Sierra Leone’s Eric Kawa Selected for Prestigious G20 Fellowship on Land Restoration

Sierra Leonean journalist and multimedia storyteller Eric Kawa has been selected as one of only five digital content creators and journalists worldwide for the G20 Fellowship – Voices for Land, an international initiative aimed at strengthening reporting on land degradation, ecosystem restoration, and climate resilience.

The fellowship is a joint initiative of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and One World Media, providing selected fellows with funding, mentorship, editorial guidance, and production support to create impactful stories that raise awareness about the global land crisis.

Eric Kawa Represents Sierra Leone

Image: From Left To Right (Eric Kawa From Sierra Leone, Lilan Dayananda From Sri Lanka, Radhika Gupta From India, Reyhab Watari From Kenya, and Jaya Setiawan Gulö From Indonesia).

Kawa was selected alongside fellows from Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, making him Sierra Leone’s sole representative in the prestigious global programme.

According to the organisers, the fellowship seeks to empower journalists and digital storytellers to transform complex environmental issues into compelling multimedia campaigns that reach audiences across platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. 

The selected fellows will each receive up to US$6,600 in production funding, as well as one-on-one mentorship, workshops, and editorial support to produce original stories highlighting the human impact of land degradation and ecosystem restoration.

“Representing Sierra Leone Is Both a Privilege and a Responsibility”

Image: Eric Kawa Reporting For CGTN.

Speaking to Swit Salone, Kawa described his selection as a great honour and said he is proud to represent Sierra Leone as the country’s only participant in the inaugural fellowship.

“I am honoured to be selected as one of the five inaugural fellows for the G20 Fellowship – Voices for Land, led by One World Media in partnership with the UNCCD and the G20 Global Land Initiative. I am also grateful to the Firoz Lalji Institute at the London School of Economics (LSE),’’ said Kawa.

He said representing Sierra Leone on the global platform comes with a deep sense of responsibility.

“Representing Sierra Leone in this global fellowship is both a privilege and a responsibility. As a journalist passionate about climate resilience and environmental storytelling, I look forward to highlighting the impacts of land degradation as well as the inspiring efforts of communities working to restore and protect our environment.”

He added that the fellowship presents an opportunity to showcase Sierra Leone’s environmental stories to international audiences while collaborating with fellow storytellers from Africa and Asia.

“This fellowship provides an opportunity to amplify Sierra Leone’s environmental stories on the global stage through impactful journalism, while learning alongside talented storytellers from across Africa and Asia,” he told SwitSalone’s Abu Bakarr Jalloh.

Kawa also expressed profound gratitude to the organisers for selecting him for the prestigious fellowship, describing it as a significant opportunity to grow as an environmental journalist. 

He said the programme’s mentorship, training, and international collaboration will further strengthen his ability to produce impactful stories that raise awareness about land restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable development while amplifying Sierra Leone’s environmental challenges and successes on the global stage.

“I am grateful to the organisers for this opportunity and look forward to using the skills, mentorship and support from the fellowship to produce stories that inform, inspire and contribute to conversations on land restoration and climate action,” he concluded.

A Recognised Voice in Climate Journalism

Image: Eric Kawa On Duty For Africanews.

Eric Kawa is a multilingual media professional and Co-founder of Splash Multimedia Limited in Sierra Leone, with years of experience covering climate change, environmental conservation, and sustainable development.

He is a graduate of the Rockefeller Foundation’s CNN Academy Climate Storytelling Programme and previously completed the G20 Global Land Initiative’s Land Restoration Masterclass at the London School of Economics (LSE).

In 2026, Kawa co-founded and officially registered Splash Multimedia Limited (SL), a full-service media and digital communications company based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. 

The digital media company specialises in professional video production, corporate event coverage, digital marketing, and impactful environmental/climate storytelling across West Africa.

Kawa’s digital media firm is actively involved in covering national development, environmental dialogues, and social campaigns in the region, working closely with organisations and government bodies to amplify local voices.

Kawa currently works with Capital Radio Sierra Leone and also contributes to Africanews and China Global Television Network (CGTN), producing stories that focus on climate resilience, environmental protection, and sustainable development across Africa.

Fellowship Aims to Amplify Underreported Stories

Image: Eric Kawa At The CNN Academy Training on Climate Storytelling Program.

Land degradation remains one of the world’s fastest-growing environmental challenges, affecting biodiversity, soil fertility, food security, and livelihoods. 

Despite its global impact, communities living on the frontlines of the crisis often receive little international media attention.

Through the fellowship, Kawa and other participants will produce original multimedia campaigns that spotlight these communities while encouraging greater public awareness and action on land restoration.

Global Commitment to Environmental Storytelling

Image: Eric Kawa On Air At Capital Radio, Freetown.

Commenting on the Fellowship, One World Media’s Interim Director, Chinwe Kalu-Uma, said the fellowship reflects a shared commitment to ensuring stories about land degradation are told in creative and innovative ways while centring the voices of affected communities.

“The G20 Fellowship – Voices for Land reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that stories about land degradation are told in creative and new ways, centring the voices of communities across the world it impacts most,’’ said Kalu-Uma.

By supporting these five fellows from Sri Lanka, Kenya, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, and India with funding, mentorship and editorial guidance, we hope to inspire both local and global audiences to understand, care about, and take action on land degradation,” she added.

She noted that by providing funding, mentorship, and editorial guidance, the programme hopes to inspire audiences worldwide to better understand the importance of protecting and restoring land ecosystems.

The G20 Fellowship – Voices for Land is funded through the UNCCD’s G20 Global Land Initiative, which aims to reduce degraded land by 50 per cent by 2040.