SEED is an award-winning non-profit and public benefit organisation operating from Mitchells Plain on the Cape Flats. Our work over the last 14 years has pioneered the Outdoor Classroom to not only grow ecological literacy, but also organic food for school goers, and importantly, also for the communities in which they are situated.
SEED is growing Rockland’s Urban Abundance Centre at Rocklands Primary in Mitchells Plain. The centre has grown out of direct request from community for jobs, skills and food gardens. We are now growing a training centre and enterprise hub that grows the resilience and social cohesion of Mitchells Plain while offering resilience education & demonstration for the broader Cape Town population.
Welcome to the Buckminster Fuller Challenge (BFC) archive! Here you will find a comprehensive history of the BFC program and a curated archive of the ‘best of’ entries reviewed by the program from 2007-2017 making visible the vibrancy and dedication of an emerging field of comprehensive, whole-systems designers. This searchable archive is offered as a resource and tool for educators, the design community, and the general public to use to discover the remarkable ideas and successful projects at work in the world today.
ORIGINS AND HISTORIES
In 2010 Fuller Challenge juror David Orr – the esteemed sustainability educator and author – remarked that human civilization has entered the historical equivalent of shooting the dangerous rapids of a treacherous white-water river. With a broken paddle. Blindfolded.
Buckminster Fuller put it in stark relief with this famous question: Are we heading toward Utopia or Oblivion? He challenged his contemporaries to creatively respond to the urgency of this moment by re-framing the crisis as an opportunity pointing to humanity’s “option to make it – to live successfully without compromising the ability for all of life to thrive.”
Fuller demonstrated through his research and design practice that the resources needed for all forms of life on the planet to live in relative peace and prosperity exist. Creatively deployed, these resources are more than enough to raise the standard of living for everybody.
He called for a revolution by design –not political or military – but a revolution driven by the problem-solving creativity of design combined with the empirical demands of science.
Fuller’s practice took a comprehensive approach, starting with the whole; anticipating future trends and needs; employing the scientific method; and aligned with nature’s operating principles. He saw that this way of thinking and doing was to be the future of design. He called his practice design science. And in the 1960’s he launched the Design Science Revolution with an open call to the world’s creative communities “to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.”
In 2007 The Buckminster Fuller Challenge Prize program reintroduced Bucky’s vision. After extensive research we determined that the development of a competitive prize – an open call to anyone creatively addressing any of the world’s most urgent problems – would enable us to accomplish several goals:
1. honor the legacy of Fuller and create a prestigious program that would encourage innovation and recognize integrity;
2. draw attention and support to the thinkers and doers applying a comprehensive, whole-systems approach to designing solutions to the
great challenges we face today;
3. leverage the power of a prestigious innovation prize to demonstrate the importance of whole systems-thinking and its integral function in design-
thinking;
4. educate a new generation of designers to take up Fuller’s Challenge to transform our world through design, by showcasing world class projects
and celebrating the people behind them”,
Over the program’s ten-year history (2007-2017) the Fuller Challenge attracted thousands of initiatives from across the globe, tackling every conceivable issue facing humanity and the planet today. Each team submitted an application that was subject to a rigorous vetting process in which our esteemed review team and juries invested hundreds of hours of investigation, research, and debate to select our honored entries.
First recognized in 2011 by Metropolis Magazine as “socially responsible design’s highest award”, the program conferred an annual grand prize of
$100,000 to a project that best fulfilled the entrance criteria and embodied what we have called the ‘spirit of the Challenge’. Winning projects are visionary initiatives that address multiple problems simultaneously, and evoke inspiration for others to study and replicate.
The winning team also received with The Omnioculi, a commissioned sculpture created by artist Tom Shannon in collaboration with geodesics expert Joseph Clinton.
While one project was selected as the winner, each year the Fuller Challenge program awarded resources and support to an additional 40-60 projects through our Catalyst Program. These projects typically represented the top 20% of the entry pool and received opportunities for additional funding and investment, pro-bono legal services, fast-track access to accelerator programs, mentorship opportunities, and international press coverage.
The projects included in the archive demonstrate that design can and must be applied to every aspect of the global system, and reveal a groundswell of successful solutions to our most complex and urgent problems.
With an expanded view of design’s scope, we were able to recognize design innovation in places and projects that were unusual and new. And in the process we discovered an extraordinary group of passionate people with an unusual capacity to feel a deep sense of generosity for the future. It is our hope that
history will look back on their sacrifice, commitment and creativity to recognize that these were the trimtabs of our time who navigated us to safer shores, calmer waters, a world that works for all.
On behalf of the Fuller Challenge staff, review team and our generous supporters we thank you for your interest in this project and hope you will enjoy this archive!
-Elizabeth Thompson, Founding Director
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners.
The Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS Network) is a regional conservation organization with the mission to enhance biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the Albertine Rift region, Africa Great Lakes region and African Mountains through the promotion of collaborative conservation actions for nature and people.
ARCOS’ overall goal is to enhance conservation of critical ecosystems and promote sustainable development in the Albertine Rift region, Africa Great Lakes region and African Mountains through collaborative actions between various partners.
ARCOS is registered in the UK as a Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee, and in Rwanda and Uganda as an international NGO.
L’Institut Africain de Gestion Urbaine (IAGU) est une ONG internationale créée en 1987 dans le but d’appuyer les municipalités et les autorités des villes de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre à renforcer leurs capacités de planification et de gestion pour améliorer la gouvernance locale, l’environnement et lutter contre la pauvreté.
La mission de l’IAGU est d’accompagner les municipalités de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre à renforcer leurs capacités de planification et de gestion pour
construire des villes inclusives, prospères et durables.
L’IAGU agit par l’entremise de l’appui technique aux collectivités locales, la diffusion des innovations issues de la recherche et des expérimentations locales, la conduite de missions de prestations de service et de renforcement de capacités. Il exécute son mandat sur la base des demandes formulées et des besoins exprimés par les collectivités locales, les organisations communautaires de base, les agences de coopération et autres acteurs de la gestion urbaine. Il assiste à cet effet en permanence les villes africaines dans l’élaboration, la formulation et la mise en œuvre des stratégies et politiques locales de développement durable.
Il procède par la recherche/action participative, la formation, l’information, l’appui technique et la conduites d’études de faisabilité et sectorielles à travers trois (3) pôles : Planification environnementale, Gestion des Déchets et Agriculture urbaine. Son personnel d’encadrement est constitué de chargés de programme et de chargés de projet qui sont des ingénieurs, des environnementalistes, des géographes-aménagistes, des géomaticiens, des socio-économistes et des sociologues.
L’IAGU est devenu une institution de référence internationale dans les domaines de la planification stratégique environnementale, de la gestion des déchets, du développement durable de l’agriculture urbaine et de la promotion des stratégies d’adaptation aux inondations urbaines. Il conduit des programmes et projets de recherche-action, d’appui technique et de formation sur les problématiques de développement durable des collectivités locales en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre en général, au Sénégal en particulier. Il demeure une organisation professionnelle, performante, reconnue pour son expertise et sa capacité d’innovation dans la formulation des réponses à apporter aux besoins des municipalités et des villes en perpétuelle mutation. Il est accrédité par le Programme des Nations Unies pour l’Environnement (PNUE) et est devenu l’institution d’ancrage de l’UN Habitat en Afrique francophone. L’IAGU travaille aussi en collaboration avec le Centre de Recherches pour le Développement International du Canada (CRDI), le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD), la Banque Mondiale, Cities Alliance, les agences de coopération bilatérale, les agences gouvernementales, les municipalités ainsi que la plupart des acteurs de la gestion urbaine au Sénégal et dans la sous-région.
350.org is building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries.
350 means climate safety. To preserve our planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 392 parts per million to below 350 ppm. But 350 is more than a number—it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.
350.org works hard to organize in a new way—everywhere at once, using online tools to facilitate strategic offline action. We want to be a laboratory for the best ways to strengthen the climate movement and catalyze transformation around the world.
