NEW YORK and OXFORD, England, Nov.
13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing that the world's
most important problems will be solved by tomorrow's leaders,
Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust announced today the Rise
program to increase opportunity for exceptional young people
worldwide to serve their communities throughout their lives. Rise
is the anchor program under a commitment also announced today by
Eric and Wendy Schmidt—founders of Schmidt Futures—to dedicate
$1 billion across their philanthropic
initiatives to find and elevate talent across disciplines to serve
others and help address the most pressing global issues.
"All around the world there are brilliant and visionary people
who could do so much more to help their communities and the world
if they had the support and opportunity," said Eric Schmidt. "All too often, those individuals
are isolated at a very young age and don't have access to the
resources that can help them develop their ideas. Rise will find
and connect these exceptional young people—and give them
individualized support they need—so they can work together to serve
others."
Rise, an initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust,
will build a lifelong community of students, teachers, and
institutions across sectors who aim to serve others. The program,
which will seek young people between the ages of 15 and 17 from
around the world, will be designed to encourage a lifetime of
service and learning by providing support that could include
scholarships, career services, and funding opportunities to help
these leaders serve others for decades to come.
The first annual competition for Rise in 2020 will begin to
build a global community of students, teachers, and
others—including a larger group of finalists worldwide and
ultimately at least 100 extraordinary young people each year who
show the potential to have a unique impact on their communities
with more connection and support. Those young people who advance
through the final stages of the competition will be invited to
attend a residential fellowship before their final year of high
school that will support them as they consider how to serve others,
how to become leaders, and how to transition to higher education
and careers. Other opportunities will include the potential to
apply for scholarship funding for education, mentorship and other
assistance tailored to their specific needs and interests, and a
variety of career services as part of the Rise network.
To encourage service, Rise will invite its community members to
make service commitments together and develop a platform to match
network members with common interests. In addition, Rise plans to
support non-profits or other social enterprises that Rise network
members drive together to serve others. Finalists and others
in the Rise network will have the opportunity to compete for
as-needed funding to launch or scale their ventures; funds are
intended to be designated for these purposes in a total pooled
amount of at least $5 million per
year of the program.
"Through our philanthropic work over the past 13 years, we know
that investing in people and giving them the tools and support they
need to develop and implement their ideas can lead to exceptional
solutions to global problems—from protecting our planet's fragile
ecosystem to ensuring every individual has access to fresh air,
clean water and healthy food," said Wendy
Schmidt. "By identifying emerging talent in all disciplines,
we can support them and their ideas as they work on solutions we
can't even imagine today."
"We share Eric and Wendy
Schmidt's commitment to developing tomorrow's young leaders
and believe that Rise is an incredible opportunity to identify
talent early and nurture these public-spirited young people who
have the potential to do extraordinary things. We have seen
firsthand the power of creating a lifelong network of exceptional
talent and the importance of being part of a vibrant community of
moral engagement and mutual support," said Elizabeth Kiss, Warden and CEO of the Rhodes
Trust.
The vision behind Rise—to develop talent for public good—is also
at the heart of both the Rhodes Trust and Schmidt Futures missions.
Their partnership follows the 2017 launch of the Schmidt Science
Fellows program—a post-doctoral program developed to give the
world's best aspiring scientific minds a broader perspective, the
ability to engage in an interdisciplinary way and the opportunity
to make a lasting impact on society.
"We are excited to work with Schmidt Futures to develop a global
program for young people who show intellect, resilience, and
integrity, which have always been key values for the Rhodes Trust.
We look forward to witnessing how these teenagers will develop into
tomorrow's leaders across all disciplines in every country," added
Sir John Bell GBE, Chair of the
Rhodes Trustees and Regius Professor of Medicine at the
University of Oxford.
"If one person alone can change the world, just imagine the
power of what a network of exceptional people could do to help
others," said Eric Braverman, CEO of
Schmidt Futures. "The work ahead for Schmidt Futures with partners
like the Rhodes Trust is clear: build the network everywhere we
can, bet on the network's collective potential, strengthen its
connections, and help the best ideas to scale."
In the coming months, Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust will
announce more details about the Rise program and its partners, as
well as opportunities for teachers, students, service
organizations, and others from the public, private, and nonprofit
sectors to become involved in the Rise network. For more
information, visit schmidtfutures.com/rise.
To hear an interview with Eric and Wendy
Schmidt about their new talent commitment, click here.
Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by
Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that finds
exceptional people and helps them do more for others together.
Schmidt Futures knits talent into networks, bets on the most
promising ideas through diverse forms of competition and support,
and equips people to scale through partners and modern tools. To
realize this vision, Schmidt Futures uses a broad set of
tools—including gifts, grants, investments, and startup
activity—for charitable, educational, and commercial efforts with a
public purpose. For more information, visit schmidtfutures.com.
The Rhodes Trust, based at the University of Oxford, brings together and develops
exceptional people from all over the world and in all fields of
study who are impatient with the way things are and who have the
courage to act. Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards that
provide transformative educational opportunities. Established in
1903, they are the oldest and perhaps the most prestigious
international graduate scholarships in the world. Over 8,000 Rhodes
Scholars have gone on to serve at the forefront of government,
education, the arts, NGOs, commerce, research and other sectors.
They are well-known advocates for expanded social justice and have
advanced the frontiers of science and medicine. For more
information, visit rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/.
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SOURCE Rise, an Initiative of Schmidt Futures and The Rhodes
Trust