Post by Salisha Chandra

Almost a year ago, I wrote about context being queen. Last month in Ghana, I watched it play out again in a room full of 21 conservation leaders — and then coming home, a musty cupboard led to the discovery of my old shadowing project from business school that further made me realize how universal truths about being human in our leadership are not new or necessarily only applicable in certain sectors or spaces but what is necessary is the adaptation. For this 7th cohort Maliasili brought strong content — a decade of learning refined across six previous cohorts of ACLN. And what helped the week land even more was the decision to root every part of it in where these leaders actually live and work. The Adinkra symbols. Sankofa — go back and fetch it. Mpatapo — the knot of reconciliation. Nkyinkyim — life's road is twisted.... As mentioned below Thomas Turay of SLAFU in Sierra Leone spoke about how leadership requires mending as he held the abuye in his hand. Julius fron ORGIIS refined this and said "We are menders. We need to mend ecosystems." There was something else sitting with me though. Ten years ago, I sat in a room like that one — as a participant, not a facilitator. And as I walked through this week, I saw in the cohort's faces my own face from a decade ago. The questions, the weight, the opening up. What a journey it has been — and what a privilege to now be on the other side of it, holding space for others. To the ACLN 7 cohort — you reminded me why this work matters. Context is queen. And she always shines the torch to light the way forward giving universal truths a garb and language we understand and recognize 🙏 #CommunityLedConservation #ContextMatters #Leadership #WestAfrica #ACLN7