We operate at a large scale to take on the world’s greatest challenge. In October of 2009 we coordinated 5200 simultaneous rallies and demonstrations in 181 countries, what CNN called the ‘most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history.’ On 10/10/10, we organized a day of climate solutions projects–from solar panel installations to community garden plantings–and changed communities from the bottom up with over 7000 events in 188 countries. And at the end of last year, we coordinated a climate art project so large it had to be photographed from a satellite in outer space.
In 2011, we are building people power in every corner of the planet. With a huge mobilization planned for September and a series of bold campaigns in strategic countries around the world, we’ve got big plans. With the help of millions of people, we’ll create a wave a hard-hitting climate activism all over the world that can lead to real, lasting, large-scale change.
We think we can turn the tide on the climate crisis–but only if we work together. If an international grassroots movement holds our leaders accountable to realities of science and principles of justice, we can realize the solutions that will ensure a better future for all.
Tsavo Trust is a field based, Kenyan not-for-profit conservation organization working towards protecting wildlife and its habitat.Tsavo Trust believes in conserving the vast wilderness of the Tsavo Conservation Area, that encompasses Kenya’s biggest Protected Area, is home to Kenya’s largest elephant population, several iconic Tuskers, numerous high value species and one of the few truly wild places with significant wildlife left in Africa.
This national heritage is under threat and faces multiple challenges including wildlife crime, climate change and habitat loss.
Tsavo Trust works on a unique strategy, in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service and other partners on direct wildlife conservation projects as well as engaging specific local communities in the stewardship of community conservancies, so as to encourage participation in conservation activities that bring many varying benefits to those marginalised people that border the formal Protected Areas.
As a major land steward at the edge of the Great Rift Valley, the Gallmann Africa Conservancy / the Gallmann Memorial Foundation is dedicated to creative, sustainable conservation – People and wildlife flourishing together, through research, education and the arts.
The GMF/GAC is a non-for-profit charitable organization active in Ol ari Nyiro, Laikipia Nature Conservancy, West Laikipia, Northern Kenya. It was created by Kuki Gallmann to honour the memory of Paolo Gallmann and Emanuele Pirri-Gallmann -her husband and son- who both died tragically in Africa, and are buried in Ol ari Nyiro.
The Gallmann Memorial Foundation in Ol Ari Nyiro on Kenya Eastern Rift Valley Laikipia Plateau due to sustained protection of its unique ecosystem and tree cover, and of its underground waters and natural springs -and of its varied topography- ARI NYIRO, IMPORTANT BIRD AREA (IBA) and KEY BIODIVERSITY AREA (KBA) no 064, is now uploaded officially in Birdlife International website with following link: http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ol-ari-nyiro-iba-kenya
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) establishes and manages global sustainable standards, known as the GSTC Criteria. There are two sets: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators. These are the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation.
The GSTC Criteria form the foundation for GSTC’s role as the global Accreditation Body for Certification Programs that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place. GSTC does not directly certify any products or services; but it accredits those that do.
The GSTC is an independent and neutral organization, legally registered in the USA as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that represents a diverse and global membership, including UN agencies, NGO’s, national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, individuals and communities – all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism. It is a virtual organization without a main office, with staff and volunteers working from all six populated continents. Financial support from donations, sponsorship, and membership fees allows us to provide services at low costs and to create, revise, and make available the GSTC Criteria.
Membership is open to all interested parties and does not by itself imply endorsement by the GSTC of the policies and practices of the member organization
Rhino Ark was established in 1988 as a charitable trust to help save Kenya’s Black Rhino population in the Aberdare ecosystem. The rhino were under severe threat from rampant poaching for their highly valued horn.
Wildlife would invade the farms bordering the park, destroying crops and occasionally killing people. The resulting fear and aversion towards wildlife worked in favour of poachers who got easy access since the local community saw no value in protecting either the wildlife or the forest habitat.
Rhino Ark’s formation was specifically to assist the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to build an electric fence along sections of the Aberdare National Park on its Eastern Salient which has the highest concentration of wildlife and borders directly onto farmland.
