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No one changes the world alone. Skoll Foundation World Forum's change makers come to Oxford

Published

Women are being erased, an Oxford audience was told in stark terms last week, as the Skoll Foundation’s World Forum met to debate social change.

More than 1,500 eager participants from all over the world had flocked to the city for the Forum, which is aimed at supporting collaboration on social change. And they heard from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, one of the world’s leading activists for women’s education, that women in Afghanistan are subject to ‘gender apartheid’ – as she urgently pressed the audience to take action.

Policymakers, philanthropists and researchers had met in Oxford alongside social entrepreneurs, for the landmark event, as the 2025 Forum discussed mending a broken world - in stark contrast to the turbulence all around.

Such was the enthusiasm and commitment to change, the atmosphere of the opening plenary owed more to a rock concert than a sober business-style conference and the audience was very much part of the music. And, in fact the day ended with an amazing and uplifting performance by Les Amazones d'Afrique. On the first day, Malala and the former Irish President Mary Robinson, a founder of The Elders group of independent global leaders, took part in a discussion about women and girls with Shabana Basij-Rasikh, founder and leader of a boarding school for girls in Afghanistan – now relocated to Rwanda. 

Mary, Malala and Shabana at the Skoll World Forum

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Shabana told a hushed audience about the progress that had been made for women and girls - before the Taliban returned to Afghanistan again. But, she acknowledged, nevertheless, nearly two thirds of girls had still not been in school.

Malala, meanwhile, explained how the situation had worsened since the takeover and introduction of harsh new laws, aimed at oppressing women. Why is the Taliban so afraid? According to Shabana, it is ‘simple’: educated girls become educated women.

The Malala Fund has long worked in Afghanistan and the young activist insisted that we are witnessing ‘gender apartheid’. It launched an Afghanistan Initiative in 2024 to restore girls’ access to education and advance the movement to end gender apartheid. 

 

We [the world] are just looking away…there has been a complete erasure of women. It is as though women do not exist…we should ask our leaders to hold the Taliban accountable.

Malala Yousafzai

Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Co-founder of the Malala Fund.

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The plenary event had begun with Don Gips, the outgoing Skoll Foundation CEO. As he mounted the stage, he just said: ‘Wow…it is amazing to be here.’

He added: ‘Many of us feel as though our world is torn apart.’

But Mr Gips said cracks are how the light gets in and urged the audience to think that things which are repaired, can be repaired ‘better’. He maintained, the people at the World Forum need to give themselves the ‘gift of hope’ and he thanked Saïd Business School, saying ‘none of this would be possible’, without the School.

 

No one changes the world alone

Jeff Skoll

Social Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Founder of the Skoll Foundation.

The Skoll Centre, based in Oxford Saïd, reported that tickets for all the events were ‘sold out’ and hundreds of people viewed the four-day event online. More than 100 speakers and dozens of events took place between 1 and 4 April, in around the School, from Morning Mindfulness to Building Citizen-led Movements and major plenary sessions, which had to be held in an Oxford theatre, to cope with the weight of numbers.

Each year, the Forum convenes 1,500+ social entrepreneurs and innovators, funders, storytellers, government and business leaders, and other change makers.

After Mr Gips came Jeff Skoll, the Canadian philanthropist and founder of the Foundation, to a standing ovation. Mr Skoll, who has been unwell, told the audience: ‘There’s nowhere else I would prefer to be…this is not just a conference, it’s a community of those bold enough to take on the world’s most pressing problems.’