GLFx chapters at GLF Nairobi 2023: local voices shaping a New Vision for Earth
- Nine GLFx representatives from Africa, LAC, and Asia played leading roles in sessions at GLF Nairobi to scale up their local solutions.
- Other 10 GLFx chapters joined the event online through Watch Parties that gathered 280+ local stakeholders.
Landscape restoration and policy change are ultimately about people, and the GLFx delegation ensures to ignite joint efforts at the GLF Nairobi 2023 Hybrid Conference. By sharing how their locally led innovations are positively transforming people’s impact on nature, GLFx chapters demonstrated why a New Vision for Earth needs to be built from the ground up.
On October 11-12, nine representatives from three regions of the world assembled at the CIFOR-ICRAF Nairobi campus, Kenya, to bring their community approach to plenaries and sessions at GLF Nairobi. On Day 1, Kamel Damma from GLFx Tamale discussed how local action can drive policy change, a conversation led by the GLF Community and Action program. On parallel sessions, Monica Yator from GLFx Baringo brought the agroecology and indigenous women perspectives to the intersection of land and business and the role of multilateral banks in fighting climate change in sessions conducted by the UNCCD G20 Global Land Initiative and the East Africa Development Bank, respectively. Later that day, Maimuna Jawara from GLFx Banjul (The Gambia) enlightened the dialogue on funding climate adaptation.
On Day 2, Emmanuela Shinta from GLFx Kalimantan and Ekoava Cengoi from GLFx Nkambe lifted our restoration spirits at the ‘Landscape Talks: Visionaries for Earth’s Renewal’ session by walking us through their landscapes and what drives them to work tirelessly to combat forest fires and expand tree nurseries. Immediately after, the GLFx and Youth programs supported by Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions, develop a hope-delivering dialogue among Eva Makandi (Forest Restoration Steward and GLFx Meru chapter coordinator), Emmanuela Shinta (GLFx Kalimantan), and Clemencia Pinasco (GLFx Peruvian Amazon). Together with Ernesto Paredes’ video from GLFx Plan de Amayo, these restoration leaders illustrated how they are changing the world, one local action at a time.
Before the GLF Nairobi closing plenary, GLFx chapters joined YIL representatives and UNCCD land heroes to claim their role of stewarding visions of justice and restoration. The opening statement by Adrian Leitoro, the Drylands Restoration Steward and GLFx Africa officer, drew people’s attention to what stewarding means for local leaders, while the GLFx panelists gave practical examples applied to community participation, indigenous people approach, human rights, policy advocacy, market access, and ecopreneurship.
Besides these thought-provoking conversations, chapters also deliver digital inspirational talks about their visions for Earth and share their stories in the Voices of Landscapes video series. Moreover, GLFx chapters organized Watch Parties to engage local stakeholders in public dialogues and debates on finding joint solutions to accelerate landscape restoration. Thanks to the collaboration of Robert Bosch Foundation, Lavazza, and GLF partners, 10 GLFx partners gathered more than 280 people in their landscapes.
From Indonesia in Asia to Peru in Latin America, passing throughout Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, The Gambia, Malawi, and Kenya, GLFx chapters ensure community representation to craft a New Vision for Earth based on inclusion and justice for all.
