Jeff Skoll “All of us are in a race” (and what wooden boats have to do with it)
Jeff Skoll gives opening remarks at the Skoll World Forum 2008. He bought an original picture of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the forum and talks about its symbolism.
With: Jeff Skoll
Thank you. Thank you all very much. Thank you so much for coming here this year, and to Stephan Chambers, thank you for those kind words and I've read over Shelly's job description but the hours were a little long, so I'm not so sure about that. Once again, the staff of the Said Business School and the entire Oxford community have come together to be wonderful hosts this year.
And I'd like to say a special thanks to Stephan Chambers, to Liz Nelson, to Alex Nicholls and the entire Skoll community, the entire Skoll center team for their hard work. As you just heard, this is the fifth year of the Skoll World Forum on Social Sntrepreneurship. Oxford has been a wonderful host.
But this a tough place to recognize the fifth year of anything. After all this University has been around for almost a thousand years. and it's kind of like bragging to Warren Buffet that you've just won five dollars in the lottery. But, as you may know, we have an established tradition here of giving creative gifts to the leadership of the school in a way to say thank you.
And I wanted to do something really special this year. As it turned out the traditional gift for the fifth year is wood. So, I went on to eBay to see what I could find. And, one idea, was a listing for firewood, because nothing says you've come a long way like a stack of burning logs. Another idea was a nice coatrack. But I'm guessing that those who give coatracks for the fifth anniversary don't make it to the tenth.
I even became so desperate that I looked at a very unique. A hand carved wooden celtic love spoon. But then I remembered that this Saturday, March twenty ninth, the day after this forum comes to a close, Oxford squares off against Cambridge in the 154th rowing of the annual boat race. And as fortune would have it, I came across an original wood-engraved, linen print of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race, that was printed in the Graphic Magazine on March 29, 1890.
And the print is titled, "Here They Come." Let me see if I can show it to you. Can you see that? Yeah. And there are two reasons why I like it. The first is that it is a good reminder that all of us are in a race, a race against poverty, a race against climate change, and a race against disease. The second reason, if you look at the giant clouds of smoke that are rising from a few of the engines on the water is that the causes of global warming have been with us for a very long time and we need to be the generation that puts an end to it, and best of all, the price was twelve pounds, which at current exchange rates translates to only four hundred American dollars.
Finally, in 1890, not only that Oxford beat Cambridge, but it also kicked off a nine year Oxford winning streak, one of the longest in history. So, may this print help history repeat itself. So, Stephen, this is yours. Thank you. It's my honor to join Stephen Chambers and welcome you all to the fifth annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.
The seven hundred or so men and women that you see sitting around with you today come from more than forty different countries on six continents. And even though "Here they come." works well on this print it may not be the best title for this forum. I think it's safe to say once and for all "here we are, here we are." Social entrepreneurs have arrived.
And it's hard to imagine that it was just two years ago when I described social entrepreneurs as one of the world's best kept secrets. Well the secret is out and here are a few examples. Several weeks ago a businessman gave a keynote address at the World Economic Forum, in which he called for a huge expansion in what he called "Creative Capitalism." A concept that draws liberally from social entrepreneurship.
Another example, last April, a television host devoted a whole show to profiling three ground-breaking social entrepreneurs and drawing attention to their projects. Finally, a few months ago, an American politician gave a speech in which he proposed creating a national social entrepreneurship agency.
And if you're wondering, "how much influence can these three people have?" Well, what if I told you that the businessman was Bill Gates. TV host was Oprah Winfrey and the politician was Barack Obama. And when you have the world's biggest economic political land social figures coming together to talk about an idea at the same time, you know that that idea has arrived.
And, I'm delighted that so many of the most innovative minds in this field have come together with us again this week to advance the conversation. Three years ago Muhammad Yunus gave a keynote speech here, and the next year Yunus went on to win the Noble Peace Prize. Two years ago Al Gore spoke here, and the next year Al went on to win the Nobel peace prize.
Coincidence? And so as we all gather here for the fifth time There's no question social entrepreneurs today have more headlines, more awards, more advocates, and more allies than ever, and all that is vitally important, because, the one that we don't have more of, that we desperately need, is time.
On climate change, on clean drinking water, on poverty, on education, on HIV/AIDS, on global pandemics, we are racing against the clock. And, I'm afraid if the clock is winning. And, if we don't act quickly enough to act together as a planet, a decade from now, we may be facing unbelievable humanitarian disasters the likes of which we've never seen, but we are all here because we know it's not too late to reverse these trends.
But it's going to take people who are passionate, who are creative, and above all, people who are completely incapable of understanding the words, it's impossible. It can't be done, or why bother even trying? In other words, people just like all of you. As I've often said, social entrepreneurs have two kinds of power The first, is the power to bring specific change through the work that you do.
And the other, is the power to inspire, to bring other people and organizations to work together to skill solutions and to find new ways to solve problems. As Nicholas Kristof recently wrote in the New York Times, after attending the World Economic Forum, today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs: those who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in a new way.
