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The Sazani Associates story
Our story
2021-2025 : Making Global Connections
From 2021 to 2025, Sazani Associates has continued to drive innovation at the intersection of education, ESG, and sustainable development. We maintained momentum with over 100 schools in Wales, Zanzibar and Ethiopia engaged in the Healthy and Sustainable Schools Programme. Sazani Trust Zanzibar assumed control of project delivery in Zanzibar. Our education programmes continued to advance teacher competencies and whole-school development through participatory lesson study and global learning and education, while also contributing to broader policy dialogues on climate and education. Sazani's experience was featured in the UNESCO Prospects Journal on Global Citizenship Education and later informing the development of our Global Learning Pathway.
As COVID-19 shifted delivery modes, Sazani adapted its participatory learning and action approaches for remote and hybrid engagement. During this time, the team launched new collaborations with the Catholic University of Valparaiso, ARCH Emerging Markets, and the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), supporting inclusive development strategies, GESI integration, and climate finance and biodiversity co-benefits for coastal resilience.
Sazani’s technical advisory work expanded across Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. Support to Akobo Minerals in Ethiopia led to the design and implementation of an award-winning sustainable natural resource management plan, while work with Petersons One focused on sustainable supply chains in the blue economy and with trans national companies. Sazani also worked with the Government of Belize and the Centre for Applied Development Studies to design an inclusive, GCF-compliant national climate fund framework. Strategic advisory roles extended to a mix of confidential Due Diligence reviews across Europe, Africa and North America, focusing on social performance, land use planning, and broader sustainability risks.
Academic collaboration remained a key pillar, with MSc and PhD student mentorship through Bath, Swansea and Exeter Universities and postgraduate teaching and research partnerships with the Catholic University of Valparaíso and UBC Vancouver. At the EU level, Sazani played a central role in Horizon Europe’s VECTOR project, researching the role of social performance in the critical raw materials sector, and contributing to policy dialogues under the European Green Deal. This built on prior involvement in Horizon 2020's INFACT project, where Sazani supported capacity building and stakeholder engagement in exploration regions.
In 2025, Cathryn was appointed co-Chair of the CEFAS Blue Economy Panel, guiding strategic foresight and impact alignment in ocean governance.
Alongside this, Sazani’s longstanding commitment to global learning and education and global citizenship education was amplified through its involvement in the Global Learning Coalition. Working across academia, NGOs, and policy platforms, Sazani played a leading role in shaping a renewed case for global learning in the UK, contributing to the development of a cross-ministerial House of Parliament portfolio for Global Learning. This body of work positioned global learning not only as a pedagogical tool, but as a vital policy lever for tackling climate change, conflict, misinformation, and the just energy transition.
This five-year period culminating in our 20th year, has marked a maturing of Sazani’s role as a connector between grassroots realities and global policy, delivering locally grounded, internationally aligned solutions in education, ESG, and climate resilience.
2016-2020: New Horizons
Between 2016 and 2020, Sazani Associates deepened its work in education, climate adaptation, and social performance. In Zanzibar, the Healthy and Sustainable Schools programme scaled to 51 more schools with funding from Comic Relief, UKAID and the Wellspring Fund, evolving into the ABC Project, anchoring transformative learning for sustainability. Sazani joined RELI and PSIPSE, strengthening inclusive secondary education across East Africa.
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As Wales’ based education experts in a British Council-funded consortium with Pearson, Sazani delivered the Connecting Classrooms for Global Learning programme, while providing global learning professional development for Welsh teachers. The Global Learning Pathway was launched, and the Bloomsbury Handbook on Global Learning was published, featuring Zanzibar case studies, from our work.
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We supported UNEP’s climate adaptation strategy in Sudan and continued collaborating with Swansea and Bath Universities through MSc and PhD researcher placements. Social performance services grew with SRK Consulting across West and Central Africa, including livelihood restoration and health impact assessments. Through our partnership Aberystwyth University, Sazani piloted a land use change app for biodiversity offsets. We worked Agriteam Canada to develop a community engagement strategy and capacity building for artisanal mining in Ethiopia. We also joined a Horizon 2020 project via SRK Exploration culminating in a major event with the Natural History Museum and partners to launch our jointly developed Who Decides? scenario based training.
