The vision of the Atlantic Fellows community
Atlantic Fellows are a diverse, international community of leaders who share a deep commitment to advancing fairer, healthier, more inclusive societies. They are courageous, compassionate, and collaborative thinkers and doers who collectively seek to bring lasting improvements to their communities and the world. Their diversity enables them to look at the causes of systemic problems from multiple perspectives to more effectively address the root causes rather than the symptoms.
THE GLOBAL ATLANTIC COMMUNITY
The Atlantic Institute's mission
The Atlantic Institute seeks to amplify the influence and impact of the Atlantic Fellows and the Atlantic Fellows programs by:
Supporting lifelong community among Atlantic Fellows with access to resources and opportunities to connect, learn and work together.
Promoting collaboration and shared approaches across Atlantic Fellows programs with virtual and face-to-face platforms for sharing knowledge.
Extending community by connecting Atlantic Fellows and programs to a broader global network of equityfocused leadership initiatives.
Raising global awareness of the work of the Fellows and the programs.
"Constantly learning from my fellow Fellows is one of the best parts of being in the Atlantic community."
Laura Booi
Dementia researcher in the U.K.
Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health
"I felt isolated using stories to pursue equity and fight injustice. I no longer feel isolated in my work."
Brenda Hughes
Community engagement manager in the U.S.
Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity U.S. + Global
"I am engaged in discussing the way forward with other Fellows, to collaborate with the African Fellows in our related fields."
Pham Thi Ngoc Bich
Social activist in Viet Nam
Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in Southeast Asia
"After the 'Become a Futurist' course, I streamlined processes, improved communication, incorporated artificial intelligence and enhanced decision-making. The impact was profound."
Tshepo Mokhadi
Hospital environmental health practitioner
Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in South Africa
The Global Atlantic Fellows Advisory Board (GFAB)
Fourteen board members, two Fellows from each program represent Fellows' interests and advise the Atlantic Institute on its strategic direction; and work to increase engagement with and awareness of the Atlantic Fellows community.
The growing Atlantic Fellows global community
January 2025
1100 Atlantic Fellows 2018
300 Atlantic Fellows
2040s
2700+ Atlantic Fellows
2016
The Atlantic Institute is approved by The Atlantic Philanthropies and set up at Rhodes Trust.
2020 COVID-19 pandemic is declared. The Institute launched solidarity grants and hosted a Virtual Welcome Ceremony.
2022
The Institute resumed inperson events, including the Global Atlantic Fellows Annual Convening.
2024 The hosting of our first regional initiative convening, Africa.
2055+
The Institute's life will extend beyond a 30-year horizon
2019
The Atlantic Institute hosted the first global convening in Oxford for 130 newly graduated Fellows.
2021
The Institute set up the first Global Atlantic Fellows advisory group.
2023 The Institute opened the XR Lab at Rhodes House and Kopanong, a "home from home" for the community in Oxford.
2025-6
A new strategy is being developed, including a rollout of offerings to support a lifelong leadership journey.
Key learnings from 2016-2025
Focus more on building connections between newly graduated Fellows and earlier cohorts. Be clearer about shared purpose.
Lean into the breadth of the Institute's mission, including prioritizing raising global awareness and connections with external networks.
The Institute must align and work ever closer with the programs to achieve our shared mission.
Sharpen focus on transdisciplinary collaborations.
Changes from July 2025
Graduated Atlantic Fellows join the global community
NEW The Global Welcome Pathway
NEW The Global Atlantic Fellows Continued Learning and Leadership Pathway
Why the changes to the global convening?
The Global Welcome will be designed for smaller groups of Fellows to deepen connection, and foster collaboration and shared approaches.
Why the changes to the global convening?
The Global Welcome will be tailored to the experiences of recently graduated Fellows and build on insights gained from their programs.
The interim Global Welcome
Fellows who were due to attend the 2025 Global Convening can still come to Oxford in 2025. The offer is on the table if programs want to express their interest to the Institute.
Other offerings you can take advantage of today
Online courses to build leadership.
Fellow-led events and offerings from partners e.g., Rhodes Trust.
Virtual events such as webinars and workshops.
Use of Kopanong and the Nelson Mandela Foundation building.
The Hub for connection, news, resources and opportunities.
A loan system of XR equipment.
The Resource Bank.
Regular updates e.g., newsletters, WhatsApps etc.
Accessibility resources.
The Atlantic Fellows Hub
The Hub is a portal for you to connect with other Fellows and find out what they are doing. It also allows you to find Fellows to collaborate with or learn more about their areas of focus.
Extended Reality (XR)
We provide spaces for programming and conversation about technologies known as XR (Extended Reality). We host residencies and workshops that are aimed to inspire you.
The Atlantic Institute operates an XR Lab in Rhodes House, Oxford. We also run an equipment loan scheme.
Throughout history, those furthering equity have harnessed the power of the latest technologies. We believe the future landscape of social justice will be shaped by XR. Immersive technology provides a powerful tool for storytelling.
Our partner, the Rhodes Trust
The Atlantic Institute is based at Rhodes House, Oxford, and hosted by the Rhodes Trust
The Atlantic Philanthropies selected the Rhodes Trust as our partner because of our common mission and valuesto foster leadership and address global challenges to create a better world.
The Trust's partnership programs are: the Rhodes Scholarship, the Atlantic Institute, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, Schmidt Science Fellows, Rise and Oxford Next Horizons.
Other partners
The Institute leverages links that can give Atlantic Fellows more opportunities for connection.
The Atlantic Institute is one of six fellowships based at Rhodes House where its main partner is the Rhodes Trust that runs the international Rhodes Scholarship program. Global links can also be leveraged through our friends and allies at Oxford University.
We also collaborate with external partners in the city, including local NGOs.
The Atlantic Fellows residence
"Kopanong," is a meeting house for residencies, a place for study, and a place to host events and meet other Atlantic Fellows and program staff on short stays.
Kopanong roughly translates as "a meeting place of diverse languages."
It is within walking distance of Oxford city center.
Highlights between January and June 2025
Feb 4-7: GFAB in-person meeting in Oxford.
March: A series of webinars to mark International Women's Day.
April 1-4: Networking spaces around the Skoll World Forum 2025.
April 28-May 2: An XR Residency in Oxford.
In July: Alternative welcome events in Oxford for newly graduated Tekano Fellows and Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity.
