FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Skoll Centre at Oxford to Host First Global Forum on Social Entrepreneurship

OXFORD, United Kingdom - February 10, 2004 - The world's leading practitioners and thought leaders in social entrepreneurship will converge at the Saïd Business School, part of Oxford University, from March 29 to 31 to set the future agenda for visionaries who want to transform society.

The first annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship will bring together some of the most creative agents of social change who have invented new models that result in sustainable solutions to social problems. Also attending will be nonprofit professionals, academics and individuals interested in learning more about social entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurs are extraordinary men and women who dedicate their lives to creating new solutions that result in lasting improvements to communities around the world. Unlike traditional business entrepreneurs, who operate on a profit model, their motivation is to improve society.

Among the social pioneers scheduled to speak at the Skoll World Forum are:

• Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, which originated the concept of micro-loans to help impoverished would-be entrepreneurs become economically self-sufficient. This "village bank" approach has been replicated in 58 countries, lifting 67 million people out of poverty.
• Jeroo Billimoria, Founder of Childline India Foundation, which offers support and health care for the 48 million street children in India via a 24-hour emergency telephone service
• Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and Managing Director of the Kashf Foundation in Pakistan, which provides collateral-free loans and savings accounts to 50,000 poor women at more than 30 branches

Leading academics, practitioners and nonprofit professionals in the field of social entrepreneurship will share their views and research at the conference, including J. Gregory Dees, Adjunct Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Management at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business; Professor Lester Salamon, Director of the Center for Civil Society Issues at Johns Hopkins University's Institute for Policy Studies; Bill Drayton, Chairman of Ashoka; Pamela Hartigan, Managing Director of the Schwab Foundation; and Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Foundation.

The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship is the first event sponsored by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, which was launched in November. The Centre and the Forum are both funded by the Silicon Valley-based Skoll Foundation, whose mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs.

"The Skoll World Forum will allow practitioners, academics and executives to map out the future of social entrepreneurship for the first time," said Anthony Hopwood, Dean of Saïd Business School. "While the newly established Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School is providing an institutional structure to continue academic development, the Skoll Forum will give the experts an opportunity to share their experience on putting the discipline into practice. The Forum also will help shape the agenda for the future and will play an integral part in structuring the Skoll Centre's academic program."

Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, said, "The Forum marks a major watershed in the development of social entrepreneurship, enabling all those concerned with promoting social entrepreneurship as a discipline - whether they be practitioners, policy makers or social visionaries - to collectively take stock and look forward. We welcome those who are already involved in the field, as well as newcomers who want to understand its possibilities."

Admission to the Skoll World Forum is free. For more information, see http://www.skollfoundation.org/about/skoll_forum.asp. Questions may be directed to Kathryn Smyth, Forum Coordinator, telephone: +44 (1865) 288 838; email: Kathryn.Smyth@sbs.ox.ac.uk.

About the Skoll Centre
The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship was launched in November 2003 at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University, to promote the advancement of social entrepreneurship worldwide. It was created with a donation of 4.44 million pounds sterling by the Skoll Foundation, the largest funding ever received by a business school for an international program in social entrepreneurship.

The Skoll grant includes funding for an endowed lectureship, a director for the Centre's activities, visiting fellows and five MBA Skoll Scholarships for students who want apply entrepreneurial strategies to effect sustainable social change. Skoll Scholars will develop a plan to positively impact a special social problem and undertake a consultancy program in social entrepreneurship.

For more information, visit www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/html/faculty_skoll_scholarships.asp or contact Saïd Business School, Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HP, United Kingdom.

About the Skoll Foundation
Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, the Skoll Foundation was created in 1999 by Jeff Skoll, the first employee and first president of eBay. Its mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs. The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through three award programs and the new Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. It connects social entrepreneurs through its online community, Social Edge, at www.socialedge.org. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through media projects such as a four-part public television documentary scheduled to be broadcast in late 2004; and via the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. For more information, see www.skollfoundation.org or contact the Skoll Foundation, telephone: (408) 278-2259; email: info@skollfoundation.org.

About the Saïd Business School
An integral part of Oxford University, the Saïd Business School provides a range of business education programs, including the one-year MBA and the new Executive MBA, which started in January 2004. In addition, the School offers research degrees, including a Doctoral Program and a Master's of Science (MSc) in Management Research. The School has an established reputation for research in a wide range of areas, including finance and accounting, organizational analysis, international management and strategy, operations management, and the management of science and technology. Intellectually rigorous, it addresses issues that are a direct concern to businesses and policy makers. The School's aim through its research activities is to have a decisive influence on current management practice. For more information, contact the Saïd Business School at +44 1865 288 800 or see http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/html/default.asp.

Contact:
Terry Nagel - Skoll Foundation
media@skollfoundation.org