Andy Smith lives on the alton estate in Roehampton with his wife Clare.

Eighteen years ago Andy, along with Clare, a group of friends and
support from his Mum, set up the charity Regenerate in response to some
of the poverty and huge needs they saw on their estate. Regenerate
takes young people on a journey from where they are at to supporting
them as they make a difference in the world. running projects from
youth clubs, music studios, football clubs to mentoring schemes,
volunteer trips to serve overseas and more recently set up the social
enterprise “The Feel Good Bakery’ creating jobs for young people exiting
gangs and crime.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been at the centre of European and global politics for over three decades as Secretary General of NATO, Prime Minister of Denmark, Danish Minister of Economic Affairs, and, last but not least, as a leading Danish parliamentarian. Anders Fogh Rasmussen began his political career in 1978, becoming the youngest member of Parliament in Denmark at the age of 25. He was promoted to Minister of Economic Affairs in 1990 and became Prime Minister of Denmark in 2001. He held this position until 2009 when he was appointed Secretary General of NATO. During his tenure, he developed a Strategic Concept which sets the Alliance’s core priorities for the future. In response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, he initiated a “Readiness Action Plan”. On October 1st 2014 he established political consultancy Rasmussen Global and in June 2016 he was appointed advisor to the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. Anders Fogh Rasmussen holds a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Aarhus.

Alex Le Vey from the London Community Foundation will be telling us how small, grassroots-based charities and community groups can transform the lives of those in need. LCF, in partnership with its donors, has invested 55 million pounds in more than 11,500 charitable projects since it’s inception. Alex will be telling us about the opportunity LCF and the small charities and community groups it supports have to do more and achieve even greater impact.

Prior to joining the CSJ (Centre for Social Justice) Andy co-founded the leading education charity, TwentyTwenty, growing it to be an award-winning organisation of regional prominence as well as national influence and developing strategy for its national roll-out. Andy is a judge for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, a Trustee of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations and of RugbyWorks, and an advisor to several philanthropists and industry impact awards.

Duncan has a unique academic and professional background in the third sector and the commercial world, blending commercial solutions to poverty issues. Current appointment is Chief Executive of a Fredericks Foundation, a UK microfinance charity.

A CATO Institute Fellow and author of a multitude of articles and books on the topic of poverty, social welfare, health and social security.

He has written widely for America’s most respected publications including the New York Times and published books with titles ranging from “Going for Broke: Deficits, Debt, and the Entitlement Crisis”, “The Poverty of Welfare: Helping Others in Civil Society”, and “A New Deal for Social Security”.

Michael will help to challenge some of the established wisdom surrounding poverty.

His latest book, Poverty, A Libertarian Perspective, is expected to be released in early 2018.

(Panel Chair)

Baroness Stroud is CEO of the Legatum Institute, an international think tank and educational charity. Prior to joining the Institute, she was Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice and previously served as Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Baroness Stroud was made a life peer in 2015 in recognition of her work tackling poverty and social breakdown.

He is the founder, and former Chief Executive, of two charities: Only Connect, a criminal justice project, and the West London Zone for Children and Young People, a place-based early intervention project. Danny read History at Edinburgh University and received a DPhil in History from Oxford University in 2000. Before working at Only Connect Danny was Director of Studies at the Centre for Policy Studies, Chief Leader-Writer at the Daily Telegraph, and Special Adviser to David Cameron MP as Leader of the Opposition. Danny is a Senior Fellow at the Legatum Institute think tank and a trustee at The Young
Foundation.

Patrick is Head of Work and Welfare Policy at the Centre for Social Justice. Previously he studied at Georgetown University and the University of Leeds, after which he had a career in the financial services industry.

Robert L. Woodson is Founder and President of the Woodson Center (formerly
Center for Neighborhood Enterprise) and one of America’s most influential leaders on issues of poverty and upward mobility. He has worked closely with leading legislators in an effort to move beyond the traditional conservative and liberal understanding of how to address the needs of the poor.

