Our Projects

Community Conversations

We currently work in communities bordering conservation areas - where the pressures on the natural world are most evident and the communities still have a sense of connectedness with nature. Our conversations are launched through partners who are familiar with the areas and communities where we work, connecting us to community groups, where we are able to share our bank of stories, theater, and music to spark important conversations.

Population Champions

We engage youth who are active in their communities to launch The Population Conversation in their life and work, by inviting them to join our Population Conversation Champion programme. Youth attend 4-day residential trainings in a community centre where they begin the process of reconnecting with nature. Over the course of 3 experiential trainings, the peer educators feel empowered and emboldened to be Population Conversation “Champions” using the games, facilitation tools, photos and skits from the toolbox to carefully and respectfully launch these critical conversations in their communities. 

Research, Partnerships, and Policy

We launched this conversation as an association, and believe in our collective power to move this important initiative forward. This conversation cannot be had in isolation from issues of policy and practice. Our programme is actively involved in Population Health & Environment Networks, and we work closely with the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD). Through funding from Population Matters UK, we are able to conduct important research into best practices by incorporating a robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning component, and honing in on specific research questions.

Creative Collectives

As we build our story bank we need to bring together creatives - artists, actors, musicians - to develop the material and embody the work. We hold these whenever possible to allow for new and innovative content development and to ensure we are continually refining stories based on lessons from the field team.

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught." (Baba Dioum, 1968.)

Origins of the Critical Conversations Association

In March 2022, the first Population Conversation Symposium was launched in Kilifi, Kenya. This key event, organised by WellSense Consultancy and supported by Population Matters, brought together diverse stakeholders to discuss the wide-ranging impacts of rapid population growth and to identify the actions needed to mainstream the crucial ‘population conversation’. This was and is an initiative arising from and generated in Africa by Africans. Streams of presentations were woven together by artistic and musical reflections and interventions, delivered by the team, including founding members Wendo Assed, Job Makayo, John Mushomi and Carolyne Ouko, Monique Oliff and Lizzie Jago and her Youth Theatre Kenya collaborations. The Conversation was truly grounded in Africa, with all participants camping under the stars, and the presentations taking place under the thatched roof. Please see the story of the Association’s founding, below: