News on The Edge
Welcome to the Social Edge update!
The 2011 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship took place last week at the university of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. This year’s theme was ?Large Scale Change: Ecosystems, Networks and Collaborative Action.?
The Social Edge team was in Oxford, along with 20 Skoll Centre Students reporting on every session and sharing the most valuable takeaways to help us scale our social ventures.
In addition, four of our most frequent contributors helped us frame important issues:
Rod Schwartz, CEO of ClearlySo, noticed that we were we still uncomfortable with the social enterprise model, even though it often yields sustainable financial results at the same time as large-scale social impact
Charles (hipbone) Cameron helped us get a better sense of the social entrepreneurship paradox: competitive edge, collaborative scaling, or both?
Parag Gupta, founder of Waste Ventures, revisited the benefits of philanthropy and asked whether it could really tackle the world?s current challenges
Yvonne Li, CEO of Avantage Ventures in Hong Kong, wondered why the impact investment market in Asia still lagged significantly behind Europe and the US.
Rod Schwartz concludes our 2011 Skoll World Forum series. It was his sixth time at Oxford as a Skoll delegate, and this year he especially liked Archbishop Desmond Tutu?s impassioned discussions, which were also widely quoted on Twitter:
I stand out because they are carrying me on their shoulders –Desmond Tutu #skollwf
We are made for goodness, we are made for compassion, for transcendence –Desmond Tutu #skollwf
Ultimately, right will prevail –Archbishop Desmond Tutu @SkollWorldForum
I’d rather be happy on Robben Island than be unhappy because I stayed silent –Desmond Tutu #skollwf
Microfinance was also on the news, as delegates and speakers often mentioned their support for Muhammad Yunus. Roshaneh Zafar (Kashf) reminded us that microfinance ?is not about numbers, it is about lives.? And Alvaro Rodriguez (Compartamos) emphasized the importance of financial education: ?Social finance and literacy go hand in hand, like a taco needs a tortilla.?
Final words from the 2011 Skoll World Forum:
We are fighting for our collective future, the trophy is a sustainable world of peace and prosperity for everyone –Jeff Skoll #skollwf
Collaboration must become the new normal –Jeff Skoll @SkollWorldForum
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