Regenerative Leadership

Everyday African leadership stories about Community, Environments, Sustainability and Regeneration

See the French version of this call here.

‘Climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental devastation, unsustainable practices, overshooting planetary boundaries, growing inequality, ecosystem and social systems collapse…’

Global discourse is awash with these terms, indicating that we are navigating unprecedented times of complexity, urgency and challenge. We’ve all heard that humanitarian crises, natural disasters and socio-economic-environmental catastrophes are on the rise. These may well be global challenges, but the impacts fall disproportionately on specific communities and regions. Africa and Africans face increasingly extreme effects, despite the continent’s negligible contribution to the predicament. 

For this upcoming We Will Lead Africa volume (to be published in 2026), our focus is Regenerative Leadership. We want to uplift the multitude of everyday African leaders and African communities who are responding to this critical moment in meaningful ways. 

We are looking for stories—your stories—of everyday leadership that are having a positive and holistic impact for communities, environments, sustainability and regeneration across the African continent. We especially welcome the harder-to-reach stories that often go untold and are invisibilised or marginalised. You can help us reach and/or document these important stories, or submit a story on behalf of an everyday leader that you know.

Trendy labels come and go, and we recognise that ‘REGENERATIVE’ is often a repackaging of many practices that have long been an inherent part of African communities. Are we just RE-purposing, RE-peating, RE-mixing, RE-membering?

We use the term Regenerative Leadership to call forward those that are leading in life-affirming ways, who are guided by the principles of living systems; contributions from thoughtful stewards and responsible actors who recognise that we are a part of an integrated and interconnected whole, and who demonstrate that in their work and action.

We want to hear about your bold, untraditional and innovative responses to challenges; your mad skills, uncommon ideas and unusual solutions. We also want to showcase long-standing, traditional and indigenous wisdom and practices that continue to create conditions for people, community, environmental and ecosystem flourishing.

The stories can come from any field or sector—you can be a practitioner, business person or entrepreneur, artist, activist, scientist, policymaker, community member, academic, student… and so on. 

This call, this opportunity, is for you.

Story format

Submissions should be a personal narrative, between 1500 and 2500 words. We are also accepting stories submitted on behalf of others—you can help someone to document a story that otherwise might not get heard, and submit it with their permission.

The story should answer the following questions:

  • What’s your personal story?
  • What inspired you to start/do the work you are doing?
  • What was the challenge you sought to address or potential you sought to unlock?
  • What did you do and how did you do it?
  • What have been the outcomes and impacts of the work to-date?
  • What has the experience taught you?
  • What do you see for the future?

The story should also demonstrate an impact for communities, environments, sustainability and regeneration on the African continent. Here is a (not exhaustive) selection of potential areas that Regenerative Leaders might be working and acting in: sustainability, environment and environmental sciences, agriculture, biodiversity, climate, climate justice and activism, indigenous knowledge and practices, conservation, renewable energy and energy transition, responsible business, blue and green economy, adaptation and resilience, community-led innovation and development, ecological and regenerative practices…

Submitting your story

We want to make it easy for you to share your own story, or uplift the inspiring work of others. You do not need to be an experienced writer. 

You are an eligible author/group of authors if you:

  • are African by lineage, heritage, citizenship, immigration and/or self-identification, living anywhere in the world;
  • have recently done (in the past 3 years) or are currently doing work in any African country that is already showing outcomes or making a difference, as defined by you and/or the group(s) you are working with.
  • You may also interview others who have done/are doing the work, and submit a story on their behalf. If you would like to tell someone else’s story, you must have their confirmed permission in writing or where not possible in writing, their recorded verbal consent. They will be listed as a co-author.

You can submit a story in the following ways:

  • Complete the submission form: English | French
  • Record a WhatsApp voice note or video and send to us (details below). If you are submitting a story in this way, you will need to sign the contributor agreement, which you can download here.
  • Attend our Storyteller Workshop in January where we will walk you through the story structure, provide tips and space to ask questions/get guidance, and give you dedicated writing time to get your ideas on to paper.

Talk to us about submitting stories in alternative formats

We can currently accept stories in English and French. If you would like to submit a story in another language, please get in touch with us so we can discuss options.

We are also interested in collecting ‘ecosystems’ of stories—a connected web of stories that demonstrate community, ecosystem or environment-level impact (perhaps by gathering a variety of perspectives from one community). If there is a particular set of integrated stories that you think should be showcased, get in touch with us so we can identify the best way to document them.

We recognise that many people and communities who have extraordinary stories of impact don’t always have the time, means or privilege of submitting written work online. Therefore, we encourage you to help us find these everyday leaders and document their story, on their behalf. We welcome stories by video or voice note, and can also arrange to interview people who would rather share their story in conversation. We are also accepting other visual artefacts or artistic pieces. 

If you are interested in submitting your contribution in any of these alternative formats, please get in touch by email: submissions@wewillleadafrica.com. Use ‘Regenerative Leadership’ in the subject line.

We believe in the power of storytelling, an inherent part of African culture, as a powerful tool for imagining, sparking and driving progress. And as a way to inspire more change and shape the futures we want.

We want a holistic, sustainable and regenerative Africa for all.

Join #WeWillLeadAfrica. Tell your story of action, change and transformation.

About the editorial team

Sarah, Grace and Stanley are the lead editors of Regenerative Leadership.

Sarah J Owusu is an award-winning Organisation Development practitioner working with leaders, teams, organisations and communities to make innovation practical and possible. She is co-founder of the innovation consultancy InkDot, where her focus is on culture, leadership and transformation. She has a Master’s in Philosophy, is a certified Integral Coach, and alumna of the Warm Data Lab and Regenerator’s Academy.

To her, Regenerative Leadership is… the commitment to bringing to life a world that is grounded, not on the myth of separation, but in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things.

Grace Victoire Gueye is a senior consultant and facilitator in Leadership and Organisation Development for 30 years, working for international organisations both in the private and development sectors. She is also an economist and an innovator, designing and implementing multi-stakeholder transformation processes and organisational development programmes for many companies and Institutions. Her focus is on creating action-oriented sustainable development environments, globally-connected yet locally-activated. She also holds a Master’s in Diplomacy and International Relations.

To her, Regenerative Leadership… involves fostering a shared sense of responsibility and join action to harmoniously align traditional wisdom and practices with technological advancements. The goal is to actively heal and replenish biodiversity while enabling the flourishing of both human societies and ecosystems.

Stanley Nyoni is a master facilitator and coach in personal and leadership development. He is a subject-matter expert in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability. Stanley has extensive experience training and facilitating organisational culture change programmes for corporate clients in Europe, Asia and Africa. He has collaborated with executives to design and implement programmes for transformation towards participatory leadership and team synergy. He specialises in personal development using tools at the interface of science and spirituality that develop self-awareness leading to trusting relationships, which is essential for building community.

To him, Regenerative Leadership is… listening with reverence for the sacred in all of us and in nature that brings forth the energy of life-supporting individual courage to be whole in community.