John Bird: The Near Illusory Gap Between Rich and Poor
John Bird was born into poverty, brought up in care, and has lived through a lot. His life’s journey has included spells as a thief, prison inmate, artist and poet. Now an established iconoclast, activist and publisher, he is the force behind ‘The Big Issue’, the world’s most successful street magazine. He is an inspirational business leader with an outstanding record of using business as a tool for social change.
ABOUT TEDx
TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, ‘ideas worth spreading’. The programme is designed to give communities, organisations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.
ABOUT John Bird
“John Bird was born in Notting Hill, London to a poor London Irish family. He became homeless at the age of five, resided in an orphanage between the ages of seven and ten, and went into prison in his teenage years. He slept rough on the streets of London and returned to prison a number of times in his late twenties.
John Bird MBE is now a British social entrepreneur. He is best known as the founder of ‘The Big Issue’ a magazine that is edited by professional journalists and sold by street vendors affected by homelessness. In September 1991 he launched ‘The Big Issue’ with Gordon Roddick and in November 1995 he launched ‘The Big Issue Foundation’ to further aid the homeless.
He is currently on the Board of Directors for the company and the Board of Trustees for the Foundation. The Big Issue magazine started as a local London venture, but has since expanded with specific editions and services to other British cities, and to other countries.”
The VIDEO
RELATED
1. Website