The scope of the initial project evolved into a much more ambitious task of protecting the entire Aberdare Conservation Area with a fence that would:
- Be powered by electricity to contain wildlife
- Be strong enough to withstand elephant pressure
- Curb illegal logging
- Curb snaring
- Curb poaching of wildlife (especially the critically endangered black rhino and bongo antelope)
The fence has brought harmony around the area and farmers now can enjoy peaceful sleep at night without fear of losing their lives, crops and homes.
Over the years, Rhino Ark’s work has evolved and expanded to include support for various community based conservation initiatives such as the Bongo Surveillance Programme designed to offer long-term solutions to the conservation of mountain forest ecosystems.
Landmark Dates
- 1989 – Aberdare Electric Fence construction started
- 28 August 2009 – Aberdare Electric Fence construction completed
- 12 March 2010 – Aberdare Electric Fence formally commissioned by H.E. Mwai Kibaki, the President of the Republic of Kenya
- 11 May 2012 – Aberdare Trust launched by the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya.
- July 2012 – Mt. Kenya Electric Fence construction started
- 6 September 2012 – Launch of the Mt. Kenya Electric Fence by Hon. Njeru Githae, Minister for Finance
- March 2013 – Eburu Electric Fence construction started
- 26 November 2014 – Eburu Electric Fence (43.3 km long) construction completed
The Trust is a public-private partnership with strong ‘Participatory Management’ by communities to ensure the objectives of the fence are met. This is intended to be a role model to be replicated in the other areas.
SEI Africa is based in Nairobi, Kenya and is hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre. The centre collaborates with African governments, organizations and networks, acting as a hub for SEI’s engagement across the continent. The centre’s work focuses on four key areas: energy and climate; natural resources and ecosystems; sustainable urbanisation; and health and environment.
From its establishment in August 2008 until June 2013, SEI Africa was based at the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dares Salaam. As of July 2013, it is based in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre. Staff members are active across South, East and West Africa.
is to offer professional services in the field of physical planning, land surveying GIS and web
mapping. Specifically, the firm offers consultancy services in land use planning including
preparation of master plans, integrated plans, and advisory plans, Engineering survey and title
cadastral or Title surveys and tailor made mapping using GIS and development of web maps and
web mapping applications to in order to manipulate and share geospatial out puts to variety of
audiences. a reputable Urban and regional planning as well as environmental Management
consulting firm in Kenya wishes to extend the services and expertise available to the client bringing
their local experience achieved in association with other individual experts. The combined
experience of the team is capable of providing high-quality standard consultancy services in
planning and survey
The African Biodiversity Network (ABN) is a regional network of individuals and organisations seeking African solutions to the ecological and socio-economic challenges that face the continent. The ABN was first conceived in 1996 in response to growing concern in the region over threats to biodiversity in Africa and the need to develop strong African positions and legal instruments at the national, regional and international level. Currently, ABN has 36 partners drawn from 12 African countries: Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
ABN strives to ignite and nurture a growing network of change agents working passionately at all levels, in the face of injustices and destruction arising from the current industrial development model, to enable resilient local communities to govern their lives and livelihoods rooted in their own social, cultural and ecological diversity. We focus on indigenous knowledge, ecological agriculture and biodiversity related rights, policy and legislation. We pioneer culturally-centred approaches to social and ecological problems in Africa through sharing experiences, co-developing methodologies and creating a united African voice on the continent on these issues.
Africa is at a crossroads, trying to reconcile the conservation and recuperation of its vast cultural and natural heritage and meet the many needs of a growing population. Powerful external forces continue to divert us from solutions that come from within Africa as they push for the privatisation and industrialisation of land, knowledge and biodiversity in the name of poverty alleviation. Together, the African Biodiversity Network is finding innovative and pioneering pathways and solutions to the challenges which face the continent. We thank you for supporting this journey.
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. We currently manage 16 national parks and protected areas in 10 countries covering almost 11 million hectares: Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Global Environment Facility was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided over $19.2 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $101.4 billion in co-financing for more than 4,700 projects in 170 countries. In addition, under the Small Grants Programme, the GEF has financed 23,991 projects in 128 countries.