There is no limit to the number of social entrepreneurs who can make this planet a better place. Well, we need your power today, more than ever. For all of these problems are waiting to be solved. And we arrive in Oxford, this week, to say, "Here we are. Here we are." Thank you and welcome.
And I'd like to say a special thanks to Stephan Chambers, to Liz Nelson, to Alex Nicholls and the entire Skoll community, the entire Skoll center team for their hard work. As you just heard, this is the fifth year of the Skoll World Forum on Social Sntrepreneurship. Oxford has been a wonderful host.
But this a tough place to recognize the fifth year of anything. After all this University has been around for almost a thousand years. and it's kind of like bragging to Warren Buffet that you've just won five dollars in the lottery. But, as you may know, we have an established tradition here of giving creative gifts to the leadership of the school in a way to say thank you.
And I wanted to do something really special this year. As it turned out the traditional gift for the fifth year is wood. So, I went on to eBay to see what I could find. And, one idea, was a listing for firewood, because nothing says you've come a long way like a stack of burning logs. Another idea was a nice coatrack. But I'm guessing that those who give coatracks for the fifth anniversary don't make it to the tenth.
I even became so desperate that I looked at a very unique. A hand carved wooden celtic love spoon. But then I remembered that this Saturday, March twenty ninth, the day after this forum comes to a close, Oxford squares off against Cambridge in the 154th rowing of the annual boat race. And as fortune would have it, I came across an original wood-engraved, linen print of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race, that was printed in the Graphic Magazine on March 29, 1890.
And the print is titled, "Here They Come." Let me see if I can show it to you. Can you see that? Yeah. And there are two reasons why I like it. The first is that it is a good reminder that all of us are in a race, a race against poverty, a race against climate change, and a race against disease. The second reason, if you look at the giant clouds of smoke that are rising from a few of the engines on the water is that the causes of global warming have been with us for a very long time and we need to be the generation that puts an end to it, and best of all, the price was twelve pounds, which at current exchange rates translates to only four hundred American dollars.
Finally, in 1890, not only that Oxford beat Cambridge, but it also kicked off a nine year Oxford winning streak, one of the longest in history. So, may this print help history repeat itself. So, Stephen, this is yours. Thank you. It's my honor to join Stephen Chambers and welcome you all to the fifth annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.
The seven hundred or so men and women that you see sitting around with you today come from more than forty different countries on six continents. And even though "Here they come." works well on this print it may not be the best title for this forum. I think it's safe to say once and for all "here we are, here we are." Social entrepreneurs have arrived.
And it's hard to imagine that it was just two years ago when I described social entrepreneurs as one of the world's best kept secrets. Well the secret is out and here are a few examples. Several weeks ago a businessman gave a keynote address at the World Economic Forum, in which he called for a huge expansion in what he called "Creative Capitalism." A concept that draws liberally from social entrepreneurship.
Another example, last April, a television host devoted a whole show to profiling three ground-breaking social entrepreneurs and drawing attention to their projects. Finally, a few months ago, an American politician gave a speech in which he proposed creating a national social entrepreneurship agency.
And if you're wondering, "how much influence can these three people have?" Well, what if I told you that the businessman was Bill Gates. TV host was Oprah Winfrey and the politician was Barack Obama. And when you have the world's biggest economic political land social figures coming together to talk about an idea at the same time, you know that that idea has arrived.
And, I'm delighted that so many of the most innovative minds in this field have come together with us again this week to advance the conversation. Three years ago Muhammad Yunus gave a keynote speech here, and the next year Yunus went on to win the Noble Peace Prize. Two years ago Al Gore spoke here, and the next year Al went on to win the Nobel peace prize.
Coincidence? And so as we all gather here for the fifth time There's no question social entrepreneurs today have more headlines, more awards, more advocates, and more allies than ever, and all that is vitally important, because, the one that we don't have more of, that we desperately need, is time.
On climate change, on clean drinking water, on poverty, on education, on HIV/AIDS, on global pandemics, we are racing against the clock. And, I'm afraid if the clock is winning. And, if we don't act quickly enough to act together as a planet, a decade from now, we may be facing unbelievable humanitarian disasters the likes of which we've never seen, but we are all here because we know it's not too late to reverse these trends.
But it's going to take people who are passionate, who are creative, and above all, people who are completely incapable of understanding the words, it's impossible. It can't be done, or why bother even trying? In other words, people just like all of you. As I've often said, social entrepreneurs have two kinds of power The first, is the power to bring specific change through the work that you do.
And the other, is the power to inspire, to bring other people and organizations to work together to skill solutions and to find new ways to solve problems. As Nicholas Kristof recently wrote in the New York Times, after attending the World Economic Forum, today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs: those who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in a new way.
There is no limit to the number of social entrepreneurs who can make this planet a better place. Well, we need your power today, more than ever. For all of these problems are waiting to be solved. And we arrive in Oxford, this week, to say, "Here we are. Here we are." Thank you and welcome.
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