Piero Bonadeo is Vice President at Humanitas360 (www.humanitas360.org), an innovative think do-tank committed to building human connections as a powerful
tool to promote change in Latin America, and Executive Director at Purpose Driven
Resources Institute (http://pdrinst.org/en/12479-2/) a philanthropic institute
tackling inequality through social civic entrepreneurship in Brazil.

As well as being a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, John Humphrys is also the founder of the Kitchen Table Charities Trust, a small organisation giving grants to people around the world.

Minister/Director of the Diaconal Centre of St. Pauls-Church in Rotterdam. St.
Pauls-Church is a well-known centre for refuge and care for the people in the
margin of society: homeless people, addicted people, refugees and people
without papers (“sans papiers”). In his work, Dick meets a lot of people that are
faced every day with the harsh reality of poverty and social exclusion for a length
of time. Rotterdam is the city with the highest rates of poverty in the
Netherlands.

In 2018 the Church is launching a campaign for a broad civil movement for a Warm
Rotterdam against poverty and social exclusion in the Rotterdam-region.
Dick will tell us about the causes and problems of poverty and about solutions,
especially about what can be done by the people affected themselves, NGO’s and
churches on the neighbourhood level.

Flavian started volunteering when he was 15. Three years ago he started an NGO focused on talking literacy and poverty in Romanian villages. He managed to create an integrated development system, dedicated to rural areas, based on education, social businesses and medium and long-term sustainability.

A “carefree, nonconformist changemaker”, Nouran is the founder of Cairo Cycling Geckos, an initiative that shocked the entire Egyptian nation when she set off to cycle the streets of Cairo to distribute free meals during Ramadan in an all-women-caravan, breaking social taboos. Setting off every day before breaking her fast, Nouran took on the daunting streets of Cairo’s slums, cycling through traffic-laden bridges and roads engulfed in garbage, as she lead her team to distribute meals for underprivileged people, not only during Ramadan but also afterwards, when she began giving out clothes and blankets.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of IDEAS, an independent pro-market think tank in ASEAN that operates from its head office in Kuala Lumpur.

Hand in Hand International is an NGO working to fight poverty through grassroots entrepreneurship. With its package of business and skills training, access to microfinance, and links to markets and value chains, Hand in Hand has helped more than 3 million people work their way out of poverty – without relying on handouts.

Andy Smith lives on the Alton estate in Roehampton with his wife Clare. Eighteen years ago Andy, along with Clare, a group of friends and support from his Mum, set up the charity Regenerate in response to some of the poverty and huge needs they saw on their estate. Regenerate takes young people on a journey from where they are, to supporting them as they make a difference in the world. Regenerate runs projects from youth clubs, music studios, football clubs to mentoring schemes, volunteer trips to serve overseas and more recently set up the social enterprise “The Feel Good Bakery’ creating jobs for young people exiting gangs and crime.

When Greece collapsed under an unprecedented financial and social crisis leading to 35% of its population at risk of poverty and exclusion, Marie Halaka quit a successful corporate career to join forces with Greek humanitarian NGO PRAKSIS. The refugee crisis that burst in 2015 consisted of a second wave of catastrophic human despair.
Using her professional experience in Finances and Management, Marie bridges cultural gaps, generates synergies and integrates innovative practices to help support people in need. She is a passionate dreamer by night and a vigorous doer by day, in that order. PRAKSIS implements 40 humanitarian holistic interventions, among which: 2 Polyclinics, 3 Day Centers for the Homeless, 1.040 apartments for asylum seekers and abused or homeless women, 12 Accommodation Shelters for 350 unaccompanied minors, 2 Mobile Public Health Units and 2 Mobile Schools.
The organization fights extreme poverty and social exclusion, provides access to health and legal aid, promotes labor integration, shelters vulnerable populations and advocates for human rights. In 2017, PRAKSIS reached out its support to more than 600.000 individuals.