Fostering A New Generation of Social Entrepreneurs

Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka, spoke on a panel at the Skoll World Forum recently (Social Enterprise):

Drayton said that if a 15-year-old was not showing the signs of being a ‘change maker' they were not going to be spurred into action by the time they were 30.

‘The 15-year-old will be out of the game if he or she is not mastering these skills now,' he said. 'We have to give children and young people opportunities to learn. If we give them these skills, they will go for it, but we're not at the moment.'

Drayton said the key time to inspire the social entrepreneurs of tomorrow was between the ages of 12 and 20 and that this type of education could have an impact on today's ‘youth cultures', which he said made young people anti-social.

Phil was on the same panel and explained why, in a world of increasing virtual learning opportunities, universities are still relevant in this process (make good):

The value of universities is as clusters of mentors, geographically concentrated, in the role of not just teaching, but day-to-day mentoring. This activity by its very nature requires proximity and touch. These are capabilities that should reside in universities—this is a key to their ongoing relevancy in a changing world.