Andrew Barnett, Director UK Branch

We are pleased to announce our strategy and outline our plans for the Foundation's UK Branch in 2012. Examples of particular activities and how we work can be found on our partnership pages.

Our three core themes - Cultural Understanding, Fulfilling Potential and Environment - continue in 2012, with activities aligned under each of them. Work goes on and we are constantly scoping new areas of intervention especially as existing initiatives supported by the Foundation come to fruition.

For example, in this Olympic year, The World in London, more than 200 portraits of individuals living in London, and from whose countries of origin athletes are competing in the Games, will be exhibited in high profile sites in the capital. Commissioned by the Photographers' Gallery, the images, together, emphasise the cultural diversity of the city; an ambitious education programme accompanies the exhibition. At the same time, more than three hundred homeless people will perform in the Royal Opera House as part of the cultural festival which accompanies the Games. Presented by Streetwise Opera in partnership with Homeless Link, performances will be interspersed with others from groups in cities all over the world and climax in a massed choir singing a new commission by Gavin Bryars.

Our joint Ageing and Social Cohesion programme, in the UK and Portugal, continues to explore new ways in which we can bridge the divide between young and old and create fairer solutions for all ages, with a major conference in November as part of the EU Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity Between Generations. The Campaign to End Loneliness in older age steps up its activities and Making Every Adult Matter, the coalition of organisations exploring ways of improving services for individuals who are otherwise multiply excluded, takes on new vigour.

The exhibition of work from artists who spent time with our support in the Galapagos opens in Liverpool in May as part of an international tour. We will be announcing a new, international environmental programme later in the year, focused on the economics of ocean biodiversity and ecosystem services, and bringing other initiatives under the cultural understanding theme to completion while scoping new ones.

Through our fourth, cross-cutting aim we contribute to the enhanced effectiveness of the organisations we support and work with others to maximise social and cultural value whether in leadership, learning or other ways. Though predominantly strategic, one strand of funding support is open to applications; but resources in 2012 are severely limited and we will prioritise the most innovative and exceptional ideas or projects that support ambitions within our three main strategic aims.

All our work seeks to benefit those who are potentially marginalised, addressing their vulnerability and that of the planet in which we all live: enriching and connecting the lives of individuals especially the most disadvantaged in line with our mission. We could not deliver without the committed organisations and individuals that we partner; we continue to work collaboratively, looking across issues and making connections that might not otherwise occur. As part of a European foundation, with a presence in three European capitals, we are well positioned to support work across national boundaries - exchanging learning, including through the international networks we support; we will continue to develop the international nature of our work in 2012. And we place emphasis on evaluating the impact and communicating the lessons from work we engage in to those who can help to exact a greater impact. Our premises in Hoxton Square provide a space to do this and we welcome all those with whom we work and seek to make an impact. In short, we are not just about effecting transactions but contributing to social and cultural transformation.