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Work with SPOC in Bulgaria expanded into multiple resilience and education initiatives. When COVID-19 emerged, participatory methods were adapted for digital delivery. A new collaboration with Satarla Risk delivered ESG risk tools and reviews and bespoke training on social licence to operate in mineral exploration and mining.
2011-2015: Transformation
Between 2011 and 2015, Sazani Associates expanded work on climate adaptation by building on the ZEET programme, partnering with 35 communities in Zanzibar to co-develop sustainable visions and local action plans. The Healthy and Sustainable Schools programme gained international recognition, receiving the European Council North-South Centre Award. Cathryn was honoured by the Welsh Government for contributions to global sustainable development and joined the UNESCO Associated Schools Panel and UNESCO Committee for Wales.
As EU and DFID funding cycles concluded, Sazani continued school linking, welcoming new Welsh and Zanzibari schools with support from the Wellspring Fund (USA). Technical work included input to environmental and social impact and management plans for projects in Mauritania, Niger and the Congo, and a new partnership in Bulgaria to strengthen resilience in communities affected by crisis, conflict, and environmental change, building on collaborations in Hungary and Slovakia.
Partnership with the Development Education Research Centre deepened through global learning events in Bonn, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Swansea. Communications specialist Lisa Farr joined as Director, strengthening internal capacity.
Through support to the Indian Ocean Commission’s ISLANDS project, Sazani contributed to regional climate adaptation strategies, led a youth film competition, and produced resources on deforestation for Zanzibar. A major international conference was co-organised with the University of Bristol’s Small States Research Group.
Sazani began delivering social performance advisory services to SRK Consulting for global mining projects. Following ZEET, Sazani was invited to be showcased as a 'Blue Solution' by GIZ and instigated development of an innovative mangrove carbon accounting methodology in Zanzibar.
2006-2010: Expansion
Over this five-year period, Sazani Associates expanded its work in education, community development, and sustainability. With Samaki Consulting and UNFPA, the organisation supported secondary education in Zanzibar by developing geography guides on ethics and environmental studies, building on its role in the ERP Community of Practice. In Cameroon, Sazani advised AES Sonel, preparing an Indigenous Peoples and Community Development Plan for Bakola communities affected by infrastructure development.
Supported by the British Council and DFID, the ERP model connected 27 schools in Wales with 27 in Zanzibar through teacher training and curriculum-linked sustainability projects. In the UK and Ireland, Sazani undertook social research for Milford Haven Port Authority and the Council for Racial Equality in Northern Ireland on environmental and migration perceptions.
Europe Aid funding enabled Sazani to lead a ten-country partnership on rural livelihoods and food sovereignty grounded in the Nyéléni Declaration. As a Tenant Empowerment Grant Agent, it also supported Welsh tenant associations to improve community life.
The GLEW project, in partnership with the Workers Education Association, strengthened educator capacity for global learning, supported by collaboration with UCL's Development Education Research Centre. In Zanzibar, Sazani delivered the Comic Relief and UKAID-funded ZEET programme, promoting sustainable enterprises and responsible tourism, and co-developed the Healthy and Sustainable Schools programme with the Ministries of Health and Education, supported by Wales Public Health.
2005: The Beginning
Our founding directors, Cathryn, Ian, Marilyn and Mark, set up Sazani Associates, initially as a voluntary association to participate in a UNESCO: FAO Flagship Project: Education for Rural People, working in partnership with organisations from 10 countries: Italy, France, Wales, Zanzibar, Senegal and Bolivia. Over a period of three years, Sazani collaborated on situational analysis of education in rural areas and the establishment of a community of practice to improve access, teaching capacity and quality of provision to relevant education and training, culminating in a UN dialogue with Government Ministers and UN representatives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.In Zanzibar, Sazani supported our Italian friends, ACRA, to register an office and develop a pro-poor tourism project, which was funded by Europe Aid. In parallel, Sazani supported NGRID with negotiating access to community land preparing livelihood restoration initiatives across Pembrokeshire in lieu of compensation.