On 17 September, a collective of local, national and international stakeholders will gather to discuss transformative, locally-led landscape solutions to inform policies, build knowledge, and finance and scale up landscape restoration and biodiversity conservation across Africa.
The GLF Africa 2024 Hybrid Conference: Greening the African Horizon will feature leading experts and practitioners in tech and AI, climate, sustainable finance, food systems, social innovation and more, who are setting the continent on the road to a sustainable and prosperous future.
Take a glance at the GLF Africa 2024 lineup:
Ariane Hildebrandt, Director General at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany. She is responsible for global health, equality of opportunity, digital technologies and food security, including population policy, social protection, education, decent work, data and statistics, sustainable supply chains, water, circular economy, agriculture and rural development. Before she joined BMZ, she worked for the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the University of Würzburg, where she obtained her PhD.
Arnold Kipchumba, Director of Environment and Climate Action at MaMa Doing Good, an initiative of the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya. Arnold is a climate and environment professional passionate about building resilient and sustainable communities. He has extensive experience coordinating environment, natural resources, and climate change programs for the 47 county governments in Kenya, and has also designed, monitored and reviewed policies and laws related to those areas.
Benjamin Singer, Senior Forest and Land Use Specialist at Green Climate Fund (GCF). Benjamin supports the design of transformational projects and programs on forests, land use and ecosystems. Prior to this, he worked as a forest financing expert at the United Nations Forum on Forests where he supported countries in mobilizing financing for sustainable forest management. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, he joined the UN Secretary-General’s Office to support the UN’s pandemic response on financing for development.
Betty Kibaara, Director in the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation, Africa Regional Office. She leads the Foundations investments in transforming food systems, including increasing access to nutritious foods through school feeding programs. Betty has a Master in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Colorado State University (U.S.) and a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management from Egerton University (Kenya). She advances investments in regenerative agriculture through development of the frass fertilizers from insects.
Catherine Nakalembe, Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Geographical Sciences and Africa Program Director for NASA Harvest. Her research focuses on developing remote sensing and machine learning applications for smallholder agriculture, early warning of food insecurity, and disaster assessment in Africa. Catherine is an award-winning scientist, earning recognition including the 2022 Highest Civilian Award: The Golden Jubilee Medal-Civilians of Uganda and the 2020 Africa Food Prize.
Charlette N’Guessan, Data Solutions and Ecosystem Lead at AMINI, an African deep tech company addressing data scarcity in the Global South by leveraging space technology and artificial intelligence. Charlette is also an AI expert consultant at APET, the African Union High-Level Group on Emerging Technologies, focusing on shaping the AI governance landscape in Africa. Among her numerous recognitions is being the first woman recipient of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). Born in Rwanda and raised on three continents, Éliane has a background in agriculture and molecular genetics. She serves on several boards and has been recognized for outstanding contributions to innovation, gender equity and sustainable prosperity creation. Éliane is a member of Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council and Presidential Advisory Council, among others.
Elizabeth Mrema, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Elizabeth has served as Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity, as Director of the Law Division and the Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Division at UNEP, and as the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. She has also worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, President/CEO of the ONE Campaign. Ndidi is an expert on social innovation, African agriculture and nutrition, entrepreneurship and youth development. She has over 25 years of international development experience and is a recognized serial entrepreneur, author, public speaker and consultant. Ndidi started her career as a management consultant in Chicago, New York and Johannesburg and returned to Nigeria in 2000 to lead the FATE Foundation, supporting young entrepreneurs to start and scale their businesses.
Susan Chomba, Director of Vital Landscapes at the World Resources Institute (WRI). A scientist with extensive research and development experience in Africa for more than 15 years, Susan leads WRI Africa’s work on forest protection and landscape restoration, food systems transformation and water. She is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) and a global ambassador for the Race to Zero and Resilience under the UN High Level Champions for Climate Action.
Rose Mwebaza, Director and Regional Representative of UNEP Africa Office. She has served as the Director and Advisory Board Secretary of the United Nations Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN), the implementation arm of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Technology Mechanism. Among other roles, Rose is a Carl Duisburg Research fellow at the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a member of the UN Master Minds, and a founding member of the Network for African Women Environmentalists.
Youba Sokona, Honorary Professor at University College London. With over 40 years of experience addressing energy, environment and sustainable development in Africa, Youba has been at the heart of numerous national and continental initiatives. He was a Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sixth assessment report. He also served as Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III for the fifth assessment report after having been a Lead Author since 1990. Youba is a member of The World Academy of Sciences, among other associations.
Meet all of the speakers here.
GLF Africa 2024 will take place on 17 September 2024, online and in person at the World Agroforestry (ICRAF) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
Explore the full agenda here and register here. Learn more at bit.ly/GLFAfrica2024
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About the GLF
The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, connecting people with a shared vision to create productive, profitable, equitable & resilient landscapes. It is led by the Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF), in collaboration with its co-founders UNEP and the World Bank, and its charter members. Learn more at www.globallandscapesforum.org.
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