A new chair has been appointed to head up the Anne Frank Trust UK, a charitable organisation empowering young people aged nine to 15 to “challenge all forms of prejudice”.

Nicola Cobbold, who has spent 16 years working in the non-profit sector, will take over from outgoing chair Daniel Mendoza OBE at the end of the month.

Mendoza, who has been a trustee of the Anne Frank Trust since 2002 and its chair since 2011, helped the organisation expand its reach exponentially.

In 2022, over 92,000 young people engaged with the organisation through its myriad educational programmes. According to research carried out by the University of Kent, almost 85 per cent of these young people became more positive towards different social groups thanks to the Anne Frank Trust’s work.

Cobbold, the granddaughter of Dutch refugees, brings a wealth of experience to the role of chair, having worked as a media and copyright lawyer and acted as a trustee for the Jewish Council for Racial Equality.

She said she was “eager to continue the organisation’s impactful legacy, especially in an increasingly polarised world.

Paying tribute to her predecessor, she said: “Daniel leaves an extraordinary organisation with proven, focused educational programmes driven by a dedicated and passionate team.”

Mendoza said: “It has been an absolute honour and privilege to have served at the AFT. We have had incredible impact on an issue that is so core to society and our humanity. However, we are still scratching the surface.”

The charity was forced to apologise in 2022 for its “problem with due diligence and vetting processes” after recruiting speakers, facilitators and public figures later found to hold antisemitic views. Its CEO Tim Robertson said at the time that addressing the charity’s “failures” was his “highest priority”.