In this insight piece, Sofia Papadakaki, Fundraising and Partnerships Manager at Unearthodox, shares her experience at the Skoll Week in Oxford.
What do collective social innovation, trust-based philanthropy and ethics-centered AI have in common?
As I discovered during the Skoll World Forum week in Oxford, they are all deep conversations we need to have – to question our own biases, to challenge our dominant ways of thinking and being, and to find pathways towards meaningful learning and change.
Even with a full workload in a busy month, I am glad I took the time to attend, learn and connect to help drive critical social change. Here's why.
While the forum was the central event, what stood out were the spaces orbiting it – Marmalade Festival and TheSidebar. These open-source, participant-led events are shaped not by a central agenda but by the interests, pressing questions and shared challenges that people bring to it, creating space for the conversations that truly need to happen.
For an organisation like Unearthodox, these spaces are precious. We nurture bold ideas that aim to radically change the way we care for nature. And like a seed, ideas need a fertile ground to grow. For me, this week at Oxford was exactly that. From fishbowl conversations, interactive workshops and storytelling games to more traditional discussions, the formats were varied, but what stood out was the diversity of voices that made this experience so special. Hyper-local and hyper-global, people of all backgrounds and ages came together with curiosity, a thirst to learn and genuine care; giving me so much to reflect upon and remember.
The first day started with a powerful reframing from the Botnar Foundation and the Collective Impact Agency: “We keep getting more data, but it’s not helping.”
Our systems often equate learning to data collection and analysis. But this session invited us to think differently – how to rehumanise learning. It challenged us to make it less about content or control and more about care by nurturing the relationships between those who learn together, and creating safe inclusive spaces for reflections. This really resonated with me – at Unearthodox, we recognise that tackling complex nature-society challenges is a messy uncomfortable journey, but that’s where deep, meaningful learning and change happens.
Throughout the week, one theme echoed – collective approaches are essential to reshape social innovation. From the Schwab Foundation’s “The Future is Collective” report launch to RINGO’s workshop on "Reverse Call for Proposals", it was clear that collective action is no longer optional. Social innovation and systemic change cannot be driven by individuals alone. It takes ecosystems coming together and holding more power than any sum of individual parts ever could.
Photo taken during the session ‘Hacking the Wealth Defense Industry: How We Might Direct the Great Wealth Transfer Towards Justice’ .
Capital – how it flows, who it empowers and what it values – was at the heart of many conversations. At Unearthodox, we’ve been exploring how the Future of Philanthropy should evolve as a practice rooted in equity, relationships and long-term systems thinking. From Wasan Network’s "Beyond Financial Capital", to JRF’s and the Wealth Hackers Initiative’s "Hacking the Wealth Defense Industry", to Menjadi’s and Planet Indonesia’s session on "Integrating Equity into the Practices of Funding Intermediaries", they all converged on a shared understanding: we must redefine capital.
For real systems change, capital must be rooted in trust, care, time, relationships and equity. It can’t just be a checkbox; it has to be a core practice of how we work.
Given that Unearthodx is currently exploring questions around the kinds of knowledge embedded in AI systems and whose values they reflect, I was naturally drawn to a session on "The Human Side of AI". My main takeaway? Changing systems starts with changing whose voices are heard.
I feel privileged to have been part of this vibrant sharing space; thankful for the inspiring discussions and connections; blessed by an atmosphere of solidarity, courage and openness; and overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the agenda. I even came back with some small treasures – Kevin L. Brown’s new book "Fundable and Findable", and Movement Generation’s "Just Transition" booklet shared by the Good Ancestor Movement.
My one piece of advice? If you go, bring an open mind and heart. Be prepared to listen deeply and share genuinely. You may feel overwhelmed at times, but trust me, so does everyone. Take a breath and go with the flow. You will meet old and new friends, make unexpected connections and, if you’re lucky, get a few tips from local attendees about hidden-but-must-see Oxford gems.
See you there next year!
