Dear Friends,

I would like to share recent exciting developments at the African Women in Agricultural Research for Development (AWARD).

First, I am thrilled to announce that we welcomed more than 300 participants to the One Planet Fellowship Knowledge Festival and Graduation Ceremony held in Nairobi, Kenya, on October 17-18, 2024. This ceremony marked the culmination of the current phase of the One Planet Fellowship (OPF), where we celebrated its success in building an intergenerational network of scientists leading vital climate change research.

I would like to thank our Fellowship partners, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), BNP Paribas, the European Union (EU), the International Development Research Center (IDRC), and Agropolis Fondation, for their unwavering support throughout the Fellowship’s implementation phase.

As we expand our footprint across Africa through our programs, we will soon announce the inaugural cohort of Climate Fellows across our communication platforms as part of our “Accelerating African Women’s Leadership in Climate Action” Fellowship. This reflects our ongoing commitment to amplifying the role of African women in leading climate change adaptation and mitigation research efforts.

In addition, we proudly welcomed 42 Emerging Policy Practitioners into the Gender Responsive Agricultural Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship, where they have begun participating in a dynamic mentorship program to enhance their competencies as early career policy practitioners in agricultural policymaking and research.

This edition of the AWARD Newsletter also highlights key developments, including the appointment of Dr. Siboniso Moyo as Chairperson of the AWARD Steering Committee, with Prof. Hortense Atta Diallo as Deputy Chairperson.

We are also excited to highlight to you our involvement in several key events globally, including the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF 2024) in Rwanda, the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE 2024) in India, the 2024 Science Summit held at the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and the 2nd RUFORUM Triennial Conference held in Namibia. These events, in collaboration with strategic partners such as USAID, IDRC, CABI, the Global Solutions Initiative, Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition (GloPlan), and the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform, have further enhanced the visibility of our work in gender-responsive agricultural systems.

We also spotlight our continued support for the AWARD Policy Fellows’ career journeys, where we organized two masterclasses to strengthen their capacity to facilitate agricultural policy research and implementation in Africa.

Finally, I invite you to interact with two exciting publications: Stories of Hope, featuring Emerging African Women in Science, and the fourth volume of the AgSpirations series, which features success narratives from select One Planet Fellowship Laureates.

Stay up-to-date with our latest news and opportunities by visiting our website and subscribing to our mailing list. Remember to follow us on our Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for news updates and online discussions.