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Scott Neeson

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Scott Neeson is a Scottish-Australian film executive turned philanthropist, Founder and Executive Director of the Cambodian Children's Fund.

Scott Neeson in Cambodia, 2012.

Early life & career

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Scott Neeson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. At age 5, he and his family moved to Australia.[1] He was raised in the industrial city of Elizabeth, South Australia, and never completed high school.[2] Neeson delivered movie posters for a local theatre company called Clifford Theatres that operated drive-in cinemas, this launched his career in the film business.[3] He climbed the ranks of the Australian film industry, and in 1993 accepted a position with 20th Century Fox International in Los Angeles.[4]

20th Century Fox

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Scott Neeson on the set of Braveheart, 1995

Neeson spent 10 years at 20th Century Fox, in 1996 he was made Vice President of 20th Century Fox and in 2000 he was promoted to President of 20th Century Fox International, overseeing the release of blockbusters such as Titanic, Braveheart, Independence Day, X-Men, the Star Wars prequel trilogy and more than 100 other films.[3][4] In 2003, Neeson was offered a position at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He accepted the role but allowed time for a period of travel in South East Asia.[4]

Cambodian Children's Fund

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Neeson first visited Cambodia in 2003 during a sabbatical before he started his role at Sony Pictures Entertainment.[1] While in Cambodia, he visited the Steung Meanchey dumpsite, located in an area just outside of Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh. The dump was home to children and families, who scavenged through waste for plastic and metal recyclables.[5]

Neeson spent the remainder of his 2003 South East Asian holiday laying the foundation for Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF). He returned home, began his new role with Sony Pictures Entertainment but made monthly trips to to continue work on Cambodian Children's Fund. In 2004, he resigned from Sony Pictures Entertainment, sold his home, boat and cars, hired his first local staff member and moved to Cambodia as Founder and Executive Director of CCF.[4]

CCF was initially developed to provide safety and schooling for 45 children in critical need.[6] In 2013 CCF founded the Child Protection Unit which trains and co-operates with the Cambodia National Police to investigate crimes against children. That same year CCF partnered with World Housing to open the doors of World Housing’s first micro home building factory, providing low cost homes to qualifying CCF families from Steung Meanchey.[7]

CCF now offers education and leadership training to around 1,900 children[6] and has constructed over 400 World Housing homes for the community.[7] The dump was relocated in 2009, but the families remain and many continue to rely on garbage scavenging as a means of survival. CCF provides award-winning,[4] comprehensive care for these families and others from rural regions of Cambodia.

Neeson at CCF

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Neeson's work centers on managing executive and international operations, fundraising and furthering relationships with supporters. He takes part in student meetings and student award ceremonies at CCF facilities and goes on evening walks through the communities surrounding Steung Meanchey.[8][5][4]

Awards

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In 2007, Quincy Jones awarded Neeson the inaugural Harvard School of Public Health "Q Prize" in recognition of his extraordinary leadership in advocacy for children, calling Neeson's "selfless, remarkable commitment to the children of Cambodia" a "genuine profile in courage."[5] In the same year, CCF received the Rex Foundation Bill Graham award for creating a sanctuary for Cambodian children to thrive, learn and grow.[6]

In July 2008, Neeson was awarded the Peace Award by the non-profit organization Ambassadors for Children, for his devotion to serving the disadvantaged, abused, and abandoned children of Cambodia.[9] Neeson was honoured with the Ahimsa Award in 2012, presented annually at the House of Commons to an individual who embodies non-violence and compassion. Previous Ahisma recipients include Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.[10] In 2015, Neeson shared his journey in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (WA) event in Perth.[11] CCF also received a 2012 WISE Award, recognising it’s transformative impact on education and society.[8] The WISE Awards identify, showcase and promote six innovative educational projects each year.

Neeson was selected as a South Australian finalist in the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards.[12] In 2014, Neeson was a finalist for Rotary International's The One humanitarian award[9] and the recipient of the Standing for Something Award which was presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Australia, in recognition of “the powerful contribution that he has made to those in need”.[13]

In 2016, the Variety International Children's Fund named Scott Neeson as the recipient of its annual Humanitarian Award.[14]

In 2017, Neeson was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Social Work from St Elizabeth University of Health and Social Sciences in Slovakia.[15]

Media

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Neeson was featured as one of the “Heroes Among Us” in the December 2012 issue of People Magazine.[16] Earlier in 2012, a documentary chronicling Neeson’s move from Hollywood to Cambodia, titled “Streets With No Names”, was featured on the TV show Australian Story,[17] and CCF’s first restaurant, the Star Restaurant, was the focus of an episode of the Australian TV show Poh’s Kitchen.[18] Neeson has also been ABC TV’s Person of the Week[9] and featured in a 3 part series on PBS.[19][20][21]

His story has also featured in The Wall Street Journal,[4] The Sunday Times,[22] The Los Angeles Times,[23] Variety,[24] The South China Morning Post,[5] The Australian[25] and other publications.

  1. ^ a b "Film mogul to charity angel: how tip trip made millionaire Scott Neeson join slumdogs". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  2. ^ ppp_webadmin (2012-03-16). "From hopeless to Hollywood: now hope for Cambodians". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  3. ^ a b "Leaving it all Behind to Give Children Hope - Cambodian Children's Fund". The Culture-ist. 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wolfe, Alexandra (2015-06-12). "Scott Neeson: From Hollywood Executive to Philanthropist". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  5. ^ a b c "True grit: from Hollywood to the horrors of a Phnom Penh rubbish dump". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  6. ^ a b "Scott Neeson: A True Hero!". Beautiful Humans. 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  7. ^ a b Ratana, Uong (2017-11-09). "NGOs fill affordable housing gap". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  8. ^ "The Inspiring Story of a Hollywood Exec Who Traded His Yacht and L.A. Mansion to Help Starving Cambodian Children". NextShark. 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  9. ^ a b News, A. B. C. (2009-03-26). "Children's Fund Gives Cambodian Youth Hope". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-01-16. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ "Ahimsa Day 2012 – Institute of Jainology". Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Australian of the Year Awards". www.australianoftheyear.org.au. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  13. ^ "Church Honours former Head of Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox International". www.mormonnewsroom.org.au. 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  14. ^ "CineEurope 2016 to Honor Scott Neeson with the Variety International Children's Fund Humanitarian Award – Variety International". variety.org. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  15. ^ Vichea, Pang (2017-11-28). "CCF founder Neeson gets honorary degree". Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  16. ^ "Scott Neeson Left Hollywood to Save Kids in Cambodia's Slums". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  17. ^ Streets With No Names, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2012-04-16, retrieved 2019-02-04
  18. ^ "Cambodian Children's Fund - Episodes - Poh's Kitchen". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  19. ^ "December 1, 2006 ~ Scott Neeson | December 1, 2006 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS". Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  20. ^ "May 7, 2010 ~ Cambodian Children's Fund | May 7, 2010 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS". Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  21. ^ Scott Neeson Update | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, retrieved 2019-02-04
  22. ^ Turner, Amy (2010-11-07). "I left Hollywood for a Cambodian rubbish dump". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  23. ^ Miller, Martin (2005-06-19). "Film exec did well; now he does good". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  24. ^ Hofler, Robert; Hofler, Robert (2013-06-17). "Roland Emmerich Hosts Scott Neeson Fundraiser". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  25. ^ "Street fighter". www.theaustralian.com.au. 2014-09-19. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
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