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On 5 March, 141 new Churchill Fellows will be appointed, with a mission to find global solutions for key issues that face the UK – ranging from climate change to suicide prevention and domestic abuse. They will visit the world’s leading experts and most innovative projects, and bring back ideas to strengthen the UK in a wide range of topical issues, including:

– Climate crisis and sustainability.
– Suicide prevention.
– Domestic abuse and violence against women.
– Supporting refugees and asylum seekers.
– Tackling Fake News.
– The recent introduction of Facial Recognition Technology.
– Mental health and wellbeing.
– Social isolation and loneliness.
– Reducing reoffending.
– Disability inclusion.
– Homelessness.
– The obesity crisis.
– The introduction of compulsory sex education in primary schools.
– And many more.

Together, they will receive grants totalling over £1,050,000 and travel to 51 countries across 6 continents. The average grant is £7,500. Every year, up to 150 Churchill Fellows are funded to spend up to 2 months overseas, researching practical innovations that can be actioned in the UK. Examples of this year’s Fellows and their projects are listed below. (The full list will be available at www.wcmt.org.uk on 5 March.)

Julia Weston, Chief Executive of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, said: “We’re excited to see the new ideas that this year’s Churchill Fellows will bring back to the UK on a huge range of today’s practical challenges. Since our creation in 1965 we have appointed 5,800 Fellows and we have seen many of them become knowledge leaders and innovators in their professions and communities across the UK. This is a crucial bridge of people and ideas between the UK and the world.”

We can offer interviews, quotes and photos with the new Fellows or with existing Fellows who have already made an impact in their sector or community.

Everyone can apply for a Churchill Fellowship, regardless of age, background or qualifications, so long as they are a UK citizen aged 18 or over. The next chance to apply for a Fellowship opens on 30 April 2020 for travel in 2021. Applications open via www.wcmt.org.uk.

Fellows’ projects this year include:

CLIMATE CRISIS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Climate change in the UK will be debated at the global summit COP26 in Glasgow in December 2020. The UK government has a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% on 1990 levels by 2025 and by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050. In May 2019, Parliament declared a ‘climate change emergency’, yet many feel the government is not doing enough.

• Localism’s role in tackling the climate crisis will be explored by new Fellow Nicholas Plumb, who is a Policy Officer at Locality, a charity supporting community organisations. He will travel to the USA and Spain to learn from their more local- and community-based approach to achieving a self-sustaining future, and bring back ideas for UK policy makers.
• The use of Effective Microorganisms (EM) for environmental and climate recovery will be researched by new Fellow Martin Costello, who is Director of an educational social enterprise. With little awareness or production of EM in the UK, he will be travelling to Japan where they developed EMs that were shown to have positive effects on organic and agricultural growth, water sanitation, repairing top soil degradation and managing waste sustainably. He will also travel to Brunei, Malaysia, The Philippines, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands and Ukraine where they are using EM.
• Achieving zero waste will be investigated by new Fellow Samantha Taylor, who is a Waste and Recycling Manager at an environmental charity. She will visit Canada and the USA to learn practical steps to enable her hometown of York to achieve Zero Waste by 2025. She will be visiting San Francisco where they cut waste by 80% over 7 years and are heading towards zero waste by 2020.

SUICIDE PREVENTION
The Samaritans estimate that deaths by suicide rose by 10.9% in the UK in 2018 and that the rate of suicides among under 25s increased by 23.7%. The highest suicide rate is among men aged 45-49. Prisoner suicides have also surged by 23% across England and Wales in the past year.

• Suicide prevention strategies for university students will be explored in the USA and Canada by new Fellow Ella Knight, University Wellbeing Advisor and Counsellor.
• Suicide prevention within prisons will be researched by new Fellows Julie Anderson (Head of Prisoner Wellbeing at Northern Ireland Prison Service) and Will Johnstone (Senior Policy Officer at Rethink Mental Illness). Between them they will travel to Canada, Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland. Julie and Will’s Fellowships are jointly funded by The John Armitage Charitable Trust.
• Participatory approaches to men’s mental health will be assessed by new Fellow Jonathan Isserow, an art psychotherapist and researcher from the University of Roehampton. Jonathan’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The John Armitage Charitable Trust.