The GEF Partnership recently agreed to a new direction in its work to achieve greater results and help to meet rising challenges. This agreement is set out in the Summary of the Negotiations of the Seventh Replenishment of the GEF. In combination with its traditional investments under the Conventions, the GEF is:
- Strategically focusing its investments to catalyze transformational change in key systems that are driving major environmental loss, in particular energy, cities and food;
- Prioritizing integrated projects and programs that address more than one global environmental problem at a time, building on the GEF’s unique position and mandate to act on a wide range of global environmental issues; and
- Implementing new strategies and policies to enhance results, including stronger engagement with the private sector, indigenous peoples, and civil society, and an increased focus on gender equality.
The Kibale Chimpanzee Project, established by Dr. Richard Wrangham in 1987, is a long-term field study of the behavior, ecology, and physiology of wild chimpanzees. Our researchers and field staff conduct daily behavioral observations on a group of approximately 60 chimpanzees in the Kanyawara region of Kibale National Park, southwestern Uganda. This research contributes to our understanding of primate behavioral diversity, human evolutionary ecology, and chimpanzee conservation. Please see our publications page for information about this research. On a daily basis, KCP field staff and researchers collect data on chimpanzee social behavior, party composition, ranging, feeding, and health. These observations are supplemented by collection of specialized data, including detailed records of play, tool use, hunting, aggression, and forest phenology. We also conduct non-invasive urine sampling, for hormonal analysis, and fecal sampling, for genetic studies.
In the basalt mountains around Lalibela, stay in local communities. See their ancient world, their churches and their way of life.
Walk through the age-old agrarian landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands following escarpments with birds of prey soaring in the thermals and Gelada baboon scrambling up and down the cliff face. Local shepherd boys keep an eye on their flocks, while their fathers plough the fields, and their sisters collect water in clay pots.
An experience you will never forget!
Please use the links on this site to find out more about these stunning sites and learn how a visit to them could be easily integrated into your holiday in Ethiopia.
See how easy it is to fit a trip to these mountains around your visit to Lalibela, perhaps stopping off en-route from Lalibela to Bahir Dar or Gondar. Let TESFA help you plan one that fits in with your preferences.
TESFA’s Mission Statement (extract)
TESFA seeks to work in partnership with local communities to enable them to generate sustainable improvements in their livelihood through the development of their own tourism related enterprises, while also contributing to the protection of their physical and cultural environments.
Our Vision:We envision a world where people show compassion, protection, and care for all animals.
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Our Mission:
To work with communities, governments, partners and other stakeholders across Africa to promote humane treatment of all animals.
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Notable Achievements :
We have spearheaded:The drafting of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013 and review of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, CAP 360. |
The amendments to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013 to effectively address animal welfare issues arising from wildlife crime. |
The formation of a platform that brings together law enforcement institutions and animal welfare practitioners to look into wildlife and environmental crimes. |
The establishment of animal welfare clubs in schools. |
Our Core Values : Partnership – Moral Integrity – Effectiveness & Efficiency
Our Strategic Focus Areas:
- Capacity Building, Education, and Awareness: the objective is to increase knowledge and skills, and influence attitudes and improve behaviors about animal welfare; of citizens, policy makers and practitioners by 2020.
- Better Animal Care: the objective is to advocate and campaign against all forms of cruelty and persecution of animals in society by 2020.
- Human-Animal Co-existence: the objective is to promote harmonious coexistence of humans and animals by 2020.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
We are working to contribute towards creating an enabling environment for the effective advancement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Post 2015 Development Agenda. UNA Tanzania has been involved in MDGs Awareness for the past eight years and with the MDGs edging closer to expiration in 2015 (as well as MKUKUTA II and FYDP in Tanzania), this experience will help in contributing towards accelerating the achievement of the remaining milestones for Tanzania and taking stock of lessons in implementing the MDGs on how we can do better in the future through the expected SDGs as they are localized in our national development framework.
