From 13 to 15 July 2023, 169 Atlantic Fellows and 29 staff from all seven Atlantic Fellows programs gathered at Rhodes House, Oxford, for the Global Atlantic Fellows Annual Convening. Under the theme #StepInStepUp, participants were invited to step into courageous conversations and step up to make change. This is a record of three days of connection, reflection and collaboration across the global Atlantic community.
The Annual Convening is a flagship event for the Atlantic community, the first opportunity for Fellows who have graduated from their program to connect and collaborate with other Fellows around the world who have also completed an Atlantic Fellows program.
Special thanks go to the focus group who co-created the design of the annual convening. They also came up with this year's inspiring theme, #StepInStepUp whereby all participants were encouraged to Step Into discomfort and courageous conversations and Step Up to make change.
We also thank the Global Atlantic Fellows Advisory Board members who attended to support the event, and the Home Group Leads who made the experience enjoyable for so many of you.
We invited all those who attended the convening to rate whether the different elements of it met or exceeded their expectations. Some 66% of you responded to our survey, the results of which we are sharing here. Thank you!
Official Welcome
The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Historical Context
An Overview of the Seven Atlantic Fellows Programs and the Atlantic Institute
Getting to Know Each Other
Local Program Connection
Who We Are
Welcome to Place: A spoken word poem
Formal Welcome Dinner
Panel session: Confronting History: How Britain Contributed to Global Inequality
Decoding Session with Home Groups
Interactive Keynote: Sustainable Economies
Panel Session: Africa's Pathway to a Prosperous Future: Agenda 2063
Home Groups' Dinner
Slam Night
Panel: (Un)Doing Public Health: (K)new Approaches to Addressing Health Inequalities
Fellow-led Sessions: Thematic Cross-program Dialogues
Panel session: XR as a Liberatory Tool: Community-developed VR to Dream Fairer Futures
Home Groups Session
Community Building: In Conversation with Atlantic Fellows
Official Close
Farewell Party, Oxford Town Hall
The convening opened with welcome presentations from Dr. Elizabeth Kiss from the Rhodes Trust, and Evie O'Brien and Tanya Charles from the Atlantic Institute.
Then Chris Oechsli, president of The Atlantic Philanthropies and chair of the Atlantic Institute Governing Board, reflected on the vision and generosity of Charles "Chuck" Feeney, the founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies foundation, which led to the setting up of the seven Atlantic Fellows programs and the Atlantic Institute to realize a fairer, healthier, more inclusive world.
The executive directors explained each of the Atlantic Fellows program's distinctive aims. In Who We Are, groups of Fellows from each of the programs shared their cultures and goals through song, music, dance and the spoken word.
Welcome to Place is a process included in all our convenings, by which someone from the land or country extends their welcome to the visitors and guests. Rawz, an MC and poet, talked about Oxford as a city of two parallel worlds.
The Welcome Dinner was at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History where we connected over food, dining with dinosaurs!
The panel, Confronting History: How Britain Contributed to Global Inequality, examined racism and colonialism within the British context. The speakers David Olusoga, Gary Younge and Laura Trevelyan offered different perspectives and responded to questions from the floor.
Kate Raworth delivered the keynote address, Sustainable Economies. The author of the landmark book Doughnut Economics outlined why we need greener, fairer economic models.
Atlantic Fellows Makmid Kamara, Musa Gwebani and Yared Zewde discussed Africa's Pathway to a Prosperous Future: Agenda 2063 in a session moderated by Patronella Nqaba from the Atlantic Institute.
Home Groups in breakout areas and at the Home Groups' dinners offered the ideal opportunity to meet others with shared interests and decode some of the courageous conversations.
Slam Night was a chance to sing, play an instrument or deliver a poem and tapped a rich seam of talent!
(Un)Doing Public Health: (K)new Approaches to Addressing Health Inequalities examined how to elevate the needs of marginalized communities. The session featured Professor Bola Owolabi, with Atlantic Fellows Brandi Payton, Tendai Chisirimunhu Kathemba and moderator Lovelyn Nwadeyi.
XR as a Liberatory Tool: Community-developed VR to Dream Fairer Futures featured Indigenous leaders Isabel Monarca Cruz and Lorenzo Moreno Pajarito, who explained how they, with their community in Mexico, co-created a 360-degree film with Atlantic Fellow Myriam Alejandra Hernandez. The panel also included Atlantic Fellow Nasser Eledroos and Atlantic Institute XR Lead Alice Wroe.
A closing dinner at Oxford Town Hall also featured a ceilidh band. As they say in Ireland, the craic was mighty!
We received a lot of comments expressing gratitude for the organization of the convening overall. Attendees were highly satisfied with the logistical aspects of the convening and we intend to retain these elements for future convenings whilst refining them based on your feedback.
The global convening is focused on helping you forge new connections, so it is great news that 82% of the Fellows agreed it had enabled them to achieve this. In addition, 88% of Fellows who provided feedback say they are likely to seek to collaborate with Fellows they met at the event.
We realize that Rhodes House as a venue led to different feelings. Whilst 81% of those who provided feedback said Rhodes House met or exceeded expectations, some expressed concerns about the annual convening being held here. We take your concerns extremely seriously.
We are committed to holding future Atlantic Fellows convenings at Rhodes House as we are contributing toward the transformation of institutions that have been historically exclusionary. In the future, we intend to incorporate other venues in Oxford into the annual convening program.
Finally, we have reviewed and considered every piece of feedback received and we are delighted that so many of you had a positive experience. We have reflected on how we can do better next time.
We were privileged to present GAWI, a virtual realities (VR) film made by Atlantic Fellow Myriam Hernandez and the Raramuri culture from northern Mexico. The Raramuri have been guarding their environment and culture for millennia. At a time of climate crisis, the Raramuri used the XR Lab to invite us to join them in a dreamlike VR experience.
Like the technology itself, engagement in this area is emerging. After experiencing the Fellow's stunning work, we discussed how the XR Lab and its equipment and know-how could be an important resource for furthering your work.
We hope that by working together this global community can make great things happen in the months and years to come!
Please reach out to the Atlantic Institute team if you need anything. Remember you can share posts with other Atlantic Fellows on the @atlanticfellows social media channels. We also invite you to keep connected with others in the community on the Atlantic Fellows Hub.
Alex Splitt, Anne Browning, Cyan Brown, Dorah Marema, Marcus Akuhata-Brown, Peter Gan Kim Soon, Rajaraman Natarajan, Bayanda Ndumiso, Sarah M. Hooper and Maritza Pintado-Caipa.
The Home Groups also provide a port of call for Fellows who need support: whether they are lost, need medical help, mental health support, or general information. Home Group Leads will signpost people to the relevant Atlantic Institute team member.
We are delighted to share with you small augmented reality (AR) experiences created by Atlantic Fellows to welcome newly graduated Fellows to the global Atlantic community. Using your mobile phone, follow the instructions below to experience creative gestures of welcome from each of the seven Atlantic Fellows programs.
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