The Project for Study of the 21^st Century (PS21) is delighted to announce its inaugural 50 Global Fellows and members of the International Advisory Group.

A new global think tank for a new global era, PS21 is a complete re-imagining of the way think tanks operate. Low footprint and high impact, it launches this week. It will produce content people read and discussions they remember.

The breadth and scope of PS21’s membership gives an idea of its scale of ambition. It includes participants across five continents with decades of experience in fields from financial services and medicine to national security, technology and activism. In the coming weeks and months it will build out further. In particular, it will add new voices from China, Russia, Latin America as well as widening to include new areas of expertise. Members of the International Advisory Group include former UK Special Forces Chief Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb, Wikipedia Chief Communications Officer Katherine Maher, former Pentagon Middle East Chief of Staff Sidney Olinyk, and GCHQ Official John Bassett.

Other advisors and fellows include ex-UN al-Qaeda expert Richard Barrett, former EU head of enlargement Sir Michael Leigh, Wilton Park Chief Executive Richard Burge, and Gary Barnabo and Joshua Marcuse from Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP).

“I am hugely excited by the range of backgrounds and expertise we’ve attracted to the network,” said Peter Apps, Executive Director of PS21, currently on sabbatical from Thomson Reuters where he is Global Defence Correspondent. “We already have some great events and discussions planned and it should prove to be an exciting year.”

Initial events include a discussion on cyber warfare in London on January 28 and a panel discussion on superpower tensions in Washington DC the following day. Further events will follow in both locations as well as other cities around the world.

As it builds out in the course of the year, PS21 will also aim to produce a wide range of articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, e-books and other content.

Fellowships will be unpaid but will offer members excellent promotional and networking opportunities as well as being prestigious in their own right. The Project will offer social events as well as open panel and closed off the record discussions. There will also be the chance to be involved in e-mail and online discussion groups as well as a range of projects.

Initial seed funding of 10,000 pounds will be provided by the Peter Michael Apps Personal Injury Trust. We are also very grateful for support in kind offered by several other organizations. Pro bono legal support provided by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, coordinated by the TrustLaw Programme at the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Any questions? Contact ps21central@Gmail.com