For Immediate Release
Release Date: Monday, Dec. 4, 2017
Contact: Jason Stanford (512) 978-2153
Foreign Policy Press Contact: Hanna Berman
Hanna.Berman@foreignpolicy.com
(202) 728-7341

Each year, Foreign Policy selects a distinguished list of people who have made an important impact on fields such as politics, diplomacy, science, and the arts. This year, the magazine is proud to recognize its honorees as Global reThinkers — individuals from around the world whose actions are disrupting the status quo. Because of the scale of his impact on immigration issues and his role as a leader in Texas at this moment in the U.S., Mayor Adler is among the 100 individuals on the list.

According to FP’s editor in chief, Jonathan Tepperman, “This year’s list showcases a remarkable range of individuals who have found ways to exert enormous influence, often in unexpected ways, on a wild range of issues — from North Korea policy, to the rise of populism, to how we combat fake news, to cementing a new narrative in American culture… to comedy. These amazing people are not only rethinking our world, but also reshaping it. They defined 2017, and we’re thrilled by the chance to recognize their  accomplishments — for good, at least in most cases.”

Among the ranks of FP’s Leading Global Thinkers of 2017 are the presidential candidate for the FARC, the Colombian rebel group that has traded in its weapons for party politics; the female director of Afghanistan’s foreign-language film contender for the Oscars; the venture capitalist who is using tech companies to bridge the gap between Israel and Palestine; and an Iraqi member of parliament who is demanding her country recognize the genocide of the Yazidis. These, among dozens of other remarkable people and the ventures they represent, are Foreign Policy’s Leading Global Thinkers of 2017.

“At the beginning of the year, I said that the world can completely lose its mind and we’re still going to be Austin, Texas. I said that no matter what happens that we would remain resolutely and unapologetically Austin,” said Mayor Adler. “We spent the entire year showing how committed we are to what is most important to us in Austin, and that’s each other. No matter where you come from or who you are, everyone deserves to feel safe in Austin.”

View the entire list here.

Past Global Thinkers include Elon Musk, Hillary Clinton, Justin Trudeau, Loretta Lynch, Bill and Melinda Gates, Angela Merkel, Hassan Rouhani, Pope Francis, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

To celebrate the list’s release, Foreign Policy will hold a reception Monday, Dec. 4, at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C. Follow live coverage of the evening’s events on FP’s Twitter and Facebook accounts! Please contact Hanna Berman at Hanna.Berman@ForeignPolicy.com for any media inquiries.