The Club of Rome communications fellowship: celebrating the legacy of Keith Suter

03 July 2026 – How do you communicate a campaign message in Indonesia – a country with over 700 languages? What issues move Kenya’s young keyboard warriors? What’s the best way to spread a message in Malawi?

These are the kinds of questions that get answered when you bring a group of energetic early-stage communications professionals from around the world together to share their experiences – something that happens every year as part of the Club of Rome communications fellowship.

A communications fellowship for the global majority

Since 2023, the Club of Rome has run a communications fellowship with the goal of increasing the diversity of voices covering sustainability issues and supporting early-career communications professionals from the majority of the world. To date, nine fellows from seven countries – Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Zimbabwe – have spent seven months each embedded in the communications team, experiencing working in an international organisation, meeting members of the Club of Rome, receiving mentoring and providing valuable insights from their own experiences and contexts.

Fellows leave the programme keen to share their skills and experiences with their peers and other organisations locally, nationally and internationally. Previous fellows have gone on to host award-winning talk shows, win scholarships to prestigious study programmes, and work in sustainability organisations. Meanwhile, the Club of Rome communications team is continually enriched by the insights and skills that each cohort brings, widening our horizons and challenging our assumptions.

How we expanded our communications network

Its effects are felt beyond the team: inspired by the interest in the programme, which receives over 1,000 applications each year, it has branched out into a flourishing network of exchange and peer learning, the Systems Change Comms Network. This community of hundreds of communications professionals all over the world connects people working on aligned topics to share advice, tips and opportunities from the sector. And it doesn’t just stay in the virtual world – we recently heard of the first national in-person meetup of the group, in Zimbabwe!

Celebrating the legacy of Keith Suter

In just three years, it has become clear that the fellowship and network are meeting a real need and are truly mutually beneficial. Now, in 2026, the fellowship has seen its continuity secured thanks to a generous legacy gift. Late last year, we received the sad news of the passing of Keith Suter, a long-standing member of the Club of Rome and the president of its Australian chapter. We were honoured to have been included in his legacy, which enables us to continue the programme.

With Keith’s expertise in and commitment to global affairs, it felt a fitting tribute to honour his legacy by securing the future of the communications fellowship, allowing the message and values of the Club of Rome to be transmitted further and further.

Thanks to Keith’s legacy, we will be able to continue to welcome communications professionals from the majority of the world, share the experience and expertise of the Club of Rome, and learn from them, every year expanding our community of professionals committed to systems change. We are immensely grateful to Keith and his family for their generosity and support, and look forward to learning from, and with, future cohorts.