A festive evening on Friday saw the launch of the 25th commemorative magazine and our 25@25 compilation film.
Scholars came together in Bill Gates Sr. House to celebrate the end of the 25th anniversary year and launch our commemorative magazine on Friday, serenaded by their peers.
The event, which also saw the launch of the 25@25 compilation film*, began with music from Amaury Jean [2025] and Judith Dehnen [2025] on violin and viola. They played a beautiful version of Passacaglia by Johan Halvorsen.
Mandy Garner, communications officer, spoke about the anniversary highlights, from the Impact Awards ceremony in January, the annual lecture by Winnie Biyanyima, the Chief Executive of UNAIDs, and the Cambridge Festival panel for the public to the 8th May celebrations, the Gates Cambridge Weekend in the summer and the Bill Gates Sr. centenary event in November.
All of this and more are covered in the commemorative magazine** which aims to celebrate 25 years by promoting conversations across cohorts and fostering a deep sense of community which all Scholars have a role in shaping.
Scholars who feature in the magazine include Kamiar Mohaddes [2005] and Ramit Debnath [2018] [pictured below right] who have come together to form the ClimaTRACES Lab.
Stephen Metcalf [2019], who features in the magazine in conversation with Tara Cookson [2011] about the Learning for Purpose programme, spoke about what he believes makes the Gates Cambridge community so special.
Looking forward to next year – we hope to maintain the focus on cross-cohort, cross-disciplinary conversations and ideas, put the video spotlight on current scholars and their research, celebrate the Gates Cambridge experience and reconnect with the original class of 2001 25 years after they arrived at Cambridge.
Our compilation film was then launched, celebrating the impact of our scholars – the ripple effect. Scholars from around the world – from Guatemala to Kenya to Australia – spoke about the impactful and varied work they are doing and the many different ways they are improving the lives of others.
To end the evening, a special Gates Cambridge ensemble – Lottie Dalmijn [2024], Sarah Nicholls [2025], Judith Dehnen, Amaury Jean, Noam Perl Treves [2025] and Elijah Darden [2025] – gave a beautiful rendition of seasonal songs.
*Produced by Cambridge Filmworks
**Designed by Andy Harvey
