This year, in partnership with more than 40 organizations, the Skoll World Forum came together as a co-created, collaborative, thought-provoking event of a new kind.
This year, we enlisted a group of 18 people—each with large and engaged networks—from 13 different nations as a global advisory group and gave them the difficult task of the initial review of those 540 sessions so that they could elevate the topics and issues that they found most resonant. This is part of our efforts to shift power and influence outside of the headquarters of the Skoll Foundation to the broader network, to ensure that the Forum has the highest degree of relevancy.
Alongside 252 speakers on 51 panel discussions, workshops, and interviews, 4700 participants from 124 countries joined 1,572 networking meetings and made 8,116 comments. More than half of attendees had never before attended a Skoll World Forum, either in Oxford or virtually.
You can dive into the full breadth of discussions in the video archive, but in the meantime, we wanted to share a few themes that emerged across the program, and some of the most quotable moments.
The social impact sector, like so many others over this past year, has been carefully inspecting its own power dynamics. This theme threaded itself through so much of the Forum this year, where nearly every conversation turned at some point to questions of power—how it’s shared, wielded, hoarded, shifted, and in some cases taken.
José Andrés, chef and Founder of World Central Kitchen, turned the mirror squarely on philanthropy in the opening plenary, distilling his perspective on the role of funders and how to quantify their impact.
“Philanthropy is not about the redemption of the giver, it should be about the liberation of the receiver,” says @chefjoseandres. “How do we measure the success of philanthropy? By lifting the lives of people up. By making real change, in real-time.” #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/ucylAf1Its
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
Felicia Wong, CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, argued that “a new world” is not an impossibility; it’s a matter of will, and resources getting into the right hands.
We can shift power and wealth to those whom the system was designed to marginalize, according to Felicia Wong of @rooseveltinst. We just need to muster the will, and the muscle, to make progress on #ClosingTheDistance #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/lOZzpTdYKx
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 15, 2021
If there’s anyone to teach a master class on shifting political power from the grassroots upward, it’s Stacey Abrams, Founder of Fair Fight Action and Fair Count. She called on social innovators to “investigate, experiment, and innovate” to “create ecosystems of good.” She honored the legacy of her parents, who she said, “not only took us with them to volunteer, they took us with them to vote.” She described that two-sided coin of collective service and civic engagement as the key to progress.
“I saw both at work. Sometimes successfully, sometimes falling short. And I committed to the intersection of both.” – @staceyabrams, speaking at the opening plenary at the 2021 #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/mn80vWt28w
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 13, 2021
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia and first woman elected as a head of state on the African continent, remarked on the tendency for women in power to take a more inclusive, empathetic approach to governance and leadership.
“Collaborative, empathetic leadership is absolutely critical in times of crisis,” says @MaEllenSirleaf of @TheElders. “When women are in charge, you often see a more inclusive approach, as they seek to engage across a spectrum of society.” #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/O6M1cPmOZf
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
Pakou Hang, veteran community organizer and Chief Program Officer for Vote Run Lead, pointed out that it’s women of color who have always led movement building in the U.S. to improve democracy, and it’s women of color who we should be looking to for leadership now.
Leaders ready to help #democracy create progress in #ClosingTheDistance need to look to #women of color, according to Pakou Hang of @VoteRunLead #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/yayV4EI7hb
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 15, 2021
Holly Gordon, Participant’s Chief Impact Officer, spoke on the capacity for a widely distributed issue-based narrative film to galvanize and accelerate movements.
Just systems can’t be built without recognizing and rectifying the systemic, intergenerational injustices that created today’s status quo. Voices from many sessions, focused on many different issues, showed how important that historical excavation is to designing solutions that center equity.
Holocaust survivor Jeanette Spiegel spoke of the importance of collective remembering and preserving those historical accounts in the work of transitional justice.
When @laspindle asked Holocaust survivor, Jeanette Spiegel, to speak at the #SkollWF, this is what she said. We’re grateful to Jeanette for sharing her important story with all of us. Collective remembering & preserving historical memory are essential to transitional justice. pic.twitter.com/rJluI8XXx8
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 13, 2021
Rodney Foxworth, CEO of Common Future, talked of the potential for those most oppressed within systems of injustice to lead the way to build systems of equity and justice.
.@RDFoxworth shared a striking observation about creating a more inclusive #economy with #SkollWF: Communities that are being oppressed by the current system may also hold the key to shifting power and #ClosingTheDistance between where we are, and where we want to go. pic.twitter.com/gAEbY0OyoN
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
Michael McAfee, President and CEO of PolicyLink, presented a vision for building inclusive economies led by a younger generation “stepping into their power” to create new systems.
