Martin Mbewe is a multi-media journalist and development communications specialist from Malawi. Martin believes in the power of communication to create awareness, enhance behaviour change, initiate policy dialogue on global challenges and help build a fairer and more sustainable future for all. With a background in journalism, Martin has held various roles, including working as a current affairs reporter with the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, with Cure International, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Communications Branch and Tingathe Malawi, where he supported public engagement and strategic storytelling. Martin has led an eco-briquettes training project in the peri-urban areas of Lilongwe District, Malawi, for the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Programme, which successfully empowered over 600 people, raising awareness and providing practical suggestions around sustainable energy use in local communities. Martin has published several thought pieces on social issues, including climate change and education.
“When I joined the Club of Rome, everything felt new, exciting and slightly overwhelming. I thought I understood communication, but the fellowship quickly humbled me. It was not about what I already knew; it was about unlearning, stretching my thinking and relearning to see the world through wider and wiser lenses. Systems thinking, sustainability and intergenerational equity stopped being concepts and slowly became a way of life.
The leaders I met welcomed me with warmth and respect, guided without controlling and created a space where I felt safe enough to speak, to fail and to grow. Some days, they walked ahead and set the pace; other days, they walked behind and trusted us to lead. That trust changed me. Interviewing global thought leaders and sustainability experts was humbling and I learned that even the greatest thinkers are still learning.
This fellowship gave me clarity, courage and purpose and shaped the way I approach every message and every story, showing me that communication is not noise, it is a bridge that connects knowledge to action and fear to courage.”
