Keynote SpeakersJohn Bird MBE is the founder of The Big Issue.
He is one of the most interesting and inspiring characters you will likely encounter.
He has a history more colourful than the Northern Lights and stories that will have you crying, laughing, and ultimately in complete awe of this larger-than-life individual who not only embraces life but also teaches others how to do so.
In September 1991, John Bird and Gordon Roddick of The Body Shop launched The Big Issue.
The inspiration for the magazine came from Street News, a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York, which Roddick saw on a visit to the States.
Roddick and Bird initially launched The Big Issue as a monthly publication in London with the assistance of The Body Shop International.
In June 1993, The Big Issue went weekly, and regional sister titles were later established in Manchester (The Big Issue in the North), Glasgow (The Big Issue Scotland) and Cardiff (The Big Issue Cymru), Bristol (The Big Issue South West) and Birmingham (The Big Issue Midlands). Subsequent editions were also launched in Sydney, Australia, Cape Town, South Africa and Los Angeles, USA. The Big Issue is a founder member of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP), which links up similar magazines from all over the world.
The Big Issue campaigns on behalf of homeless and socially excluded people. It is not part of any other media group and fiercely guards its independence. It has no party political allegiance.
The magazine combines hard-hitting current affairs journalism with critical, incisive writing about the world of arts and entertainment. Its high standard of reporting has won it a brace of high-profile media awards.
John Bird is currently president of The Big Issue Foundation Board of Trustees.
“I have a lifetime of experience to draw upon. I was born into the underclass, made homeless at the age of seven, in prison by the time I was a teenager, slept rough on the streets of London, and from there went on to buying and selling products and services, and building businesses”.
At a time when Corporate Social Responsibility is preoccupying business leaders and consumers alike, audiences welcome John’s fresh and nonconfrontational approach to challenging existing thinking. His motivational presentations focus on goal setting, soul searching, and ultimately, the individual’s motivational drive.
“Achieving the “impossible”: Genius it ain’t: “I was born with few advantages, but I managed to turn my life around with a combination of will-power, determination, a positive attitude and, of course, some luck. Many people believe that it takes some sort of inherent genius to succeed – I know from my own experience that that is not true. We can all achieve more if we learn to have the confidence to fail.”
In June 1995, John Bird was awarded the MBE for ‘services to homeless people’, and in 2006, he received the prestigious Beacon Fellowship Prize for his energy and originality in raising awareness of homelessness and his support of homeless communities worldwide.
John Bird was nominated for a life peerage by the House of Lords Appointments Commission in October 2015 to become a non-party-political peer.
Speaking topics include:
- Leadership
- Motivation
- Empowerment
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Social Enterprise
- Social Change
