Ammon News - Schmidt Futures, in partnership with The Rhodes Trust, announced the inaugural cohort of 100 Global Winners for Rise, a global initiative that finds brilliant people who need opportunity and supports them for life as they work to serve others. Rise is the anchor program of a broader $1 billion philanthropic commitment from Eric and Wendy Schmidt. The 100 Global Winners selected from tens of thousands of applicants speak more than 20 languages and hail from 42 countries, including Egypt, Morocco, and Palestine. Amideast is a proud partner of Rise.

“Since the beginning, our work at Schmidt Futures has centered around betting early on exceptional people who are working to solve the world’s toughest problems,” said Eric Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Futures. “It is imperative that we equip a new generation of leaders with the support and resources to address the growing complexities of our world throughout their lives. Today’s Rise Global Winners have offered us a glimpse into what brilliance looks like, and I am confident that our future is in very good hands.”

“The 100 young people we're introducing today are truly remarkable in what they've brought to their communities even before graduating from high school,” said Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Futures. “We've seen in our philanthropy and in the world of technology how the power of the network multiplies the power of the individual. We are excited to be able to provide the Rise Global Winners lifelong support and a community of peers who will team up, share ideas, root for each other, and find solutions to global problems that can best be found in collaboration. Together, they will be positioned to help create a healthier, safer, and more humane world.”

Winners were selected after a rigorous application process which included peer and expert review of applicants’ social change projects, formal assessments of brilliance, and group interviews with candidates from over 170 countries submitting their entries through a variety of platforms. The initial 100 Global Winners will lay the foundation for a global community of rising leaders who will receive access to benefits that last a lifetime as they work to serve others.

Rise worked with dozens of global partners—from schools to businesses to local governments—to identify talented young people in communities throughout the world, including Amideast. Rise and Amideast share the goal of empowering talented young people and effecting lasting change that will impact them throughout their lives and careers. In the partnership’s second year, Amideast is collaborating with Rise to expand its successful 2020-21 outreach focus on Egypt to several other Middle Eastern countries. Amideast will promote Rise using its network of offices throughout the Middle East and North Africa and will make available a range of educational and training services to winners and the broader Rise community.

Global Winners from the MENA region include:

● Ola Saber, Egypt
● Lama Ashraf Diriyeh, Palestine
● Israa Mostafa Mohamed Dardeer, Egypt
● Mondi Saouab, Morocco

“We are honored and gratified to be part of such a valuable effort to find young people in under-resourced communities around the world and support them throughout their lives,” said Ambassador Theodore Kattouf, President and CEO at Amideast. “The inaugural cohort of 100 Global Winners looks poised to meet the challenges of the next century, and Amideast’s network of offices and community of alumni are ready to help support them as they do so. We’ve already initiated our region-wide effort to identify another impressive cohort of youth inspired to change the world!”

Rise Global Winner Benefits

Benefits for Rise Global Winners take many shapes. The program is personalized and flexible, tailored to Global Winners’ needs as they evolve over time. The program aims to provide Global Winners with individualized support to empower them to achieve their goals while they work to serve others throughout their lives.

All Rise Global Winners receive access to the following benefits and participate in the following programs upon selection:

● Higher Education Scholarships: A four-year, post-secondary scholarship at any accredited university, including tuition and a living stipend, based on need and where not already covered by financial aid.
● Residential Summit: An invitation to attend a fully-funded, three-week residential summit with other members of the Rise Global Winner cohort—to be held in a rotating location globally for each new cohort—as well as to join network events in subsequent years.
● Mentorship & Career Services: Access to mentors that will be paired with each Global Winner to provide personal, academic, or professional guidance, and specialized career services for internships and jobs.
● Programming: Access to specialized programs, courses, and fellowship opportunities through Rise partners. The Winners’ anchor program in 2021/22 is a Human Centered Design course designed for the Rise Winners by DC Design. Online courses are delivered on a specially designed learning platform being developed with High Resolves. Customized Global Winner courses on our online learning platform have been developed together with High Resolves.
● Global Winner Network: Access to a network of other Global Winners across cohorts to connect on common interests, make service commitments, launch enterprises, and collaborate together.
● Technology: Technology packages, such as laptops or tablets, to be determined each year.

