The Global Annual Convening 2024: Opportunities and Hope

By Maria Jeffery

From July 11-14, the fourth Global Atlantic Fellows Annual Convening will be hosted by the Atlantic Institute in Oxford, U.K. This flagship event for the Atlantic Fellows community is the first opportunity for all recently graduated cohorts to meet formally with their peers from all seven of the distinct Atlantic Fellows programs worldwide. As global Atlantic Fellows, they build relationships and friendships, identify shared interests and learn about different perspectives and local contexts. The emphasis of the convening is on connection and applying a global lens to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.?

The Atlantic Fellows fellowship is unique in its diversity, comprised of mid-career changemakers, all leaders in their fields drawn from different countries, disciplines and lived experiences. Although each of the seven programs is focused on its own distinct topical interest, all are committed to moving the needle toward fairer, healthier, more inclusive societies.?

During the bespoke induction program experience of 12 or more months, Fellows are focused on their topical interest in brain health, racial equity, social equity, economic equity, or health equity. Throughout their journey as an Atlantic Fellow, the North Star that guides them is a model of collaborative leadership, the value of dialogue, and navigating and bridging different perspectives and opinions.

The Global Atlantic Fellows Annual Convening, hosted by the Atlantic Institute, is their first entry into a cross-program community of Fellows. The Atlantic Institute’s mission is to give them platforms and convenings for meeting and learning, reimagining, collaborating and acting on shared possibilities and solutions for advancing equity - locally, regionally and globally.

So who are the Atlantic Fellows? They can be artists, scientists, policymakers, lawyers, medics who have a proven commitment to advancing equity. The number of Fellows in the community will soon top 1,000 and it will continue to grow in number, strength and influence.?

The Atlantic Institute is based at Rhodes House and a partner of Rhodes Trust, which is why the convening is in Oxford. Rhodes Trust is aligned in its values and aspirations: to bring together and develop exceptional people from all over the world and all fields of study, who are impatient with the way things are and have the courage to act.

Charles “Chuck” Feeney, the philanthropist who co-founded The Atlantic Philanthropies, described the funding of the Atlantic Fellows programs and the Atlantic Institute as his “final big bet.”?Before his passing in October 2023, he had given away his entire personal fortune to better humanity. He explained the Giving While Living pledge: “I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one is living …today’s needs are so great and varied that intelligent philanthropic support and positive interventions can have greater value and impact today than if they are delayed when the needs are greater.”?

This will be the final global convening for Evie O’Brien, the outgoing Atlantic Institute Executive Director, who Lysa John will replace in October. Evie said: “We see alarming levels of incomprehensible violence and volatility that make rapid, dramatic shifts politically. These are big challenges for leaders; we need a different form of leadership, which is why this community is even more important than ever.”

The global convening is when the newest cohorts of Atlantic Fellows start to realize the power of collective leadership across the programs. By working together, we are a sum of our parts, to create more equitable organizations, communities and nations.

Learn more about the Atlantic Fellows and programs staff that make up the community in the Global Community Book (2016-2024).