How We Curate Possibility into the Skoll World Forum

What does it mean to Accelerate Possibility? We had been mulling over this concept in the fall, when suddenly the concept became very real in my personal life. My second daughter Sonia decided to come into this world more than 7 weeks early. Having another child felt firmly far-off in the world of “the future”. Suddenly, the future was there, tiny, in my arms.

As my family has grown, I’ve been grappling with the future we will leave the next generation, and it feels bleak.

The UN reports that we have only 12 years to contain global warming to 1.5c, avoiding significant global catastrophe. The Washington Post tells me my infant daughter will live until 2100, but the seas will be higher, the temperatures hotter, and the ocean choked with acid. We’re struggling with rampant inequality, massive migration flows, questions about how ubiquitous technologies will affect our privacy and rights, and a rising global population that we’re not sure how we’ll provide with healthcare or nutrition. In short, there’s a lot of doom and gloom about the future we’re hurtling toward.

But social entrepreneurs have honed the capacity to envision a new future; a new idea of what’s possible. They look at these challenges and see opportunity. Then, they set out to accelerate that future. Using imagination, connection, and collaboration, they move the possible into the present. That’s something we will celebrate at this year’s Forum.

Forum sessions will explore how social entrepreneurs and other innovators bring the possible closer. A future where….

• AI is a tool to bolster human rights rather than violate them
• cities are redesigned from the inside out to be more inclusive
• journalists can spread truth without fear of retribution
• indigenous people own and manage the land their people have conserved for centuries
• governments step up to the plate to provide healthcare for their citizens
• refugee children are supported and educated
• our food system nourishes everyone without deepening the risks of climate catastrophe
• men and boys are equal partners in ensuring equity for women and girls
• philanthropy is no veneer for an unjust economic system, but actively works to reverse it
• local leaders are respected for their unique, proximate knowledge, and solutions

Utopia? Maybe. But that’s no reason not to try. Social entrepreneurs have an impressive track record of defying the impossible. In Oxford, we hope the Forum and the amazing Skoll community will stoke optimism about possibility and a renewed understanding about their role in accelerating it.

Thanks to the marvels of modern medicine, my early-bird daughter Sonia is thriving. And the awe-inspiring work of the Skoll Community—on full display every spring in Oxford—always gives me reason to look forward to a shared future where we all thrive.

For the first time ever, we’re offering the Skoll World Forum Digital Pass to bring you the discussions, debates, and thought-provoking speakers featured at the Forum on the social issues that affect us all—no matter where we sit. Sign up for your digital pass now!