Restoring Hope: The Great Green Wall and Youth Empowerment in the Fight Against Climate Change

Joseph Hammond is an award-winning journalist whose diverse career has spanned four continents. As a boxing writer in California and Las Vegas from 2005, Hammond interviewed some of the sport’s leading practitioners, including world champion-cum-senator Manny Pacquiao.

Hammond turned to international journalism and reported around the globe. During the "Arab Spring" in he was Cairo correspondent for Radio Free Europe.

His reporting has been published in a number of publications including The Economist, Newsweek, The Washington Post, Forbes, Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown (CNN), U.S. News and World Report, EuroNews, France 24(TV), Al Arabiya, Deutsche Welle (Qantara), International Business Times, and international editions of Rolling Stone and Esquire. Notable interviewees have included, Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman, hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash, Catalan celebrity chef Jose Andres, members of the British parliament, as well as multiple interviews with former Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Sid Gozali.

As an editor with the publication Energy Year he worked in Turkey, Qatar, and Indonesia. He is a former Fulbright Public Policy fellow where he worked with the Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Natural Resources in Malawi. He has also worked on emerging markets, energy and extractive industries with Politico Infocus and the Oxford Business Group. Indeed as a consultant, Mr. Hammond has worked with Global Integrity on transparency research in Egypt and with government agencies in both Ghana and Bangladesh.

Hammond has worked on countering violent extremism (CVE) issues on four continents. He is currently an iDove Fellow with the African Union. He moderated a panel on the topic at the African Union’s Headquarters in Addis Ababa during the 2nd U.S.-Africa CVE Week at the African Union that was funded by the U.S. State Department on the topic of DDR.

He is also the communications director of Commonwealth Africa Initiative and host of the annual Commonwealth Africa Summit. In this latter role, he has moderated panels and organized events in London, Toronto, and New York that have included a number of distinguished speakers including the former President of Ghana (John Mahama), members of the British Parliament and the former deputy prime minister of Spain among other luminaries.

He was a speaker and delegate at the COP28 Conference in Dubai

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Steering pivotal environmental initiatives, my role as Coordinator at the African Union Commission is underpinned by a decade of commitment to sustainable land management. We've fostered multinational cooperation and advocacy, bolstering the Great Green Wall Initiative and driving forward Africa's agenda on ecological preservation.

My expertise lies in the strategic orchestration of member states and partners, ensuring political support and resource mobilization. Our team has been instrumental in implementing communication strategies and creating synergies, contributing to a greener and more sustainable African continent.

Experienced climate change, sustainable development , Resources Management with a demonstrated history of working in the banking industry.

Skilled in Sustainable Development, Program Evaluation, Rural Development, Environmental Awareness, and International Relations. Strong professional with a Doctorate in Policy Analysis .

Kaluki Paul Mutuku is a Kenya-based climate advocate and an environmental defender, working to champion meaningful youth engagement for climate action. His background is in Environmental Conservation and Natural Resource Management from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Kaluki has experience in community organizing, climate communication, campaign coordination, and environmental education, among many other areas. Previously, he worked with 350.org Kenya, for the deCOALonize campaign, which sought to stop the building of a 1050 mW of a coal-fired power plant in Kenya's UNESCO world heritage site in Lamu. He is a trained Environmental Educator with A Rocha International, under the Education for Sustainable Development, ESD, and a Digital storytellerCurrently, he is the executive producer and host at EarthNow Media, a climate media communications platform seeking to inform, influence, and create impact narratives across Afrika.

Kaluki is the Executive Director at Kheri Environmental Action Network (KEAN International), immediate Regional Director for Afrika & Global Director of INUKA at Youth4Nature. His key focus for Africa is on Nature-based Solutions, land restoration, reforestation, food systems transformation, and youth leadership across the spaces. He is the Program Manager for the Afrika Youth Caravan to UNFCCC COPs projects. Kaluki is an impact storyteller & trainer, Nature-based Solutions expert, fundraiser, youth leadership advocate, mentor, and restoration champion.