Simon Anholt is co-founder (with Madeline Hung) of the Good Country, a new country whose national interest is the international interest. Its citizens come from almost every country on earth. 

Anholt also publishes the Good Country Index, a survey that ranks countries on their contribution to humanity and the planet, and in 2016 launched the Global Vote, which enables anybody in the world to vote in the elections of other countries: so far, more than a half a million people from 130 countries have participated in the Global Vote on the elections and referendums of eighteen different nations.

Professor Anholt previously as worked as an advisor to the presidents, prime ministers and governments of 55 countries for over twenty years, helping them to engage more imaginatively and effectively with the international community. 

Simon’s TED talk launching the Good Country Index has received over five million views, and his more recent one launching the Global Vote, over one million. They are ranked by TED viewers among the six ‘most inspiring’ TED talks of all time. 

Simon Anholt is the author of five books about countries, cultures and globalisation. He is the founder and Editor Emeritus of a leading academic journal focused on public diplomacy and perceptions of places, and publishes a major global study measuring the international standing of fifty countries and fifty cities.