With a 113-year legacy of fostering young leaders from around the world, the Rhodes Trust is uniquely qualified to identify future change-makers. The Rhodes Scholarship supports exceptional young adults around the world, each with their own cultural perspective. Through the programme, these energetic and ethical young leaders develop character, service ethic, and leadership skills while at Oxford and throughout their lives. John Templeton was one of our finest Rhodes Scholars. Given the unique connection between Sir John and the Rhodes Trust, we are pleased to partner with the Templeton World Charity Foundation to set a global agenda for character development.

The Foundation and the Trust share long histories of character development and of building a worldwide community of high-achieving adults. This proposal sets out a two-year pilot partnership between the Templeton World Charity Foundation and the Rhodes Trust. The programme will focus on the global emerging adult elite who will go on to help the lives of those in poor, constrained and vulnerable settings. The Rhodes Trust defines “elite” as those with the education, resources, connections, and capabilities to make an impact in the world. Given our exceptional track record of identifying leadership talent in the 19–26-year-old age range, we can contribute significantly to the theoretical analysis of character formation of the emerging adult.

Using our Rhodes Scholar programme as the platform for analysis, we will explore and define the nature, dimensions, and practical applications of character. We seek to further develop and share our own learnings from our Character Service and Leadership (‘CSL’) Scholar Programme, which serves the community of Rhodes Scholars in Oxford. These learnings will inform the development of our programme and other character development programmes. The proposed partnership between the Templeton World Charity Foundation and the Rhodes Trust could make this vision a reality.