Christopher G. Oechsli, President and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies, delivered this speech at an international conference held by the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Berlin: The Era of Citizens – How Civil Society and Foundations are Shaping the Future. The conference was opened by German President Joachim Gauck and featured speeches by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Muhammad Yunus and Kailash Satyarthi.
I want first to add my congratulations to the Robert Bosch Stiftung on its 50th anniversary and to celebrate its work of the last half century. This is a magnificent undertaking and the world is better for it.
I want, too, to thank Dr. (Ingrid) Hamm and her colleagues for inviting me to participate with a group of exceptional guests in this very timely and important discussion about the role of philanthropy in today’s complex and difficult world. Finally, I want to thank Robert Bosch personally – I imagine his spirit is in this room – as I would not be here today without his contributions to the Stuttgart motor industry. More on that in a minute.
Christopher Oechsli speaking at the “Era of Citizens – How Civil Society and Foundations are Shaping the Future” conference at the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Today, I want to talk – perhaps a bit presumptively, but I hope not arrogantly – about how private wealth can change the world. I want to share the experience of one man, Chuck Feeney – who Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have referred to as their hero – and one philanthropy, The Atlantic Philanthropies. I want to offer this one example of how we have tried to deploy private wealth most effectively to change the world in specific and tangible ways. More specifically, how we have tried to make lasting changes and bring increased opportunities to those who, through life’s circumstances, are vulnerable or have unfairly been denied opportunities.