Celebrating the Journey: The Conclusion of GDF’s First Ever Conservation & Communities Fellowship
- Mentoring Stream: Led by The Human Edge, this stream included mentorship, guiding the fellows through personal and professional growth, and fostering confidence and clarity in their leadership journeys. At its conclusion, the fellows were matched as peer-mentors and invited to begin their mentoring journey.
- Leading Beyond Authority Stream: With 8 sessions led by Common Purpose, this stream focused on building critical partnership-building and coaching skills, encouraging the fellows to navigate complexity, develop their vision, and lead change in their communities.
- Capabilities & Capacities Stream: This 37-session stream was led by the Global Diversity Foundation in collaboration with WildTeam. Fellows acquired practical capacities in proposal writing, project and human resource management, communications and more, equipping them with the tools needed to drive tangible conservation efforts.
Impact
“I am forever grateful for the impact you have contributed to my story, career and relationships; You have inspired me to break out of my cocoon and be greater and more impactful!”
Silole Malih, CCF Cohort 2024
Community Exchange and ISE Congress 2024
One of the highlights of the fellowship was the in-person Community Exchange and ISE Congress in Morocco in May 2024. Fellows first gathered for the three-day exchange in the Demnat region of the High Atlas. Here, they consolidated their relationships; reflected on power, leadership and systemic change; built their vision for the future of the CCF and had the opportunity to interact closely with Global North donors.
Read more about the Community Exchange in this blog post.
“To my fellow cohort members… Each and every single one of you… Words cannot express the joy that I hold in my heart over the time that we shared. Thank you all for the community, the laughter, the love. The dance of life is punctuated by the beats of a drum that must carry on, as was passed on to us by our ancestors for the generations to come. We hold this space today and it is an honour to stand by each and every single one of you as we build the future.”
Rosebell Abwonji, CCF Cohort 2024
Following this, the fellows participated in the ISE Congress, which welcomed 400 participants from 69 countries. They hosted and presented at 3 sessions at the congress:
- Indigenous landscape and resource governance: Innovations, best practices and environmental justice
- Documenting and protecting traditional knowledge: methods, ethics and respect for the sacred in Indigenous and local community-led initiatives
- Unweaving the fabric of colonial conservation: local narratives, indigenous methods and plural perspectives
Fellows were also invited to lead a storytelling circle on May 16th as part of Harvest Festival Marrakech, during which they shared their personal and professional journeys with a diverse audience of congress attendees and locals. The stories, rich in emotion and authenticity, painted pictures of the geographies and communities the fellows work among, along with the challenges and triumphs they’ve faced. For many, this was their first experience with public storytelling.
A collection of their stories entitled ‘Our Land, our Stories: Voices from the Edges’ was published, capturing the fellows’ reflections and wisdom, and showcasing their growth as leaders. You can read the publication here.
Emerging Collaborations
One of the key outcomes of the CCF journey is the creation of new, durable collaborations between fellows, two of whom are now working together on a project funded by the Global Diversity Foundation through our Seed Projects Grants. Another trio is leading the development of a conservation leadership programme for indigenous community youth in India and Kenya. All fellows have actively participated in the development of a CCF Alumni Programme which will be launched this Autumn, and led principally by the fellows.
Additionally, following the mentoring training, fellows were paired as peer-mentors. Through regular meetings, these mentor-pairs have built meaningful relationships of support that will continue well beyond the end of the fellowship. These spaces allow them to help each other navigate specific challenges they face in their work, to exchange practical advice on project implementation and to cheer-lead one another as they expand their impact and horizons.
“One of the most important things I learned during my participation in the CCF Mentoring Stream was the immense benefit of mentoring. As a conservation leader juggling numerous responsibilities, being a mentee felt like a therapeutic session. It provided me with a much-needed space for reflection and support, helping me navigate the challenges and responsibilities of my role more effectively. Moreover, it also enhanced my capacity as a leader, as I learned how to apply mentoring techniques to support and empower my own team.”
Reyni Palohoen, CCF Cohort 2024
Internships and Organisational Growth
The fellowship also sought to have a broader impact on organisations through the organisation of internships. So far, we have funded 7 internships for conservation graduate students from UK universities among fellows’ organisations in Bolivia, Cameroon, Guatemala, Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania. In early 2025 four further graduate internships are being organised in fellows’ organisations in Bhutan, Cameroon, Peru and Sao Tomé and Principe.
These internships provided graduate students with real-life experience of the challenges and needs of grassroots conservation organisations in the Global South. Read more about the transformative experience of Sam Rees, who interned in Cameroon here. They also provided important support for the organisations themselves. Some internships focused on addressing specific institutional challenges, for example creating strategic, communications or business plans, while others focused on delivering key research data and outputs on an important local conservation or livelihoods theme. In some cases, the relationships forged are now leading to more long-term collaborations.
Graduation Ceremony
On August 29th, the fellowship journey concluded with an emotional graduation ceremony. It was a bittersweet moment, marking both an ending and the beginning of new chapters for the cohort rooted in a shared purpose and a strong, supportive network.
“The time in Morocco spent with all of you has nourished me in ways I couldn’t have imagined, and I have left with my heart full and my head buzzing with ideas. Each of you is an inspiration, and I hope that we continue to weave this rich tapestry of our collective conservation journeys through the coming months and beyond the Fellowship.”
Asiem Sanyal, CCF Cohort 2024
While the CCF may have concluded, the collective impact of the commitment each one of us brought to this experience will continue to grow. We look forward to continuing our journey together!
