Collaboration
The African Food Fellowship is not the only initiative to support leaders in their efforts to transform their food systems. In fact, there is a worldwide increase of initiatives that work from the assumption that change in food and agriculture can, and should, be driven by groups of individuals who are part of food systems.
Change and transformation are not only going to come from policies and high-level agreements. Rather, it is people all across their specific food systems who will make the difference. That’s why we are interested to support food systems leadership: a combination of individual and collaborative capabilities, able to deal with the complexities and trade-offs inherent in food systems.
The African Food Fellowship actively seeks collaboration with like minded institutions, organisations, and movements that support food systems leadership as leverage point to bring about food system transformation. By connecting these initiatives where relevant, our collective impact can be increased – even if our approaches slightly differ.
Here are some examples of this wider landscape in which the African Food Fellowship is engaging with others. We actively work together with some of these initiatives, and exchange information with others.
The Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) is an initiative led by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and launched in collaboration with implementing partners including the African Management Institute (AMI) and USAID’s Policy LINK. CALA was established in 2021 to support leaders spearheading agriculture transformation and the advancement of sustainable practices. The African Food Fellowship coordinates with CALA to raise awareness for high quality leadership support.
African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) is a career development programme to widen the pipeline of capable, influential African women scientists in leadership, since 2008. It provides training, fellowships, institutional engagement and thought leadership. AWARD is hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi. AWARD’s Agricultural Director, Ms Dorothy Mukhebi, is part of the Inspiration Committee of the African Food Fellowship.
Rockefeller Foundation – Acumen Food Systems Fellowship
A global leadership programme for systems leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset, who understand that it will take all of us to tackle the greatest food systems challenges of our time. This Food Systems Fellowship will run from April to October 2022 and comprises a one-year leadership development programme offered through Acumen Academy. A cohort of twenty food system leaders will participate in a blend of immersive seminars, workshops, and self-directed leadership experiments. The programme will combine in-person and virtual learning. We are working with Acumen as they and we continue to improve our leadership programme curricula.
Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning (IFSTAL) is a pioneering global learning community and interactive resource to enable a step change in food systems thinking. Over 10 years, it has built a diverse community of over 1,500 food systems thinkers, including students, alumni and workplace practitioners. IFSTAL is a collaborative of 7 UK-based universities, hosted by the University of Oxford. We have been working with IFSTAL in the Food Systems Game Changers Lab in developing systems leadership proposals for possible funders and partners.
Southern Africa Food Lab SAFL uses innovative collaborative learning and facilitation approaches to support multi-stakeholder teams to develop a systemic understanding of food security issues and design innovations to shift food systems in Southern Africa towards a more sustainable and equitable path. Hosted by Stellenbosch University, the Lab team comprises stakeholders from corporate, grassroots, NGO, academic, and government sectors. The African Food Fellowship works with the SAFL to explore African thinking on food systems leadership.
The African Leadership Group (ALG) aims to be a pan-African ecosystem that transforms the continent and the world by selecting, developing and placing three million ethical and entrepreneurial young leaders into highly productive roles by 2035. Founded by Fred Swaniker, two of ALGs flagship initiatives are the African Leadership University with campuses in Mauritius and Rwanda, and the African Leadership Academy based in South Africa. Both institutes aim to provide higher education for a higher purpose and form the leaders of the future.
The Narrative Changers African Food Fellowship (NCAFF) aims to create cohorts of African food entrepreneurs who are committed to scaling their products to the world. Started in 2021, this Fellowship is part of the start-up Changing Narratives Africa, which is committed to changing global mindsets about Africa by showcasing the Continent’s contributions to the world through the pioneering work of her dynamic people, their innovations, and products.
