Simbarashe Crispen Kanyimo is a dedicated professional with over 15 years of experience in child protection, education, health program management, and research within humanitarian contexts. He has a proven history of enhancing service delivery for marginalized communities through working for organisations like the Norwegian Refugee Council and Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council 

Simbarashe is a researcher at the Child Rights Research Centre at Africa University and is in the final year of his Doctor of Philosophy in Child Rights at the same institution. His doctoral research focuses on the social and cultural determinants of child sexual abuse in Tongogara Refugee Settlement, Zimbabwe. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, his work aims to develop targeted interventions and policies to protect refugee children, grounded in child rights and intersectionality frameworks.

Simbarashe has participated in several impactful research projects. Notable examples include: The National Study on the Prevalence of School-Based Violence in Zimbabwe, conducted in collaboration with the Academic Research Centre and funded by Porticus ; A study on the Motivators and Barriers to Accessing Essential Health Care Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Zimbabwe, funded by UNICEF and The Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Child Labour, Violence Against Children (VAC), and Gender-Based Violence (GBV)in Zimbabwe , also funded by UNICEF.

Simbarashe was part of the award-winning team that received the Research Council of Zimbabwe Presidential Community Innovation Award in 2024 for the project titled National Study on the Behavioural Uptake of the COVID-19 Vaccine, Routine Immunization, NCDs, and Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health and Nutrition Services in Zimbabwe in the Aftermath of the Pandemic.

Simbarashe also serves as the Executive Programs Coordinator at Tariro Trust, a role he has held since 2016. In this capacity, he leads collaborative initiatives in education, health, and child protection, managing annual budgets of up to $100,000 to support orphaned and vulnerable girls in Harare’s high-density suburbs. Under his leadership, Tariro has doubled its project reach, facilitated tertiary education for over a significant number of vulnerable girl students annually, and secured key partnerships to advance girls’ education and economic empowerment.

Previously, Simbarashe served as an Education Program Officer with the Norwegian Refugee Council, where he contributed to youth empowerment through vocational skills training, education in emergencies, and inclusive programming. He also played a key role in contextualizing the NRC’s flagship Youth Education Pack, transforming it into a community-based skills outreach program that impacted thousands of displaced youth.

Simbarashe holds a Master of Science in Child Rights and Childhood Studies from Africa University and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication Studies from Midlands State University. He has earned several professional certifications in areas such as Trauma Counselling, Systemic Family Counselling, International Refugee Law, Internal Displacement, and Protection in Urban Settings.

An accomplished researcher and advocate, Simbarashe has published on children’s rights, with a focus on legislative and governance frameworks in artisanal mining communities and feminist analysis of the African Mining Vision. His expertise, coupled with his commitment to evidence-based solutions, continues to drive impactful programs and policy reform for the most vulnerable populations

Mazignada Sika LIMAZIE holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Lomé. Her research focuses on the economic impact of climate change, climate adaptation, digital technologies, rural entrepreneurship, rural development, food security, and household well-being.

She is currently conducting a study on the role of digital technologies in enhancing transparency and accountability in climate adaptation projects in rural Togo. This research aims to identify the most relevant digital tools to strengthen local participation and optimize feedback mechanisms, contributing to more inclusive and effective governance of adaptation initiatives.

She has published several scientific articles covering various fields in Africa and has collaborated with national institutions and international organizations on projects aimed at promoting innovative solutions to improve agricultural productivity, food security, and the economic resilience of rural communities. She is also a recipient of several prestigious research programs and fellowships, including the FORJE Program of the Observatoire de la Francophonie Économique (OFÉ) and the One Planet Fellowship of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).

She is currently a consultant and associate researcher at the Research Team in Agricultural and Applied Economics (ERE2A) at the University of Lomé.

Dr. Danley Colecraft Aidoo is a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Extension at the  University of Ghana with expertise in climate change adaptation, food systems,  entrepreneurship, and rural development. With a strong background in academia and  practical fieldwork, he has dedicated his career to advancing knowledge and practice in  agricultural development.  

Beyond academia, Danley has extensive experience in training, mentorship, and  consultancy, having worked with various institutions to build capacity among farmers,  extension agents, and agribusiness entrepreneurs. His work emphasizes the integration of  innovative approaches to agricultural development, sustainability, and knowledge transfer,  contributing to the broader goal of enhancing rural livelihoods and food security. 

Committed to bridging research and practice, he works to enhance agricultural productivity,  strengthen community resilience, and promote inclusive rural development.

Merham works as an Assistant Professor at the Urban Design and Planning Department, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. She had been a PhD fellow at Oxford Brookes University for two years, as part of her PhD study looking into the potentials of Placemaking and Green Infrastructure in Cairo, Egypt. Merham has a great passion for research, and she strives to encourage and promote research especially from understudied contexts in the realm of landscape studies. Merham has been serving as a trustee at Landscape Research Group (LRG) since November 2021. She pursued this position for her passion about propagating Landscape Research in Egypt, the Arab Region, and Africa. She currently holds the Research Coordinator Position for LRG, coordinating the annual Research Funds. Merham also serves as an Associate Editor at the Landscape Research Journal. Additionally, she is on the editorial team for the third edition of the Routledge Companion to Landscape Studies. Merham served as an assistant editor for a special issue in the Journal of Public Spaces. She has been advocating for the importance of public spaces and was among the Public Space Advisory Board (Early Career) – City Space Architecture. Merham’s research interests include placemaking, people-nature relationship, participatory climate action, landscape governance, livable public spaces, among others. She has several publications in various indexed journals. 

