A record number of Rhodes Scholars will gather in Oxford to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Rhodes Scholarships, arguably the world’s pre-eminent graduate fellowship.
Over the past 120 years the Rhodes Trust has brought more than 8,400 talented people to the University of Oxford to meet, to learn, to think and to fight the world’s fight by a positive change in the world. Many have gone on to be political leaders and policymakers, eminent scientists and thinkers, activists, artists, teachers, doctors, writers and researchers.
This month, more than 1,300 Scholars, friends and distinguished guests will meet in Oxford to renew friendships, make new connections, think about the Scholarship’s past, its present and its plans to create more Scholarships so we can expand this opportunity to many more people into the future.
They will gather at the newly reimagined Rhodes House, which has undergone a two year project to create the most modern conferencing and convening facilities in Oxford.
During the Rhodes trust 120th anniversary reunion, Scholars will gather across Oxford to debate topics from AI and global health to geopolitcs and law. They will reflect on the Scholarship’s history, its present and ways it can become an ever more global force for good in the future.
This year also marks:
- 20 years since the foundation of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, created by the Rhodes Trust and President Nelson Mandela at the time of the Rhodes Trust’s centenary. During the past two decades the Mandela Rhodes Foundation has awarded 622 scholarships to outstanding young scholars and future leaders from 33 African countries and across 35 disciplines. During the Trust’s centenary celebrations in 2003, President Mandela joined President Bill Clinton (Arkansas & University 1968) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London’s Westminster Hall to mark the centenary and launch the foundation.
- Five years since the creation of our partner programme the Schmidt Science Fellows, an initiative of Schmidt Futures, delivered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust. The Program believes in a vision of a world where interdisciplinary science flourishes without limit, accelerating discoveries to benefit the world, and driving innovation that improves quality of life for all. Schmidt Science Fellows helps scientists solve bigger problems faster by identifying, developing, and amplifying the next generation of science leaders, building a community of interdisciplinary scientists and supporters, and leveraging this network to drive sector-wide change. The Fellowship community now includes six cohorts, totaling 145 members from 34 nationalities
The Trust will also welcome friends from its other partner programmes
- The Atlantic Institute, created in 2019 with the Atlantic Philanthropies, which creates a lifelong community of leaders who connect, learn and collaborate across diverse perspectives to promote equity.
- RISE, an initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust - our newest partnership program, which builds a network of promising young people working to serve others.