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Sally Osberg on Belief

October 11, 2015

The driving force for change is the quintessentially human drive to set things right. To get beyond just making things better—to bring a true end to injustice and corruption, and to stop endless cycles of retribution and resentment. How? By imagining and then setting in motion a new world order.

When we are challenged by dissonance—when the social contract under which we live, the way things are—begins to seem out of alignment with what we believe we can achieve, we are ready to create change.

We seek to understand how and why people are excluded and denied opportunities, whether in our own communities or in very different parts of the world—and then armed with that knowledge, we imagine what might be possible.

Belief creates space for possibility. Conviction for a transformed order and the courage to act can turn an old equilibrium on its head. The only holy war worth waging is the war against poverty, injustice, and destruction of the planetary home that is so precious to us all.

The women and men we honor through our Skoll Award have stepped forward to stand for an end to inequality and to the overexploitation of the Earth’s resources. They apply the speed and innovation of business and the scope and scale of government, and have made a commitment to a bold new future for humankind and the planet.

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