Merham believes in the importance of education for raising the new scholar generation. She endeavours to provide an interactive and engaging experience for her students as a means for better educational quality. She is serving as the Academic Coordinator for the Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design Master’s Program at Ain Shams University. She is engaged in developing several undergrad and post grade curricula. Merham was a research fellow at Technische Universität Berlin for two months in 2023 aiming at developing the curriculum for the IUSD MSc course. Merham is currently engaged in two research that focus on linking education and research and promotes research from Africa. 

Lameck Kachena is an emerging environmental anthropologist with extensive experience in socio-environmental interactions. He holds a Certificate in Climate Change and its Impacts from Brown University (USA), an M.Sc. in Social Ecology, and a BSc. in Sociology from the University of Zimbabwe. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town. His doctoral research explores the complex socio-ecological and geopolitical dynamics at the intersection of migration and conservation within transboundary parks connecting Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Informed by political ecology theory and participatory methodologies which include visual art-based storytelling tools, community mapping, transect walks, ranking and scoring to understand socio-ecological dynamics associated with environmental governance and changes among diverse groups of people. Lameck has actively supported research initiatives for various international projects, including an ESRC-funded project on Transboundary Resource Management along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique Border, led by the University of Edinburgh. Between 2019 and 2022, he collaborated with scholars from Zimbabwe and the University of Edinburgh to study the impacts of Cyclone Idai on the livelihoods and well-being of communities in southeastern Zimbabwe. In 2022, he was awarded a grant by the Rufford Foundation to investigate the socio-ecological impacts of invasive alien plants in the Transboundary Conservation Area shared by Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The findings from these research endeavors have been published in prominent journals such as Conservation and Society, Geojournal, Biological Invasions, and Mobilities. More recently, Lameck co-authored a book titled “COVID-19 Lockdowns and the Urban Poor in Harare, Zimbabwe: Emerging Perspectives and the Morphing of a Sustainable Urban.” His ongoing research continues to make significant contributions to critical discussions on environmental governance, migration, and conservation across southeast Africa.

I am an interdisciplinary researcher and critical urban scholar. My research revolves around urban informality, urban inclusion and exclusion, urban transformation and cities, space and power. My goal is to contribute to knowledge, public debate, policy discussions and practice around these themes. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), University of Cape Town. My current research is on Urban water adaptation: Exploring practices of adaptive governance for building urban water resilience in Cape Town’s informal settlements. I hold a Ph.D. in Social Sciences (Migration and Land Settlement), an M.Sc. in Social Ecology, and a B.Sc. in Urban and Regional Planning both from the University of Zimbabwe. I am also affiliated with the African Center for Cities (ACC) at the University of Cape Town where I teach the module – Climate Change and the City for the Masters in Sustainable Urban Practice program. I am also a former Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Centre for Applied Social Sciences (CASS) at the University of Zimbabwe. I have published extensively in High Impact International Journals like Urban Forum, Sustainable Development, Land Use Policy, Anthropology Southern Africa, Pan-African Conversations, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Town and Regional Planning, African Identities, and International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, among others. My recent BOOK: “COVID-19 Lockdowns and the Urban Poor in Harare, Zimbabwe: Emerging Perspectives and the Morphing of a Sustainable Urban Future, published by Springer, Cham is available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-41669-9. Outside academia, I have more than 7 years experience in applied policy and development research, undertaking commissioned research and program evaluations and baseline studies on issues such as affordable housing, urban innovation, local economic development and inclusive urban economies, urban economic resilience, urban poverty and inequality (urban social geography), climate justice for marginalized populations, immigrants and racialized people’s experiences for national and local government agencies, civil society and international organizations such as USAID, FAO, CESVI Zimbabwe, Center for Affordable Housing Finance (CAHF), and Homeless International, among others. My research and professional experience spans across countries such as Zimbabwe, Senegal, Zambia, China, Germany, South Africa, Lesotho, Morocco, Belgium, Ghana, and Switzerland, among others.

Franklin Pyokpung Zaure for the past six years, lectures in Theatre and Performing Arts department, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria with a research focus on performance design and environmental sustainability. He has four years’ experience teaching cultural and creative arts to children between the ages of three to fifteen at the primary and secondary education levels. He is a Fellow, Fulbright Visiting Research; Rise-Up Leadership Accelerator Program; https://riseuptogether.org/franklin-pyokpung-zaure/ He is a transdisciplinary researcher/artist, development communicator, an advocate for environmental justice, a climate change advocate and the founder of the Creative Arts for Development Center, a grassroot organization that leverages on creativity for social change.