2011-2015: Transformation

Between 2011 and 2015, Sazani Associates built on the success of the ZEET programme by securing funding to expand its focus to climate change adaptation, working with 30 communities in Zanzibar to co-develop sustainable change visions and implement localised actions to achieve them. The Healthy and Sustainable Schools programme in Zanzibar gained international recognition, receiving an award from the European Councils' North-South Centre. Cathryn was also honoured by the Welsh Government for her contributions to international sustainable development and invited to join both the UNESCO Associated Schools Panel and the UNESCO Committee for Wales.

As major funding streams like GLEW and ERLAFS concluded and government priorities shifted, Sazani maintained its school linking efforts, welcoming new schools from Wales and Zanzibar into the network. Education activities in Zanzibar were further supported through funding from the Wellspring Fund (USA). In parallel, Sazani provided technical input for Xstrata’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Mauritania and developed a new partnership in Bulgaria to strengthen resilience in communities affected by crisis, conflict, or environmental change, building on earlier ERLAFS collaborations in Hungary and Slovakia.

Sazani’s strategic partnership with the Development Education Research Centre (DERC) deepened, with active participation in global learning dissemination events across Europe, including Bonn, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Swansea. Communications specialist Lisa Farr joined as a Director, strengthening internal capacity.

Through support to the Indian Ocean Commission’s ISLANDS project, Sazani contributed to regional climate adaptation strategies and ran a youth film competition and produced educational resources on deforestation for use in Zanzibar. A major international conference was co-organised with the University of Bristol’s Small States Research Group.

Sazani began offering social performance advisory services to SRK Consulting for global mining projects. As ZEET drew to a close, the organisation was invited to join the Blue Solutions Initiative, which led to the development of an innovative mangrove carbon accounting methodology in Zanzibar.

The Healthy and Sustainable Schools programme scaled up significantly, reaching 51 schools through lesson study approaches and additional funding from Comic Relief, UKAID, and the Wellspring Fund. This evolved into the ABC Project—Attitudes, Behaviours and Competencies for Quality Education—anchoring the programme in transformative learning for sustainability.