Robert Redford today: “When I started in environmental activism, people would say ‘What does he know? He’s just an actor.’ Well, Reagan changed all that. Now look at them; they are all over the place.”
Jeff Skoll, to his right, hosted the premiere of The New Heroes (Skoll Foundation funded the film). It is a moving and inspirational documentary on social entrepreneurs, people who Redford called the real heroes.
The heroes include Martin Fisher of KickStart, whose foot-powered water pumps help African farmers move from poverty to the middle class. Those newly irrigated lands are already more than 0.5% of the Kenyan GDP.
Also speaking was Victoria Hale, the CEO of OneWorld Health, the first non-profit pharmaceutical company in the U.S. Their focus is on new medicines for the neglected diseases of poverty. 5% of their funding is from government sources.
Particularly moving was Kailash Satyarthi, and his efforts to end child slavery by running raids to extract slaves from mafia-run quarries and work camps.
The fans in attendance included our hosts (Larry and Sergey), Pat Mitchell, CEO of PBS, and Steve Westly (right), California State Controller, who is running for Governor in the next election.
The film will air on PBS as a four part series, starting on June 28.
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