The 1000: Science and hope go hand in hand
We are optimists. We believe the world is getting better. To take our favourite example, the number of children dying has gone down from 20 million per year to fewer than 7 million per year, even though the global population has more than doubled.
The most important source of progress like this is ground-breaking scientific discoveries that change our conception of what’s possible. The United Kingdom has contributed a remarkable number of these breakthroughs. From John Snow stopping cholera on the streets of Soho to Alexander Fleming discovering penicillin in a discarded Petri dish at St Mary’s Hospital, the UK’s scientific community has revolutionised the world time and again.
Our philanthropic foundation focuses on giving poor children the same opportunities that we want for our own children: to survive childhood, grow up healthy, get an education, and reach their full potential. To achieve this goal, we invest in innovation, like seeds that can withstand drought or new vaccines that are easier to deliver because they don’t need to be kept cold.
We are proud to support the London Evening Standard’s The 1000 this year because there is a direct link from the brilliance and leadership captured in this list of inspiring people to our optimism about the future.
Britain sets the global standard for caring about people beyond its borders, not least through its commitment to international development aid. The UK’s leadership in science and innovation benefits not just the people of Britain, but also the world’s poorest. We see this in the work we do every day.
Congratulations to everyone in The 1000.
