Leadership Lessons Behind Bars: Robyn Scott at TEDxOxbridge

In prison, you possess nothing: no assets, no credibility. So effecting change relies almost entirely on persuading and mobilising other people.

In this TEDxOxbridge talk, Social Entrepreneur and Author Robyn Scott tells the story of how, a decade ago, in South Africa's most dangerous prison, a group of just twenty men — most murderers — started an AIDS orphans adoption programme, saving or changing the lives of hundreds of prisoners and destitute children, and changing the perceptions of thousands. How they achieved this — and how they have gone on to start other pioneering programmes such as learning to code — offers many lessons for leadership and innovation beyond bars. These include the potential lost opportunity if we focus only on technology or capital as a way to solve problems, and forget to also ask how can we create innovative or disruptive behaviour or thinking.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)