Skoll World Forum On Social Entrepreneurship.

Each has their own models of how to help the 'bottom billion' escape crushing poverty and these models are increasingly competing for political support, media attention, and donor money. This session will explore the obstacles to economic development from the perspective of empowerment, and will also offer real examples of projects that have created lasting impact. Which models really work and why?

Upheaval and rapid change can also bring about new opportunities for focus, innovation and clarity. Join leading practitioners and social sector leaders in this candid, generative and instructive conversation designed to provide social entrepreneurs with ideas, strategies and insights for surviving and even thriving in this climate.

The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship

Key business leaders will discuss the kind of leadership required in the face of accentuated resource scarcity, more pervasive need and highly uncertain prospects. They will explore the excitement and challenges of operating through networked approaches that eschew traditional "command and control" models for a more "viral model" where the minds of many are more powerful than that of a few.

Join us in a "fireside" chat with three stellar practitioners who have over 50 years combined experience in the field. They'll candidly share their biggest blunders in areas like human resources, asset management, relationship building, and leadership, and tell how they have faced challenges, persevered, and continued to deliver positive social change throughout.

What is the connection between impact, power and accountability? What lessons can we learn from thoughtful funders and social entrepreneurs who have struggled with this issue? Funders, social entrepreneurs and beneficiaries explore what works and what hasn't in the race towards lasting, positive, social impact.

This creates new opportunities, as additional resources and attention are brought to bear on persistent development problems, but also creates new challenges around coordination and alignment. Representatives from private and public organisations will discuss the challenges and opportunities this new paradigm presents.

What are the implications for change in democracies, authoritarian societies and developing countries as the international blogosphere, censorship, and citizen engagement takes on new meaning and shape? Join celebrated thought leaders for a visionary and practical discussion on how to leverage this powerful medium in advancing the scope and reach of your work.

An increasing number of social entrepreneurs, in partnership with commercial players, are establishing high impact, sustainable enterprises by tapping into the growing global consumer interest in environmentally sound, fair trade goods and services. Three innovative social entrepreneurs will talk about how they successfully educate consumers, develop partnerships, and create credible certification processes that engage local producers. Hear how they navigated past challenges and are succeeding in transforming traditional marketplace dynamics.

NGOs risk commoditization if they do not adopt modern branding practices to assert enduring, differentiated identities. Branding and marketing expert Noah Manduke will provide practical frameworks that social businesses, and nonprofits can use to define, dramatize, and deliver their unique, essential value. Real cases will demonstrate how brand clarity can "preserve the core" while an organization scales, decentralizes, and partners with other NGO brands.

Drawing on three world religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam – the panel will prompt reflection on how notions of ethics, values and power as expressed in each of these traditions, shape philanthropy and social entrepreneurship.

Tectonic shifts in technology and human behavior have changed forever the way we create, deliver, and consume information. The result: a host of emerging models from around the globe that thrive on connection and community, promising previously unimagined opportunities to engage people as active, change-making citizens. This session will examine levers of power in a world where everyone can be an editor — and demonstrate why, far from mourning the demise of journalism, there's reason to celebrate a new generation.

Women also navigate traditional power structures to bring to the fore the economic interests and societal rights of women. Are there robust and sustainable models emerging which can illuminate political, legal, economic power structures? Women share how they brought vitality and hope to their communities.

Four passionate and gifted social entrepreneurs will discuss their innovations and demonstrate how lives can improve against seemingly insurmountable odds. Learn about the simple, scalable, and extremely successful approaches they've taken to healthcare delivery, prevention and education.

What innovations in social finance are helping to catalyze this growth and development of the field? This session will explore ways to increase accountability through social metrics and standards, extend financial services to new populations, and adapt investment models and approaches in new geographies such as China.