Diversity, opportunity and the power of working together

13 February 2026 – I am white, I am British—hell, if I had been a man, I would have the trinity of privilege. I understand that where I was born and the colour of my skin, have meant I have been more exposed to opportunity, and I question why, when there is so much talent in all parts of the world.

Having worked in communications for over 20 years and in international organisations for the last 10, why is it that global communications should be based on the western way of doing things? During my career, I have felt and seen that communications teams in international organisations and so-called “global” campaigns were being run by the global minority, and that for people without white western privilege it was much harder to get a foot in the door.

In addition, I am a big advocate for continuous learning. If you stay doing the same things in the field of communications, you may as well be going backwards, and as most people who have worked with me will validate, I am keen to continue learning and not just keeping up with trends, but trying to be one step ahead.

There is so much opportunity to learn from other generations and other parts of the world in terms of understanding local contexts, audiences, channels and messaging.

This is why the Club of Rome Communications Fellowship was born. Its objectives were:

1. to provide an opportunity for those with less privilege to get exposure to working in an international NGO and provide mentorship and experiences to help them further their careers;
2. to create a network of individuals around the world that could spread the Club of Rome message in places where people have never heard of us, but also just help each other out, and
3. so that I (and the communications team) can learn how things work in other parts of the world that we haven’t been exposed to.

It was an idea—which thankfully was fully supported by the Club of Rome leadership. In fact, I remember pitching the idea of the fellowship to then-president Mamphela Ramphele whose reaction was “Why only 2? You need cohorts of 10-20 each year!”. Since its inaugural year in 2023, it has exceeded my expectations. Last year we had over 1,000 applications with 86% coming from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. We have had some amazing fellows; I can’t mention the fellowship without reflecting on the people themselves, as it is all about the people. Lala from Zimbabwe, who has set up a prize-winning talk show, Kabir from India now studying in London, Pavithra from India who is now a full member of the team, and Martin, Alif and Yvonne who just finished their fellowship in January.

Applications are open for the 2026 fellowship, and we continue to refine the programme based on feedback from the fellows themselves. However, we also wanted to find a way to engage with the more than 1,000 individuals who applied—clearly interested in the mission of the Club of Rome, and all with varying experiences in different areas of communications. It is for this reason the Systems Change Communications Network was set up. It’s a community and it needs nourishing, but it exists to bring people together to share opportunities, ideas, questions. And from that we have started a series of workshops, we held the first one last year, with more to come in 2026.

Why bother with another network?

The problems facing us are monumental, and too often I believe we find ourselves in competition with each other, other campaigns, other organisations, or redoing things others have already tried, or invested effort into. What if instead of spending our efforts and resources in pushing our own agendas, we could all work together in the right direction for the greater good? Does it matter WHO solves the challenges we are facing and the way we are heading, or does it matter that it actually just happens?

The fellowship has been incredibly worthwhile. We see the progression of the fellows, we learn so much about how we can improve our activities in other parts of the world, and not just from a communications perspective but across the whole organisation. I’d really encourage other organisations to try something similar, or if you are an individual wanting to show support we’d also be happy to consider sponsorship to enable the fellowship to continue and expand.