Time for Action: A Keynote at Oxford University
Returning to Oxford Saïd Business School to deliver this keynote on 28 June 2025 was a deeply personal moment for me. It was here, fourteen years earlier, that I found the knowledge, perspective and confidence to turn my aspirations into action and establish Global Thinkers Forum. In Time for Action, I reflect on my journey from journalism to social entrepreneurship, the lessons I have learned along the way, and the responsibility we share to make a positive difference in the world. Drawing on my own experiences and the wisdom of ancient Greece, I invite the next generation of leaders to look beyond achievement and status, lead with integrity and compassion, and recognise those defining moments when we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to act. I refer to 'Kairos' which for Ancient Greeks had the double meaning of time and opportunity. For me, kairos is a reminder that the right moment to turn our values into action is now.
June 28, 2025
By Elizabeth Filippouli
Good Morning, All,
I'm excited and beyond proud for the honour to address you on such an important day. In a venue that through the centuries has hosted the dreams of thousands and thousands of brilliant Oxonians. Like you. Said Business School changed my life in many ways. Positive ones of course.
Fourteen years ago, in 2011, I graduated with the Diploma in Strategy and Innovation. I had behind me a career in journalism that had taken me to many places around the world and had created opportunities for me to learn from different cultures. I was always curious as a kid, and as an adult. Why this, why that, when, how, who?
And journalism is about raising questions and finding answers. Reporting on stories helps you gain a deeper understanding of society, politics, and the human condition.
In 2009, the world was still grappling with the effects of the global financial crisis. Unemployment, market instability, rising debt. World leaders didn’t seem to be able to anticipate, plan for, or mitigate economic and social risks. There was lack of foresight. There was also absence of true collaboration, in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, where local issues could quickly escalate into global problems.
It all seemed quite concerning. But problems generate visions because they reveal gaps, needs, and inefficiencies that demand action. I always admired social entrepreneurs because they create practical solutions that can fill gaps left by governments or other institutions. After almost 15 years in journalism, I felt the need to try myself in the arena of social entrepreneurship.
I wanted to work on issues like education inequality, gender discrimination, and women’s empowerment.
So one fine day I turned up at my boss’s office and handed my resignation. My plan was to launch an organisation that would actively promote collaboration, accountability, and understanding.
It was time for a leap of faith. A bit crazy, perhaps, but there was a genuine desire to try and make some small contribution to our societies.
But journalists are notoriously poor money managers. And there are no magic wands, to help you start a new venture and turn it into a thriving and sustainable company. How do you run, market it, create its USP, its competitive advantage, how do you manage people, fundraise, and stay compliant with legal, accounting, administrative issues?
To pivot successfully I needed a systemic approach, a macroscopic view of things and good market understanding.
This is what led me to Said. It is thanks to this School, that my vision became a reality. Our class in 2010 was the cohort to launch the Diploma on Strategy and Innovation. By the time I graduated, in October 2011, I had established the Global Thinkers Forum a non-profit organization, championing youth and women's empowerment. Over the last fourteen years, through our mentoring programmes, campaigns, and strategic initiatives we planted seeds of positive change in the lives of people in more than 70 countries.
Today is a day of transition and new beginnings for you. A day of dreams, hopes, and excitement for the future.
We live in tricky, precarious times. Times marked by volatility, social shifts, and, polarisation. The global pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, the climate crisis, tech disruption, political polarization, population movement. The uncertainties that Artificial Intelligence generates. Will humanoids exterminate us humans?
It sounds like a joke today, but who knows? The world feels increasingly unpredictable. The pace of innovation often leaves leaders and institutions struggling to adapt, to act. Misinformation spreads faster than truth, eroding trust and traditional systems. To navigate this landscape successfully one needs resilience, agility, prioritisation of values-driven leadership, and a sense of collective responsibility.
Today, you hold in your hands something hugely valuable. A diploma from one of the world's top academic institutions. It’s a proof of your brilliance, but also your determination and character.
It is also an asset that millions around the world can only dream of. I always remember the intense emotions on my graduation day. The excitement, the pride. One of the most important days in my life. I think you too will always remember that day with pride and fondness. But let's be clear: even a powerful diploma such as this one, is not enough. Now that you’ve accomplished this, I’m sure that you realise that this is not an endpoint; it is a beginning.
Your diploma is a tool for change. A unique passport that can turn your ideas into vision, action, success. A key that will open doors. Our education gives us not just tremendous opportunities but also responsibility.
The measure of success will not be the title you earned today. Neither the six-figure salary you will be offered, very soon I hope, or the C-Suite role. Success is what you will choose to do with the knowledge you've gained and the connections and friendships that you have built. How you be guided by integrity.
Let me close with a story:
In ancient Athens, a man was walking through the crowded streets at midday, holding a lit lantern.
His name was Diogenes. When puzzled citizens asked what he was doing, holding a lamp in bright daylight, he replied,
“I’m looking for an honest man.”
His answer was making a point. Diogenes lived not in a house, but in a large clay jar.
He owned almost nothing, believed society was corrupted by greed and vanity, and made it his life’s mission to live by truth, not convention.
When Alexander the Great visited him and asked if there was anything he could offer, Diogenes looked up and said, “Yes, stand out of my sunlight.”
That single line silenced the most powerful man in the world.
Diogenes had no title, no riches, and no influence in the traditional sense, but he had something far rarer: freedom, moral clarity, and the courage to live by his values. That is the kind of leadership the world needs now more than ever.
So, may I encourage you to ask yourself:
From this day onwards, how can I lead with integrity, compassion and foresight?
How can I create solutions for our societies?
What ways can I find to build bridges between people, ideas, markets?
You are the future leaders of our world and leadership is about service.
We have inherited a world in need of repair. And the unique opportunity to make it better.
Believe in yourselves, you have within you more power than you realise.
Let your values guide you, especially when things get complex and challenging.
Invest in human relationships.
Before I came to Oxford, I was a journalist, an observer of the world, and a seeker of truths.
I've reported on human stories at their best: success stories, athletic achievements, peace-making, cultural creativity, medical innovation. I also witnessed our societies in their most broken moments. People jumping off the twin towers on 9/11, countries suffering from brutal economic recessions, societies taking to the streets to demand democracy, and better living standards. I realized that telling the story wasn't enough. That's why I came here. Oxford has shaped my thinking, my character, my legacy.
Going back to classical Greece: Greeks had two words for the meaning of ‘time’. The word χρόνος, which denotes linear, chronological time, and the word kairos which is a qualitative concept, referring to the moment of opportunity. The moment when conditions align, when action must be taken, when destiny calls.
Whatever you decide to do next, the right moment is here.
Kairos is now. Seize it.
Thank you.