Change is possible if you are vested enough, passionate, and determined to go the extra mile for others. In a world where inequity is so visible and sometimes seemingly insurmountable remembering that change is a process and that every little action taken to address inequity is a step toward a more equitable future is comforting.Stephanie Nwaoroni Akinwoya, 2022-23 Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity
Sixteen new Fellows join the International Inequalities Institute at LSE this autumn as Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity. These mid-career social-change leaders from 14 different countries focus on challenging inequalities and work in fields ranging from fiscal and economic justice to urban activism and feminist movement building.
This year’s intake spans the globe, with new Fellows from Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, India, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nigeria, Panama, the Philippines, South Africa, and Uganda. They include a human rights campaigner from Malaysia, a Dutch economic justice activist, a Burmese American community mobiliser, a Nigerian educator and STEM- advocate, an Indian labour activist working on workplace safety, a local development professional and a climate change policy researcher from the Philippines, and a Panamanian non-profit leader.
Nine of the 16 will be Residential Fellows and will undertake MSc in Inequalities and Social Science at LSE in the 2022-23 academic year. They and their seven Non-Residential peers will also take part in the four fellowship modules during their active fellowship year, led by Dr Armine Ishkanian and Programme Lead Dr Sara Camacho Felix and informed by the International Inequalities Institute’s research-rich environment. The interdisciplinary modules include engagement with researchers and campaigners, leadership training, community-building, and narrative and communications skills work.
Dr Armine Ishkanian, Executive Director of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme and Associate Professor at LSE’s Department of Social Policy, said: “Over the past two years the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated social, political, and economic inequalities. Concurrently, social movements and campaigners around the globe have been mobilising to challenge existing and emerging inequalities and demanding systemic change. At this critical juncture, it is important not only to understand and respond to the multiple and interconnected challenges, but also to develop new ideas and to imagine alternative, more sustainable, and equitable, futures.”
Dr Ishkanian added: “Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity is committed, as a programme, to drawing on and bringing together the insights of academic research, innovative social change strategies, and our Fellows’ own broad and rich expertise. We look forward to welcoming our new cohort of Fellows to The London School of Economics and Political Science and supporting their professional and personal development as they continue to work towards creating more equitable and just societies and futures.”
The 2022-23 Atlantic Fellows have been chosen from an impressive worldwide pool of applicants that has grown every year since the funded fellowship for thinkers, doers, and change-makers was established in 2017 via a record £64 million grant to LSE from Atlantic Philanthropies. When they complete their active fellowship year, the 16 Fellows will join a lifelong community of members of all seven Atlantic Fellows programmes, who collectively focus on work to advance fairer, healthier, and more inclusive societies.
The 2022-23 cohort of Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity are:
Stephanie Nwaoroni Akinwoya (Nigeria)
James Aung (Myanmar/USA)
Carlos Brown Solà (Mexico)
Leah Eryenyu (Uganda)
Hamidreza Vasheghanifarahani
Rosario Fassina (Argentina)
Priyanka Jain (India)
Lily Jamaludin (Malaysia)
Enamul Mazid Khan Siddique (Bangladesh)
Naledi Maite (South Africa)
T. O. Molefe (South Africa)
Sebastián Ignacio Muñoz Pérez (Chile)
Roos Saalbrink (Netherlands)
Salman Usmani (India)
Gabriela Valencia (Panama)
Rhomir Yanquiling (Philippines)
