When, in 2019, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex , joined British Vogue ’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful to create an historic September issue, the pair had a clear agenda: to feature women who were shifting the dial, who were having a positive impact on the world. The result? A record-breaking issue entitled Forces for Change , which saw 15 stars – from Jane Fonda and Salma Hayek Pinault to Greta Thunberg and Laverne Cox – grace the cover. This, though, proved to be merely the beginning of an initiative that has now spanned five years and seen British Vogue partner with the likes of BMW, Nike, YouTube and eBay to shine “a light on people who are changing the world and who devote their lives to others”, as Enninful puts it.
“It was about creating a movement, not simply a moment,” says Enninful, now editorial advisor for British Vogue , and the magazine’s global creative and cultural advisor. “We have profiled countless activists, pioneers and change-makers and it is crucial that we keep this going – that we keep the spotlight firmly on those challenging the status quo, and use their voices to help shape the conversations around the most urgent issues of our time.” So, to mark this anniversary, we have invited September 2019’s cover stars – our original Forces for Change – to nominate their champions for 2024 and beyond.
Who is that person for Enninful? “Yasmin Finney,” he says. “A remarkable woman who is fearless and boundary-breaking in her mission for the acceptance of a new generation of young, Black trans people.” Ilwad Elman, social activist At Elman Peace, the organisation established in honour of her father, a prominent activist who was assassinated in 1996, 34-year-old Ilwad Elman has been at the forefront of the Somali peace process for almost 15 years.
“Ilwad comes from a long line of activists within her family that have paid the biggest price for their work in Africa,” says boxer Ramla Ali. At just 20, she opened Somalia’s first rape crisis centre and with The Elman Peace and Human Rights Center in Mogadishu, Ilwad has provided somewhere that offers rehabilitation to child soldiers, as well as access to sport, education and job creation. In 2019, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
She is a true example, says Ali, of the type of “individuals that inspire me and who I see as making a genuine difference on a daily basis”. Angelina Jolie, actor “Nothing evokes change more than that rare, out of the box thinker, who dares to courageously take action and push the needle in new directions,” says actor, director and producer Salma Hayek Pinault of Angelina Jolie, who has become as well known for her humanitarian efforts and campaigning as her glittering Hollywood career. In her former role as a UN Refugee Agency goodwill ambassador and special envoy, which she held for over 20 years, Jolie has, says Hayek Pinault, sought “justice and dignifying conditions for the lives of people around the world”.
On a personal level, Hayek Pinault “can further testify that Jolie is a Force for Change, since being directed by her [for the upcoming film, Without Blood ] was a beautiful and positive life-changing experience”. Mitzi Jonelle Tan, climate activist In the five years since a then 16-year-old Greta Thunberg was on the cover of British Vogue , she has gone from student striker to world-leading authority on the climate crisis. As her influence has soared, she has lent her support to other young activists as well as grassroots youth organisations and causes, amplifying their work in the process.
Take last year, when Thunberg was photographed with Elle Nystad, a Sami activist protesting against wind turbines in Norway, or the recent work she has done with Reclaim the Future, a Swedish youth group campaigning against fossil fuels. Then there are individuals, such as Filipino climate justice activist Mitzi Jonelle Tan, who has long been able to count on Thunberg’s support. “Mitzi, we’re gonna fight together for every fraction of a degree,” Thunberg told her of their battle to keep the global temperature from rising beyond 1.
5 degrees. “And I will be here with you, each step of the way.” Aurélia Sellier, founder As founder and president of the charity The What Dance Can Do Project, France-born, Zurich-based Aurélia Sellier has, says Francesca Hayward, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, “brought dance to sick, impoverished and vulnerable children all over the world”.
“Through Aurélia’s hard work,” explains Hayward, “so many children have been introduced to dance and experienced the amazing power, freedom and joy that dancing and being connected with their body and movement can bring.” Josie Naughton, CEO In 2015, Josie Naughton cofounded Choose Love, a humanitarian aid organisation that has since raised millions of pounds to support refugees across more than 40 countries. “They support displaced people all over the world by doing whatever it takes to provide them with everything from lifesaving search and rescue boats to food and legal advice,” says actor Gemma Chan.
“They offer dignity, hope, respect and humanity in the darkest of places. I am in awe of everything Josie continues to achieve with Choose Love and so proud to call her my friend.” Vee Kativhu, education activist Education activist Varaidzo “Vee” Kativhu’s mission is to make higher education an achievable goal for all.
Having overcome much adversity in her own life to study at Oxford and Harvard, Kativhu, born in Zimbabwe and now living in the UK, “is a tireless advocate for our global community to have access to a quality education, with a specific focus in empowering young women to pursue their dreams”, says actor Yara Shahidi. “Where others may be overwhelmed by the intense schedule of giving UN speeches, building schools, all while pursuing a PhD, Vee finds joy in her personal pursuit of education and her ability to be of service.” Joy & Jo Banner, environmental activists Twin sisters Joy and Jo Banner are the founders of The Descendents Project: an organisation dedicated to protecting the health and land of Black descendants of enslaved men and women living in America’s Louisiana River Parishes, who are at severe risk of illness and death owing to the pollution of the area by petrochemical plants.
