21 January 2025 – The Club of Rome is an interesting space for a diverse group of people to come together and collaborate on the challenges humanity faces. As one of the Communications Fellows for 2024, I had the opportunity to be a part of this community and see positive impact being driven by the members as well as the secretariat of The Club of Rome. Through my work, I also had the privilege of driving impact in this arena. That was the highlight of this fellowship for me – having my words and multimedia efforts contribute to the important and tide-shifting conversations developing through The Club of Rome.
The greatest strength of this fellowship has been the structure and the integration into the communications team. It was a pleasure to be a part of such a special communications team. There is a lot of transparent communication about setting goals, being creative, prioritising certain projects etc. which seems simple but requires excellent management, and it was the cornerstone of the experience. Working in a supportive environment where you are guided with a balanced view of the daily grind of communications and more creative endeavours is a boon. I enjoyed the variety of the work that came my way, as it allowed me to hone my skills in written and multimedia communication, from creating videos and visual content to capturing the personality of our members in short quotes from our conversations.
The remote working structure is fruitful because of how attentively the fellowship has been set up and the care that went into it is apparent throughout the experience, from the onboarding to travel to meet the team and in-person workshops. The communications team works like a well-oiled machine, I mean that in the best way possible – there is an effort to allow us to complement one another’s strengths and styles of working. It also led to picking up skills from my colleagues that I would not have gained elsewhere. The insights into the realm of communications for a global organisation were invaluable and will help me communicate to audiences from everywhere.
Most significantly, I had unprecedented access to learn from experts and activists who have set movements in place, led environmental policymaking and shaped our understanding of whole systems. It was wonderful to find that the members were so open to sharing their work and explaining concepts, working around their hectic schedules and time differences. During the last seven months, I’ve had in-depth conversations with various members of The Club of Rome and interviewed several from different parts of the world, all with different careers but a shared purpose.
This was especially true of the time I spent at the Annual General Meeting in Brussels. I was able to interact in person with numerous members of The Club of Rome and understand the extent of their passion for changing the world in their domains and collectively. I observed thought-provoking discussions and debates on the most pressing global issues, including peace and wellbeing for all. I found the embodiment of the values I had been drawn to when I applied for the fellowship in the many voices of the members from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. We were also warmly welcomed by the diverse secretariat, and I gathered more about the daily hustle of the program managers and administrative team who drive the practical projects the organisation undertakes. Being a part of this community is an experience I am deeply appreciative of and will carry with me throughout my life.

At the 2024 AGM (L-R) Rachel Potter, Communications Manager, Pavithra Ashok Kumar, Communications Fellow 2024, Paul Shrivastava, co-president of The Club of Rome, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, member of The Club of Rome and Executive Chair of Earth4All, Kabir Naik, Communications Fellow 2024 and Philippa Baumgartner, Head of Communications.
There is no better opportunity for someone who wants to develop their understanding of communications around climate advocacy, economic reform and systems change. The fellowship provides access to hundreds of diverse and impactful people who are dedicated to changing the broken systems around the planet and ensuring restoration is a priority. I’ve learnt a great deal about this multifaceted sphere during my fellowship with The Club of Rome, and I would encourage others to seize this unique chance as well.