DOMESTIC ABUSE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Domestic violence will affect one in four women in their lifetime, according to the charity Living Without Abuse. Research also indicates that one third of all female suicides in England and Wales are preceded by domestic abuse, and according to Femicide Census 61% of murders of women are by a current or former partner.

• Early intervention for victims of domestic abuse, positive perpetrator programmes, and specialist domestic abuse courts, will be researched by new Fellow Lucy Chapman, in Norway, Sweden and Canada.
• Prevention of university sexual violence in the USA and Australia will be explored by new Fellow Martha Jephcott, Founder of Empowered Campus.
• Deaths relating to domestic abuse, including suicides, will be investigated in the USA and Australia by new Fellow Sarah Dangar, Deputy CEO at Advocacy After Domestic Abuse. Sarah’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The John Armitage Charitable Trust.

SUPPORTING REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS
In 2018, there were 45,000+ people in the UK waiting for a decision on their asylum claims, with waiting times taking on average six months or more. Many asylum seekers and refugees arrive in the UK without an understanding of English and their integration within communities, particularly rural communities, can be challenging.

• Community Development Officer at Refugee Council Sepideh Mojabi will be exploring how Canada has implemented refugee resettlement policies and programmes in rural communities to inform a new initiative she’s working on in North Yorkshire.
• Community volunteer in teaching English Kerry Cressey will travel to the USA and The Netherlands to explore how to recruit, train and utilise volunteers from host communities in the integration of refugees who have settled there.
• Co-founder of a social enterprise supporting women from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds Daisy Jacobs will visit Jordan, Turkey and Germany to research the role of social enterprises in supporting asylum seekers as they wait for their claims to be processed. Daisy’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.

TACKLING FAKE NEWS
According to Reuters Institute, 61% of people want the government to do more to separate what is real and fake on the internet. Research from the National Literacy Trust found that only 2% of children and young people in the UK have the critical literacy skills they need to tell whether a news story is real or fake.

• Head of Strategy for the National Leadership Centre in the Cabinet Office Beth Lambert will explore how other countries regulate the media and educate the public to be able to spot fake news. She will visit Estonia (the “Silicon Valley of Europe”), Finland (the highest media literacy rate in the world), Germany (the most ambitious anti-fake news legislation in the West) and Singapore (recently created one of the most comprehensive anti-misinformation laws in the world).

FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY
In January, the London Met Police announced they would be rolling out live facial recognition technology in various sites across the city, beginning in February 2020. They argue that this will help tackle crime, but privacy campaigners argue that it is a threat to civil liberty.

• Technology and human rights researcher Rhiannon Adams will explore how this technology has been used in other countries and what impact it has had. She will bring back findings from Canada, China, Japan and the USA to help inform the UK public.

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year and about 1 in 10 children aged 5-16 are diagnosed with a mental health problem every year. Poor mental health in carers and those working in frontline services is also common.

• Mental health and wellbeing support for young carers will be explored by Myra Clark (CEO at young carers charity TYKES) and Jo Taylor (Child and Educational Psychologist). Between them they will travel to Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan and the USA. Jo’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation.
• Support for the mental health and wellbeing of police officers who encounter traumatic experiences will be researched by Police Sergeants Stuart Charlesworth and Laura Gibson in Australia, The Netherlands and the USA. Stuart’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The John Armitage Charitable Trust.
• Programmes for young people will be assessed by youth worker and former secondary school teacher Hannah Brownhill (who will explore a successful wellbeing programme implemented across 6000 schools in Australia) and NHS Health Psychologist Anna Lucas (who will explore early intervention programmes in the USA and Canada and how to make space for young people to talk about their mental health). Hannah’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation.

SOCIAL ISOLATION AND LONELINESS
Over 9 million people in the UK – almost a fifth of the population – say they are always or often lonely, and research shows this has an impact on health and wellbeing.