Actor and activist Jane Fonda explains that the sisters live in what has become known as “Cancer Alley” along the Mississippi – surrounded by the oil, gas and plastic industries. “People are sick and dying all around them,” says Fonda, “but they have managed to keep industry out of their parish by turning the plantation houses into historic sites that cannot be disturbed.” Francesca Mills, actor Actor Francesca Mills, best known for her roles in Harlots and The Witcher: Blood Origin , “is a rare talent”, says writer and educator Sinéad Burke.
“As a fellow little person, Francesca is all too familiar with being the centre of attention, though, like me, it is not always with consent.” The 28-year-old’s performances, says Burke, whether on screen or stage (Mills won raves for her turn this past March as the titular role in The Duchess of Malfi at The Globe), always manage to “push the audiences’ gaze, challenge their ableism, while transporting them to other worlds. She has a skill and professionalism that has evolved with time, tenacity and a deep love for the craft of acting.
” Ego Boyo, actor Actor, producer and executive producer Ego Boyo, 55, “has been an iconic figure since my teenage years, when she starred in the seminal 1990s Nigerian TV drama Checkmate ”, says author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “Her character challenged accepted norms of what women could be.” Beyond her work on screen, Boyo is “actively involved in charity work focused on women – combating sexual violence against women and girls in Nigeria, highlighting women’s education and women’s healthcare”, Ngozi Adichie explains.
“Today, she continues to be a role model for young Nigerian women – with her quiet glamour, her depth and her dedication to producing quality work. An absolute class act.” Amal Clooney, lawyer For South Sudanese model Adut Akech, there was one clear choice for who to nominate as her Force for Change: human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
Not simply for “all the causes she supports”, says Akech, but because “of her focus on human rights in Sudan”. In the past, she has acted as counsel to 126 victims of crimes against humanity in Darfur, and last year made a speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations calling for more attention to be paid to the ongoing – and too often ignored – war in Sudan. “There are survivors around the world who see robust and concerted action on Ukraine, and.
.. they are no less deserving elsewhere,” Clooney said.
Alejandra Caraballo, lawyer As a trans campaigner, teacher at Harvard Law School and American attorney, Alejandra Caraballo has spent years “tracking anti-trans legislation in the US and raising awareness and consciousness about how anti-LGBTQ+ public policy affects the lived experiences of families”, says actor Laverne Cox. Though “much of Alejandra’s work is data based”, Cox continues, she never loses sight of the personal. “The rehumanising of this population, which has so successfully been dehumanised through rhetoric and policy, is an essential part of this moment for LGBTQ+ liberation,” she says.
Africa Brooke, writer Zimbabwe-born, London-based Africa Brooke is “a young author who is challenging the way we speak to each other in political and sociopolitical spaces”, says actor and broadcaster Jameela Jamil. Her writing, consultancy and coaching – Brooke’s book, The Third Perspective: Brave Expression in the Age of Intolerance , was borne from her viral open letter “Why I’m Leaving the Cult of Wokeness” – has seen her become a guiding light on how to navigate a society riven by culture wars. “In an attempt to bring people together in a critically divisive time,” says Jamil, “I find her work to be some of the most important there is.
” Alice Hendy, cyber security expert In November 2020, Alice Hendy lost her 21-year-old brother, Josh, to suicide. To help process her grief, she used her skills as a cyber security expert to launch R;pple: a digital intervention tool that aims to prevent suicide by intercepting users searching online, as Josh did, for methods to self-harm or end their life. “I’ve had the great pleasure of not only listening to Alice speak but to have her on [my] Gurls Talk podcast, where I learnt more about the incredible work she has done as a result of her own challenging experience,” says model, actor and mental health advocate Adwoa Aboah.
“In the face of adversity she has remained kind, funny and steadfast in her mission.” Jennie Joseph, midwife Described by Time magazine as a “role model for midwifery”, Jennie Joseph has done more for maternal health in her five decades as a midwife in America – which has the worst maternal death rate of any developed country – than most. The supermodel founder of Every Mother Counts, Christy Turlington Burns, has known Joseph “since I was making my first documentary film, No Woman, No Cry , for which Jennie was a featured provider”.
In 2020, Joseph became the first Black person to privately own a nationally accredited midwifery school in the US and continues to be, says Turlington Burns, “a tireless advocate for women and birthing families”. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, environmental activist Chadian environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim has long been recognised for her work with Indigenous peoples and how their unparalleled knowledge of the land they are from is integral to fighting – and learning how to adapt to – the climate crisis. Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern “met Hindou through Conservation International and the Earthshot Prize”, she tells Vogue .
“It’s clear to me that Hindou is a leader in her field. The many accolades she has received speak for themselves and yet she remains such a humble person, totally focused on working on behalf of her people and the planet.” Jean-François Carly; Myesha Evon Gardner; Sebastian Lindstrom; Sté Marques; Luke Nugent; Phil Sharp; @workseun; Getty Images; Shutterstock.
