Nobel prize-winner Malala Yousafzai, World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and physicist Brian Cox have voiced their support for the BBC.
They gave their opinion about the broadcaster in a video montage played after Lord Hall outlined his plans for the future of the organisation.
Sir Tim, inventor of the World Wide Web, said the BBC should try to be "one of the cherished" news sites.
"Unbiased politically, you want people to say 'I've heard it on the BBC so I believe it'," he added.
Miss Yousafzai, 18, who was shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 after campaigning for girls' education, said the BBC has "helped many people improve the quality of life" by delivering "balanced and less biased news".
"It plays a key role not just in Britain but across the world," she continued.
Mr Cox, who has presented numerous science programmes for the BBC, described the new Ideas Service as part of a "new age of wonder".
"It's the largest public engagement ever attempted," he said.
"Important scientific and cultural organisations in Britain will come together to make the BBC better."
During a speech at the event, he said: "The BBC is first and foremost a national institution.
"That means it exists to make Britain better.
"Help make Britain the best place in the world to do science and the acquisition of knowledge and to study."
He added: "Now is not a time to restrain the BBC, instead we should ensure it has the resources it needs."
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