DEMOCRACY, GOOD GOVERNANCE & HUMAN RIGHTS
Under this area, we are working to promote positive civic and media engagement in the electoral process and advocate for the inclusion and visibility of human rights in the development process and new constitution for Tanzania. Throughout its existence, UNA Tanzania has endeavored to contribute towards strengthening democracy, good governance and human rights; and the establishment of the Tanzania Human Rights Commission, promoting press freedom, conducting national media monitoring in 2000 and 2005 elections as well as civic voter education in 2010 elections have been key program successes for the organization.
PEACE AND SECURITY
UNA Tanzania has been and continues to actively engage in the ICGLR (International Conference on the Great Lakes Regions) peace process. As such, this is a maintained program area where we aim to enhance youth and CSOs engagement in the process. Specifically, UNA Tanzania will be working towards establishment of the national Peace and Security Chapter for the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region peace process; increased representation of marginalized voices – youth, women and children – in the process, and enhanced representation on and intervention against Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
Who We Are
Our Vision
Knowledge for better livelihoods.
Our Mission
To strengthen the capacity and policies of African countries and institutions to harness science, technology and innovation for sustainable development.
Our Value Proposition
- To conduct high quality research, policy analysis, capacity strengthening and outreach on applications of science, technology and innovation policies to sustainable development in Africa
- To facilitate and convene evidence based policy dialogue and debate
- To inform development policy and practice
- To put critical issues of science, technology innovation on the Development Agenda
- To provide independent and objective policy advice to African governments and agencies, regional economic communities and institutions, private sector, civil society and community actors and agencies.
A Brief History
The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is a pioneering development research think tank on harnessing applications of science, technology and innovation policies for sustainable development in Africa. ACTS is an Intergovernmental organization founded in 1988 to pursue policy oriented research towards strengthening the capacity of African countries and institutions to harness science and technology for sustainable development. ACTS envisions a sustainable economic, social and environmental future for Africa, through science, technology and innovation.
Article 3 of the Charter of ACTS, empowers the Organization to undertake capacity building, conduct research, provide advisory services and disseminate information on the policy aspects of the application of science and technology to sustainable development in Africa. It also requires ACTS to:
- Promote capacity building in the developing countries in the field of policy analysis related to sustainable development.
- Monitor international trends in science and technology, undertake technology assessment and forecasting and analyze the impacts of new technologies for purposes of providing policy options to African and other developing country governments.
- Promote, enhance, inspire, study and conduct the building of the institutional framework requisite for the management, assessment, sustainable utilization and conservation of natural resources.
- Foster the exchange of information and networking between the Centre and other governmental and private institutions and individuals that have similar or related interests at the local, national, regional and international levels, with particular emphasis on policy matters.
- Promote, encourage, inspire and undertake technical cooperation activities between and within nations.
Since its founding, ACTS has been instrumental in enlarging the range of policy choices for sustainable development in Africa. Over the last quarter century, ACTS’ work has influenced patent (i.e. industrial property) legislation and policy (Kenya); environmental impact assessment standards (Eastern and Southern Africa); bio-energy and biofuels policy (Kenya, Eastern Africa, West Africa); agricultural policy, bio-diplomacy, biotechnology and biosafety (Africa-wide); climate change adaptation and mitigation (Africa-wide).
ACTS remains among the leading institutions working on sustainable development in Africa. In 2013, it was rated amongst the top Environment Think Tanks in Africa and the world. ACTS is also a past winner (1991) of the Justinian Rweyemamu Prize from CODESRIA (Africa’s Social Science Research Council) for its work in expanding the knowledge base for Africa’s development
Samburu Girls Foundation, (SGF) is a Kenyan non-profit whose primary work is to rescue girls from child-marriage, beading and FGM. Over 1183 girls have been rescued and 326 are currently being sponsored in schools around the country.
The organization was registered as an NGO in October 2011. Its head office is based at Loosuk Center, Samburu County and works closely with 3 more counties namely, Marsabit, Laikipia and Isiolo.
Founded by Josephine Kulea, the organization saves lives by advocating against Harmful Cultural Practices and builds futures for the girls by taking them to school.