Anuradha Vittachi

Anuradha Vittachi fled her native Sri Lanka at the age of 13, after her family, though Sinhalese, was subjected to political persecution for exposing the Sinhalese government’s oppression of its Tamil minority. This attempt to silence truth-telling journalists fostered her lifelong belief in the importance of responsible media to support responsible governance. She experimented with a variety of media to promote global justice till she discovered the internet.

Her articles on human rights – especially on population, gender and child rights - have been published in dozens of journals around the world
Her books include Earth Conference One (1988), with Carl Sagan, James Lovelock et al, on climate change and other threats to global survival, and Stolen Childhood, on the exploitation of children around the world
She is an award-winning TV documentary-maker on issues of global justice
Her interviews include discussions with President Gorbachev, President Aristide, Mother Teresa and HH Dalai Lama
In 1994-5, she co-founded (with Peter Armstrong) the world’s first portal on human rights and sustainable development, OneWorld.net; under her leadership, OneWorld.net won a cabinetful of awards
In 1999, she conceived and coordinated the creation of the OneWorld Network, now a ring of 12 OneWorld centres around the world from Indonesia to Finland, and became the inaugural Director of the network’s governing body, the OneWorld International Foundation
In 2000, the British Government chose her to be the UK’s civil society delegate to the G8 Summit’s Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOTForce)
In 2005, she stepped down from being OneWorld's international director to return to hands-on editing and writing; she founded a new OneWorld centre based in London, majoring on climate change
In 2006, she founded the OneClimate Initiative, a multi-strand media initiative tackling global climate breakdown through personal and political action.
In 2013, Anuradha stepped back from OneWorld after 18 wonderful years, to co-found the Hedgerley Wood Trust, on the power of empathy as a way towards personal and planetary health.