our host for bringing us together for what I trust you will find is an important and inspiring program. And then I invite you to join me in supporting these new heroes, in whatever way you can, with whatever contribution feels right. The Skoll Foundation will match contributions made through the GlobalGiving Web site, our way of affirming that this is a partnership. Together, you and I and people like the new heroes you're about to meet, can build that better world. Thanks for watching.

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