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Building Community, Panels and Honoring the Skoll Fellows
Yesterday started off on the right foot with a gathering of Ashoka fellows and Ashoka staff at the Jam Factory. Over breakfast we introduced ourselves and got to know more about each others work around the world. Bill Drayton was in attendance, giving a global view of the state of Ashoka. It was a very inspirational way to start the day.
After breakfast I attended two great panel discussions, one on how to effectively work with governments and the other on community development. Both panels were well attended and engaging. Presenters discussed their work for 15 minutes and then it was turned over for audience discussion. I was truly impressed with the quality of the presentations and the visible passion of the presenters. That is something that has impressed me throughout the forum – I haven’t seen one example of PowerPoint poisoning. The presenters know their material like no other and they are engaging with it. The discussions amongst the presenters and between the presenters and the audience were also of high quality, which is not something I can say about many other conferences I have attended.
In the evening, the main event of the entire forum took place from the Sheldonian Theatre – the honoring of the 2009 class of Skoll fellows. An amazing group of people very deserving of this moment of recognition. In the social entrepreneurship sector, one is always pushing the envelope and stretching while fighting the good fight. That gets exhausting and can be very lonely at times. Events like this that focus on the accomplishments of social entrepreneurs and takes a moment to celebrate their work is a refreshing break from the daily struggle in the field.
The awards ceremony was a powerful event, with presentations by Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Foundation, and Dr. R.K Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. As each of the Skoll fellows took the stage, they discussed their work briefly, giving the audience a strong image of the mosaic of all they are engaged in.
To wrap up, there was a musical performance by KT Tunstall, an incredible lyricist, singer and guitar player. The event was very well orchestrated and inspiring. Hours of discussions followed at the reception after the awards ceremony, which then spilled out into local restaurants and bars and continued long into the night.