Michael McAfee, President & CEO of @policylink, laid out an absolutely inspiring vision of hope for shifting power to a more #inclusive #economy at #SkollWF #ClosingTheDistance pic.twitter.com/R6VsLiqdYt
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
Transformational social change is a team sport. No single organization can transform systems—it takes radical, enduring, cross-sector collaboration. We’ve heard this refrain for several years at the Forum, but the realities of COVID-19 put that into tighter focus, providing lessons for those working in social change across a range of issues.
“Be a team not a club,” says the organizations that comprise the Community Health Impact Coalition, among them Skoll Awardees Last Mile Health, VillageReach, Partners In Health, Medic, and Living Goods.
Inspiring presentation on Radical Collaboration during the Covid-19 crisis from members of the Community Health Impact Coalition @chw_impact at the @SkollFoundation #SWF2021 this pm.
“Be a team, not a club – members of a club share interests, members of a team share a mission”🌍 pic.twitter.com/VOxGEWhC6s— David Murphy, 2019-20 BPS President (@ClinPsychDavid) April 13, 2021
Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico and Member of The Elders, called for “extraordinary mechanisms of international cooperation” to confront pandemics and other global crises.
Countries have plans for dealing w/ a pandemic which some leaders decided not to follow b/c of political circumstances, says Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico & Member @TheElders. “We need to put in place extraordinary mechanisms of international cooperation.” #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/uxUxdHu3tS
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 13, 2021
Gary Cohen, CEO of Health Care Without Harm, presented a roadmap for healthcare sector decarbonization that demands widespread international collaboration.
“The roadmap is crucial & a path forward,” says Gary Cohen of @HCWithoutHarm on today’s #SkollWF panel. “We also have to figure out how to get the true cost of fossil fuels internalized. It’s fueling the greatest health crisis we’ve ever had to face.” https://t.co/1PE1NzIGKG
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
Magid Magid, Founder and Director of Union of Justice, reminded us that each and every one of us has a place in the climate story, and therefore a place in the solutions.
Important panel on ‘The #Climate & The #People‘
One of my fav quotes “Everyone has a place in the climate story” @MagicMagid. I’ll add, & everyone needs to act@kmeyaardschaap meeting people where they r & showing them the way is the way to go. @SkollFoundation @megha_a #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/uXSdXZNJVy— Tali Orad (@TaliOrad) April 15, 2021
Mindy Lubber, CEO of Ceres, spoke of their work in collaboration with business leaders and policy makers to address climate change and a structural level.
Marla Blow, our brand new President and COO, chimed in with a timely reflection that while “people overestimate what can be done in a short period of time,” a great deal is possible in time with sustained, inclusive collaboration.
Our incoming President & COO, @Marla_Blow, shined an optimistic light on the future, and #ClosingTheDistance between the #economy we have now, and an economy that’s #inclusive and serves all stakeholders #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/oWvjjehLB2
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 15, 2021
The social impact sector—particularly those on the funding side—have been undergoing our own bit of reckoning over the last couple of years. By far, we received the most session proposals on topics related to how to improve the way philanthropy is done, and sessions focused on this question were the most widely attended at the Forum this year.
Cheryl Dorsey of Echoing Green pointed to the leadership and collaboration necessary address the inequities that show up in many ways in the sector.
.@cheryldorsey from @echoinggreen has some advice for #SkollWF on taking on and dismantling systems of oppression and #ClosingTheDistance between where we are and where we want to go pic.twitter.com/68qrEyaKeY
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
Jennifer Ching, Executive Director of the North Star Fund, spoke of the necessity of embracing discomfort to do the work of transforming unjust systems.
Future of #Philanthropy: Structural change is about disrupting centuries of entrenched systems and practices. It should be deeply uncomfortable, but we must recognize and embrace discomfort. (1/2) @JennChingNSF #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/fOQymdXbYI
— Cristina Yoon (@yooncristina) April 14, 2021
Alfa Demmellash, CEO of Rising Tide Capital, raised the question of what “risk” means and to whom.
#Capital can be reparative for historically marginalized communities, but only if we re-define “risk” first, according to @AlfaDemmellash of @RisingTideOrg
Watch the full session from #SkollWF here: https://t.co/vSkcvg5ijG pic.twitter.com/drVP925Str
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 16, 2021
Gloria Walton, CEO of The Solutions Project, rejected the metaphors of a playing field leveled. When the game has always been rigged, you need a whole new playing field.
To create lasting #equity, we have to change the game. Thanks @gloriawalton from @100isNow for speaking truth at #SkollWF #ClosingTheDistance pic.twitter.com/pT8lBJXGrL
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 15, 2021
The growing trust crisis that undermines institutions and governments also presents a barrier to cross-sector social progress and solutions that bridge partisan divides. We have explored these themes for several years at the Forum, but this year that idea took an even larger spotlight.
Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler and titan of free speech and press freedom, called for immediate action to fight what she called “the virus of lies.” Without facts, we have no shared reality, she said, and it becomes impossible to tackle today’s existential crises.
.@mariaressa of @rapplerdotcom is #ClosingTheDistance between “the virus of lies” in the virtual world and truth, through journalism. “What we do now matters,” she says at the #SkollWF. “Act now.” pic.twitter.com/GTzjCQ4MZv
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 15, 2021
Audrey Tang, the Digital Minister of Taiwan, spoke of how the aspiration of government should be “listening at scale” with transparency to form systems that are “hackable by the people.”
“I think the government needs to trust the people. The people may or may not trust back, but to give no trust is to get no trust.” — @audreyt, Digital Minister of Taiwan at the closing plenary of the #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/syde5eOR0m
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 15, 2021
Mark Ruffalo, Co-Founder of The Solutions Project, spoke of the power of storytelling to close distances and build trust and the need for those stories to center marginalized voices.
“We don’t tell enough of the stories about the people who we need to be hearing from right now,” says @MarkRuffalo. “That’s why at @100isNow, we truly believe in the power of storytelling to change hearts and minds.” #SkollWF #ClosingTheDistance pic.twitter.com/0vzCwbPKZO
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 15, 2021
Youth climate activist Xiye Bastida spoke of the need to place trust in those on the frontlines, particularly indigenous peoples, to lead movements and elevate the most effective solutions.
The “tragedy of the commons” approach is actually destructive, says Youth #ClimateJustice Activist @xiyebastida. “We have to trust ourselves to take care of Mother Earth. Indigenous peoples are examples of that, taking care of Mother Earth for thousands of years.” #SkollWF pic.twitter.com/V6vtoofzO0
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
The Skoll World Forum has always been a venue for inspirational, transformative performances by artists who are engaged in social change work. For two years in a row, we’ve had no stages and no theater seats, but we’ve managed to keep that aspect of the Forum very much alive. The restorative nature of creative expression makes space for healing, reflection, and reconnection for the challenging work of social change.
The Wellbeing Project created an interactive workshop that included a rousing, participatory performance with a gospel choir learning to sing global songs of protest and inspiration.
Take a 45-second break and listen to this beautiful choral performance from @PneumaMin, which we got to hear LIVE during the interactive workshop “Sing, Move, Connect: A Wellbeing Experience” by @TheWellbeingP. Music is healing and joy. 🎼✨ pic.twitter.com/yW7NKfCr67
— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 14, 2021
Health Care Without Harm invited Tongan storyteller and musician, Mia Kami, to set the tone for their session on healthcare decarbonization, resilience, and equity.
Start your Sunday with this beautiful song from @miafilohivalu, broadcast during @HCWHGlobal‘s session at the #SkollWF.
“Time to start healing, healing from the hurt
Time to keep fighting, for what we deserve” pic.twitter.com/9X5BDVdVaQ— Skoll Foundation (@SkollFoundation) April 18, 2021
Moni Vargas and Dr. Suzanne Herrera Li Puma of Skoll Awardee Breakthrough led an interactive workshop that underscored the critical need for “healing spaces” within activism and social change work that included doodling, “joy mapping,” and dancing.
We are going live in 3…2…1! Follow this thread and #BreakthroughJoy to follow our live workshop at the renowned #SkollWF with Breakthrough’s Dr. Suzanne Herrera Li Puma and @dj_moni and guests @favianna, @misssaramora, @susuattar, and @niaasemota! pic.twitter.com/QKn3b2LsuA
— Breakthrough U.S. (@BreakthroughUS) April 14, 2021
Liana Malva, the Venezuelan artist, multi-instrumentalist, singer/ songwriter, and Founder of GOTAS, created an immersive multimedia performance and environmental rally cry that transported us to her homeland, La Gran Sabana.
These highlights represent a small fraction of the wisdom and calls to action shared by nearly 300 Skoll World Forum speakers—the majority of whom were new to the Skoll World Forum “stage” this year. Catch up on what you missed by reviewing session videos, which we’ve archived online.
If you’d like to take a deep dive into any of the Skoll Foundation’s five strategic priority areas, you can use this guide, which compiles sessions related to creating inclusive and sustainable economies, climate action, advancing racial justice, strengthening health systems and preventing pandemics, and promoting effective governance.
If you find yourself still craving connection, insightful moments, and deep dives into the complexity of social change, we recommend checking out the preview session to Solvers: our new podcast premiering April 22 that features radically honest and fresh conversations about how transformational change actually gets made and who makes it.
Want more stories of transformational change on the world’s most pressing problems? Sign up for Skoll Foundation’s monthly newsletter.
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