In September 2025, WFN convened 18 African conservation leaders in Madagascar for a unique exchange of ideas, experiences and solutions.
One of the primary goals of our Winner Network Development programme is to foster South-South collaboration. Annually, WFN hosts a weeklong training programme and regional Whitley Award winners are invited to join in-person.
In 2025 we returned to Africa, having hosted the first ever in-person training in Mpala, Kenya in 2022. From 1st to 5th September, 18 Whitley Award alumni and some of WFN’s team gathered in beautiful Madagascar for our largest regional training yet.
With over 350 years of collective experience and work spanning across 10 African countries, the group had much to share, debate and discuss. From topical debates around sustainable fundraising approaches considering recent government funding cuts to broader questions such as ‘who is a conservationist’, the programme was shaped by the participants themselves.
Throughout the week, we also created opportunities for participants to connect with others who are facing similar challenges and struggles as conservation leaders.
At the end of the training, participants shared that they return home with increased motivation and a renewed sense of purpose in their long-term efforts to save biodiversity. Time away from their desks and everyday demands, also helps them to gain new perspective and reflect on their work and organisations.
“I had the privilege of returning to Madagascar for peer-to-peer training of African members of the WFN Alumni Network. It was nothing short of a gold mine of knowledge, insights and lived experiences to draw from.” – Rachel Ikemeh, 2020 Whitley Award winner
Meeting CONSERVATIONISTs’ Needs
The week’s schedule was a mix of peer-to-peer sessions, facilitated discussions and training. Workshops provided valuable tools and frameworks to enhance the effectiveness of their projects back home, including an introduction to the PARTNERS Principles from the Ethical Conservation Alliance and discussions around Ewaso Lions’ Community-Led Conservation Framework.
Dr Dino Martins, WFN Trustee and 2015 Whitley Gold Award winner, kicked the week off with discussions around common challenges when in a leadership position, including hiring the right candidates and working with a Board of Trustees.
To end the sessions around NGO management, 2023 Whitley Gold Award winner Shivani Bhalla led an insightful, remote discussion around the importance of succession planning for leaders. She shared her learnings from interviews with those who’ve handed over leadership as well as her own thoughts and plans for succession at Ewaso Lions.
Dispersed in the week were talks on conservation approaches including alternative livelihoods and citizen science. Alumni also showcased their organisations’ work and diverse approaches through presentations to the group.
On Wednesday, 2012 Whitley Award winner Josia Razafindramanana and her colleague Marianne from NGO Maliasili led a full day of workshops on fundraising and measuring impact. Two complex topics distilled into practical takeaways.
First, the group were tasked to look critically at their own strategies for strengths and weaknesses– a useful reminder to take a step back and look at the overall picture. Aimed at supporting alumni to boost their fundraising contacts, the afternoon’s activity mapped donors across the group’s organisations and highlighted a range of funding options.
FOREST FIELDTRIP
On Thursday, we took a break from the classroom to explore the local area of Andasibe. In the morning, we headed for a 2-hour hike through a community-managed reserve. ‘Vondron’olona Ifotony Mitia sy Miaro ny Ala’, which translates to ‘the local people love the forest’, is a 40-hectare reserve abundant in endemic plants and animals.
With entrance fees supporting the local community, it underlines the potential for conservation to benefit nature and communities. The group spotted many brown lemurs as well as a special sighting of the Critically Endangered Indri, who’s echoing calls provided a backdrop to the week’s classroom activities.
In the afternoon, we also visited Ecovision Village – a business venture set up to restore ecosystems degraded by fire and invasive plants, and to support local communities through alternative livelihoods in ecological agriculture and permaculture This innovative conservation project encouraged the group to consider alternative approaches to conservation and led to many discussions around the importance of conservation jobs and sustainable economic livelihoods.
PRIORITISING WELLBEING
We wrapped up the week with a significant discussion on personal and team wellbeing. In a session led by 2020 Whitley Award winner Jeanne Tarrant, the group opened up about their own experiences of stress and burnout.
The session also offered practical guidance on what is burnout, how to spot the signs in yourself and others, and what support is available for those going through burnout. We ended the session with a practice in grounding – a reminder to connect with the world around us.
At the very end of the week, the group all came together to share their views.
“To be completely honest, I came into the training week not convinced of the benefit I was going to get. I can’t stress enough how important this has been. Not just the learnings, not just meeting conservationists, but in allowing myself and everyone to listen, learn, and reflect on some very important topics.” – Ian Little, 2017 Whitley Award winner
Looking ahead
Supported by Hempel Foundation, this regional Winner Network Training was invaluable in bringing together dedicated conservation leaders to boost impact. Together, we’ve strengthened our collective mission of protecting biodiversity and empowering local communities to lead the way in conservation.
As the group touch down back home, and return to their offices, the hard work continues. These leaders are committed to share the learnings from the training week with their teams and colleagues, ensuring any knowledge gained ripples outwards and has wider impact.
We are grateful to all those who attended and gave such openness and commitment to this shared personal and professional development, building upon the success of past training weeks in Kenya, Brazil and Kyrgyzstan.
We are excited to continue developing the programme and integrating new ideas and learnings as we plan for next year. In 2026, we plan to return to Latin America to build on the connections made in Brazil.
A big thank you to the Hempel Foundation for their support of the Network Development programme.
