The Skoll World Forum on social entrepeneurship

• Click here to view live video coverage and blogging from the 2008 Skoll World Forum

In recent years, recognition has grown of the importance of incorporating cultural literacy, including an understanding of the role of beliefs, norms, values, and attitudes shared by individuals and groups, into social change planning. With this in mind, the 2008 Skoll World Forum facilitated discussion, debate and critical questioning around the theme of Social Entrepreneurship: culture, context and social change. If social entrepreneurship is truly about “changing the world”, then what are the cultural and contextual barriers that social entrepreneurs need to overcome to create sustainable change in the areas where they work? To what extent does culture accelerate or inhibit change, innovation, and scale? How can social entrepreneurs best evaluate the contexts in which they operate? What are the opportunities and models of success? And, at the most practical level, what mindsets and tools are needed for social entrepreneurs to work successfully across different cultures and contexts? Whether it’s considering the perspective of a tribal leader in a Ghanaian village, understanding the interplay between different castes in rural India, or appreciating the employer-worker relationship in a factory in Shenzhen, the culture and context within which social change happens is critical to the desired outcome.

In addition to plenary and theme-related sessions, additional programme elements included evergreen sessions and workshops designed to address practical challenges faced by social entrepreneurs, and a new programming element featuring consultancy clinics where “experts” from a variety of domains and sectors responded directly to delegate inquiries around new ideas, sticky challenges and opportunities for scaling.

• Visit the agenda to learn more about the schedule and flow of events.

Among the 2008 contributors were:

• Opening Plenary – Jeff Skoll, Pat Mitchell, Lord Anthony Giddens, Dr Nafis Sadik, Phil Hope and Jody Williams
• Click here to view the web streaming of Opening Plenary

Click on the links below to view the web streaming for other sessions –

Day 2 – Thursday 27 March 2008

• Empathy and Ethics: Drivers of Our Shifting Culture

• Innovation and Change in Government Culture

• The Internet, Mobile Technology and Cross-Cultural communication

• Hybrid and For-Profit Business Models

• The Cultural Arts Industry, Innovation and Social Change

• Culture and Coflict Resolution

• Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, What’s the Impact of this all?

• Addressing the Talent Gap

• Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship Ceremony

Day 3 – Friday 28 March 2008

• The Challenges and Opportunities of Nationality, Nationalism and Cultural Identity

• Storytelling in the Modern World

• Marketing that Metters

• Replication and Scale

• Growth Finance for Social Entrepreneurs

• Closing Plenary

• Click here to learn more about speakers at the 2008 Skoll World Forum

Feedback

“Events that advance the hybridisation are where it’s at, and Skoll has earned an important spot on the annual calendar for all of us in the mix.”

David Bonbright – CEO Keystone

Produced by Skoll Centre for social entrepeneurship and Skoll foundation

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