Jeff Skoll was the first president of eBay; he used his dot-com fortune to found the film house Participant Productions, making movies to inspire social change, including Syriana; Good Night, and Good Luck; Murderball; An Inconvenient Truth ...
Why you should listen to him:
Jeff Skoll was eBay's employee number 2 and president number 1. He left with a comfortable fortune and a desire to spend his money helping others.
The Skoll Foundation, established in 1999, invests in, connects and celebrates social entrepreneurs -- offering grants to people who build businesses, schools and services for communities in need. Every year, it presents the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford, and runs Social Edge, a networking site for social entrepreneurs.
His production company, Participant Productions, is what Skoll calls a "pro-social media company," making features and documentaries that address social and political issues and drive real change. His film North Country, for example, is credited with influencing the signing of the 2005 Violence Against Women Act. Participant's blockbuster doc, An Inconvenient Truth, is required viewing in classrooms around the world, and has unquestionably changed the debate around climate change. Upcoming for Participant are two films about Afghanistan, and a documentary about Jimmy Carter's controversial 2006-7 book tour.
"He tells me film can change the world. He tells me you can build companies based on trust. He speaks softly."Stephen Gaghan in Time
Blog Posts on TED
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Making films to make change: Jeff Skoll on TED.com – August 23, 2007
Jeff Skoll made his fortune as the first president of eBay. Now he's spending it at the movies. His company, Participant Productions, makes entertaining, issues-driven films that inspire real change -- Murderball, Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth ... Here, he talks about the people who've inspired him to do good, and about some upcoming films that will open your eyes. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 15:45.)
Watch Jeff Skoll's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Jeff Skoll on TED.com.
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Web-based ways to make a difference – January 1, 2008
To help those of us making resolutions this week, here is a sampling of web tools for making a difference, inspired by TEDTalks speakers: + Share Ron Eglash's cool math tools, for studying math via breakdancing, Latin beats and cornrow braids + Dive into Richard Baraniuk's Connexions, a massive repository of open-source class materials + Visit Phil Borges' Bridges to Understanding site, which rounds up student films from all over the world + Browse Erin McKean's booklist "So You Want to Be a Lexicographer?" + Check out the beta of Gapminder World, powered by Hans Rosling's Trendalyzer software + Watch video and take action at The Hub, a platform for human rights media and action -- presented by Peter Gabriel's WITNESS + Discuss sustainable design and materials on the Cradle to Cradle forums, inspired by the work of William McDonough + Learn more about Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child + Catch up with Majora Carter's Sustainable South Bronx -- or make a specific gift to SSBx via Changing the Present + Calculate your personal CO2 production -- and start helping the planet -- at the website for Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, produced by Jeff Skoll TEDTalks is full of ideas for making change for oneself and for others -- many more than we can list here. Please share your suggestions for other TEDTalks-inspired change!
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Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize – October 12, 2007
This morning, Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007, "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." Gore will be sharing his prize money with the Palo Alto-based Alliance for Climate Protection.
At TED2006, Gore delivered to a rapt audience the seminal slide show that would later that year form the core of his blockbuster documentary An Inconvenient Truth. He followed it up with a second talk at the end of the conference showing ways of turning climate concern into action. Throughout the day we'll be offering tributes to the impact of that speech on those present at TED2006 -- and the way the impact has spread throughout the world. -
Inspired by Al Gore: TEDTalks – October 12, 2007
The TEDTalks archive is rich in proof that Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, speaking at TED and elsewhere, truly has the power to inspire action. Producer and activist Jeff Skoll heard one of Gore's PowerPoint lectures and started the ball rolling on An Inconvenient Truth -- a film and website that became an incredibly effective way to share the message on climate change. John Doerr, the Silicon Valley financier, talks about a mind-changing conversation (like many of us had after An Inconvenient Truth) -- sitting with friends at a dinner party asking, "What can we do about what Al Gore has told us?" Doerr, it turns out, is doing quite a lot. Speaker Tony Robbins was moved by the way Gore -- after the legendary disappointment of that 2000 presidential race -- rebounded and found his passion. Look for the moment when Gore and Robbins share a high-five down in the front row. Majora Carter, meanwhile, offers new ways for Gore to share his passion -- by working with the thousands of people who are cleaning up the environment, starting in their own neighborhoods. And after hearing Al Gore's first talk at TED, Jill Sobule sat backstage and learned a new song.
