3.03.2006 ET

(CSRwire) ARLINGTON, Virginia - Ashoka: Innovators for the Public announced today the release of its new Social Entrepreneurship Series on Google's latest video service, Google Video Store. The Series, produced in partnership with the Skoll Foundation, is the first-ever video collection of interviews with leading global social entrepreneurs.

The series will also be featured at the annual Harvard Social Enterprise Conference. Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka, will give the keynote address at the event, expected to attract over 800 participants - students, professors, and social entrepreneurs.

"This series is an opportunity to listen to stories and strategies of the global greats of social entrepreneurship - a powerful new form of public leadership," stated David Gergen, Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard University.

The 16-program Series features the experiences and insights of the world's most inspiring leaders of social change - who have affected millions of lives across the globe.

Ashoka (www.ashoka.org) finds and supports leading social entrepreneurs - over 1700 in 60 countries. For the past 25 years, Ashoka's global network has offered the world the means to change itself - helping system changing ideas to become sustainable innovations and change; encouraging the implementation of big thoughts and supporting even bigger, sometimes audacious visions. These visions are the impetus for the Series.

Ashoka's Global Academy and The Social Entrepreneurship Series are supported by the Skoll Foundation (www.skollfoundation.org) which is dedicated to advancing systemic change in communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs. Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation stated, "Ashoka has been a strong field building partner and this project in particular is an excellent example of leveraging technology to extend the reach of social entrepreneurs."

The Series was created by Ashoka's Global Academy to capture the strategies and insights of leading social entrepreneurs- in their own words- who have achieved global impact, including: Muhammad Yunus, the power behind Grameen Bank and the global micro-credit movement, Peter Eigen, Transparency International founder and one of the world's most powerful corruption fighters, and Fazle Abed who founded BRAC, the world's largest citizen sector organization. These visionaries offer practical wisdom on how to tackle poverty, fight corruption and improve the health and education of those living on less than $2 a day.

The 40-minute films include autobiographies as well as cover corporate social responsibility, social-business ventures, methods for scaling, and global governance. As these topics become powerful factors in democratic and societal growth, the The Series is a vital resource for students, people starting or changing careers, citizen sector organizations, educators, governments and businesses alike.

The Series is available for pre-viewing and purchase at Google (www.video.google.com), which announced the creation and launch of its video services in January. (To find the series, enter "Ashoka" into the search box). Additionally, the Series is available for purchase at www.dvd.ashoka.org.


Ashoka: Innovators for the Public (www.ashoka.org) is a global community of social entrepreneurs who deliver innovative solutions to social problems. Ashoka identifies & supports leading social entrepreneurs, creates opportunities for collaboration, and builds systems and institutions that facilitate high impact social solutions. Over the past 25 years, the organization has invested in more than 1,700 Ashoka Fellows in 60 countries.

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