April 17, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
A new effort by the philanthropist Jeff Skoll to fight “urgent threats” drew praise this week.
Mr. Skoll, who was the first president of eBay, is dedicating $100-million to curb climate change, global pandemics, conflict in the Middle East, and other problems.
Jane Wales, co-founder of the Global Philanthropy Forum, in an online discussion with The Chronicle said Mr. Skoll combines “foresight” with “courage” and is one of the few philanthropists to support efforts to stop wars.
“Others now have a sense of urgency when it comes to poverty alleviation, climate-change mitigation, or addressing threats to public health. But only some have stepped forward when it comes to prevention of violent conflict. He is among them,” she said.
Nathaniel Whittemore, director of the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern University, also likes the new Skoll project.
“The devil will be in the details, and it will be interesting to see whether there’s some real innovation here, but at first glance this is exciting stuff,” he writes on Change.org.
He writes that he would like the new fund to support collaborations, innovative efforts by grass-roots groups, and undergraduate students who are building social movements.
What do you think of Mr. Skoll’s new effort? What do you think it should support?