• Benefits of intergenerational programmes will be explored by the former director of the Jo Cox Foundation, Iona Lawrence ( who will assess intergenerational social activities for rural communities in the USA and Uganda), and architect Adara Wicaksono (who will look at the social impact of intergenerational housing in Germany, Japan and Sweden).
• Social cohesion will be investigated by architect Emma Tubbs (who will explore how empty lots, public spaces and arts centres can be used creatively to bring local communities together) and artist/photographer Laura Page (who will explore how art can be used to create socially engaged communities and give voices to those who are often marginalised). Between them they will travel to Brazil, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Mexico and Colombia.

REDUCING REOFFENDING RATES
Nearly half of all prisoners in the UK reoffend post-release, and the reoffending rate of young males leaving custody in Northern Ireland is as high as 70%. 18-25 year olds account for a third of probation cases, despite being only 10% of the population. They have the highest reoffending rates of any age group, with two thirds reoffending within two years.

• Ex-prisoner and founder of Offploy (a social enterprise that supports people with criminal records into employment), Jacob Hill will research how societal acceptance can reduce reoffending rates in Singapore, Fiji and Brazil.
• Director of The Advantage Foundation, (which supports young offenders into employment), Gerry Ford will explore the effectiveness of social enterprise as a means to reduce reoffending rates. He will visit Japan, Norway, Singapore and South Korea. Gerry’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.
• Youth Justice Programme Officer in the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, Roisín Briody will research best practice in reducing reoffending among young adults in the criminal justice system, in Germany, The Netherlands and the USA.

DISABILITY INCLUSION
13.9 million people in the UK have a disability and 1 in 5 people will be affected by disability at some point in their lives. Only 6% of school leavers who have a learning disability go onto work, whilst the Deaf community can often be overlooked in service provision such as education and emergency services.

• Deaf teacher Kate Elizabeth Reed will explore models and best practice of Deaf education in New Zealand and Australia in order to influence UK education policy, whilst former Deaf Advisor to the NHS Herbert Klein will travel to the USA to explore emergency and disaster services for Deaf people. Kate’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation.
• Head of Growth at learning disability charity ENABLE Scotland Asley Ryan will visit the USA to mresearch inclusive education and transitional support opportunities for people who have learning disabilities. Ashley’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation.
• Director at Accessible Tourism CIC Claire Walker will research best practice in improving accessibility for tourists with disabilities in Australia, Germany, New Zealand and Spain. Claire’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.

HOMELESSNESS
On UK streets, 597 people died in 2017 at an average age of just 43 years. Many did not have their complex symptoms managed by the UK healthcare system. Meanwhile, the increasing move to a cashless society, will hit hardest on Britain’s homeless population and those affected by poverty, who don’t have a bank account.

• Palliative and end of life care for homeless people will be researched by NHS doctor Aamena Bharmal in Canada.
• The effect of a growing cashless economy on people living in poverty – including homeless people – will be explored by Vicky Major, who works at the Big Issue Foundation. She will travel to Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, countries with some of the lowest cash use. Vicky’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.

THE OBESITY CRISIS
Adult obesity in England has risen from 15% in 1993 to 29% in 2017. More than 6 in 10 adults are estimated to be overweight or obese in the UK, affecting their own health and demands on the NHS.

• Specialist Obesity Dietitian for the NHS Sally Abbott will explore best practice for obesity mmanagement in primary care in Canada, which is the international leader in this field.
• Physical Activity specialist Sarah Haden-Godwin will research a whole-systems approach to reducing obesity, incorporating communities, system leaders and policy makers. She will travel to Deakin University, Australia, which has been trialling such an approach with considerable success for the past 10 years.

INTRODUCTION OF COMPULSORY SEX EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
The teaching of relationships and sex education will become compulsory in UK primary schools from September2020, yet there has been little clarity given to teachers as to the level of training they will receive.

• Primary school teacher Hannah Steele will explore how Estonia, The Netherlands and the USA have delivered sex and relationships education as part of initial teacher training programmes. Hannah’s

Fellowship is jointly funded by The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation.

For a full list of Fellows and their projects, please visit our website www.wcmt.org.uk