In addition, all Rise Global Winners will have the opportunity to apply for the following benefits over their lifetime:

● Partner Network: Opportunity to be matched to programs, secondary school scholarships, internships, and other benefits from partners who are part of the Rise network.
● Funding Opportunities: Opportunity to apply for funding to experiment with innovative ideas to address major problems in local communities or around the world—ranging from seed money to start a social enterprise to a grant for a non-profit. Funds will be designated for these purposes in a total pooled amount of at least $5 million per year of the program.
● Education Support: Opportunity to apply for scholarship funds for a graduate degree.

“The answers to the world’s toughest challenges already exist—hidden inside the imagination of the world’s brightest minds. But too often this potential goes undiscovered or unsupported," said Eric Braverman, CEO of Schmidt Futures. "Rise is the first program of this scale to build a network of extraordinary people, from diverse backgrounds worldwide, who have the potential to serve others together for life from a very young age. At Schmidt Futures we bet on exceptional people making the world better—and Rise is our largest commitment yet to build the unending engine of talent that puts brilliance in the service of others, tackling hard problems in science and society.”

“We are so excited to bring these brilliant young people together from across the globe and invest in their journeys to learn, lead, create, and make a difference,” said Dr Elizabeth Kiss, Warden of Rhodes House in Oxford and Chief Executive of the Rhodes Trust. “Our experience with the Rhodes Scholarships over more than a century tells us that when exceptional young people with different ideas, skills, perspectives and backgrounds come together in a shared spirit, they inspire each other to act in world-changing ways. We can’t wait to see what the Rise Global Winners do next.”

“It is an honor to introduce our first cohort of Global Winners, who have not just shown us their capabilities and potential, but also have shared with us their passion to make meaningful change across the world,” said Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Executive Director of Rise. “Recognizing that while brilliance is broadly distributed, opportunity is not, this year’s cohort represents the bounty of the world’s brilliance and we are honored to get to connect these emerging leaders to the opportunity they need to tackle some of humanity’s most challenging and pressing problems.”

Rise Selection Process

The application process for year one launched in November 2020, and called for talented people, ages 15 to 17, from around the world with the potential to use their talent to tackle the world's most pressing challenges. Rise received tens of thousands of applications from over 170 countries.

The 8-month selection process was divided into distinct components, including peer reviews, expert reviews, live evaluations, and a review panel, which together formed a holistic view of the applicant. In addition to Rise’s 100 Global Winners, 500 Finalists were also chosen and will participate in educational and leadership courses to develop skills, grow their networks, and gain access to additional funding opportunities allowing them to experiment with innovative ideas.

Rise Challenge 2022

Additionally, beginning today through December 22, 2021, young people ages 15 to 17 as of July 1, 2022 can apply for the 2022 Rise cohort. Applications are accepted through the “Hello World Network,” a mobile application available in Google Play and the iOS App Store.

Unlike many traditional applications, Rise uses videos, projects, and group interviews so applicants have multiple opportunities to showcase their potential. For applicants without access to mobile technology, Rise offers alternative pathways through web-browser and paper applications.

The Rise Challenge has three stages. Applicants introduce themselves through videos, create an individual project that demonstrates their talents and benefits their communities, and peer review other applicants’ projects, among other activities.

After applicants complete the Rise Challenge, Rise selects up to 500 Finalists to advance to “Finalist Days,” where they demonstrate their motivations, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork skills in an innovative interview format.

From the 500 Finalists, Rise selects 100 Global Winners to receive a lifetime of benefits as they work to serve others.