Seven men and women have been selected by the UK-based Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust with a brief to ‘change the world’. Chosen from among more than 1,600 applicants, the so-called ‘Rowntree Visionaries’ have been appointed for a period of five years under the Visionaries for a Just and Peaceful World programme. This programme celebrates the centenary of Joseph Rowntree’s own vision to create a ‘more peaceful and just world’.

They are Karen Chouhan, who wants a Black-led decision-making approach to race equality in the UK; Roy Head, whose mission is to tackle inequality of information about health in the developing world; Heather Parker and Mark Hinton (a jobshare), who want to build bridges between a local UK community and the developing world; Carne Ross, who has founded a new organization, Independent Diplomat, to help even up the disadvantage small and transitional countries face in international relations; Clive Stafford Smith, whose aim is to close Guantanamo Bay and other enclaves of human rights abuse; and Geoff Tansey, who plans to achieve global food sustainability by challenging international patent and other laws which currently stack the odds in favour of large corporate interests and against developing countries.

The seven will spend the next few months preparing for their new roles before taking up their posts later in the year. The Trust is currently working with each of them to establish methods of evaluating their impact over the five years.

For more information contact Project Manager Di Stubbs at di@jrct.org.uk or visit http://www.jrct-visionaries.org.uk