London, 10 July 2016 - The 2016 list of 50 New Radicals - creative and inspiring people and organisations working to change Britain for the better - has been announced by innovation charity Nesta, in partnership with The Observer newspaper.

The accolade of ‘New Radical’ recognises the inspiring work of individuals and groups from across the UK who have developed ingenious and practical ways of tackling society’s biggest challenges - from ageing and mental health to homelessness and unemployment. Reflecting today’s social concerns, this year’s list includes work focusing on migration and democratic engagement.

The judging panel - including performance artist and activist Bryony Kimmings, director of Second Home Rohan Silva and Radio 1Extra DJ Twin B - selected the 50 finalists from some 400 nominations across England, Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland.

Geoff Mulgan, CEO of Nesta said: “There are many lists published each year of the rich, the powerful and the beautiful, but New Radicals is quite different.  It celebrates pioneers making the world a better place. At a time of uncertainty and anxiety, their optimistic and creative  spirit is more welcome than ever.  They're an inspiration to all of us to get off our backsides, stop moaning and do something useful instead..”  

Jane Ferguson, Editor of the Observer’s New Review said: “Helping to find this year's 50 New Radicals has been an exhilarating and inspiring experience. I urge people to read the story of each of our Radicals and to do what they can to encourage this spirit of social enterprise.”

Since its launch in 2012, New Radicals has shone a light on trailblazers in social innovation. New Radical alumni include Rubies in the Rubble, a social enterprise making sustainable chutneys from discarded vegetables, and volunteer teaching network for computer programming CodeClub. Details of all the New Radicals for 2016 can be found here.

ENDS

Notes to editor

For more information please contact Matthew Hull at the Nesta press office on [email protected] / +44 (0)7969574626

New Radicals is a search led by Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation, and The Observer to find the top people, projects and organisations offering innovative ways to tackle social challenges. It was launched in 2012 and repeated in 2014. New Radicals

About Nesta

Nesta is the UK's innovation foundation. We help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills. We are an independent charity and our work is enabled by an endowment from the National Lottery. Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales 1144091 and Scotland SC042833.

www.nesta.org.uk | @nesta_uk

About The Observer

Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes theguardian.com, one of the world’s leading English-language newspaper websites. Traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience. In the UK, GNM publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821, and the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer.

The Guardian is renowned for its agenda-setting journalism including, most recently, the Panama Papers investigation as well as the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy-winning NSA revelations.