Another key component of the Agroecology Leadership Academy was the regular evaluation of its outcomes. Participants were frequently surveyed about their experiences with the Academy, its content, and their personal progress. This feedback was utilized not only to adapt the Academy's programme flexibly to meet the demands of the participants - an aspect previously identified as a success factor in other building blocks – but also to evaluate the entire programme more effectively and derive lessons learned for potential future academies. After the Academy concluded, these findings were compiled and discussed in an internal workshop involving the implementing organisations. The lessons learned, along with other relevant materials, are shared on various platforms, particularly Agroecology TPP, to assist organisations in planning and implementing similar projects. Additionally, the project was presented in a public webinar upon completion. During this webinar, Academy participants had the opportunity to showcase their transformation initiatives, providing a valuable chance to expand their networks and enhance the sustainability of the Academy.

Two international four-day learning events framed the Academy, occurring at its beginning and end. The first event took place in February 2024 in Kisumu, Kenya, as part of the Sowing phase of the Academy. The objective of this event was to bring all participants together for the first time in a spirit of collaborative learning and support. It aimed to introduce the participants to the key concepts of leadership and agroecology while laying the foundation for successful work and group cooperation. During this event, participants began developing stakeholder systems maps to advance agroecology in their countries and collaborated to create a vision for change. Additionally, a field visit took participants to a local demonstration farm (BIOGI) and a farm practicing agroforestry, supported by the NGO Trees for the Future. 
After several months of learning in country groups and meeting the global cohort online four times, the second event was held in November 2024 in Hawassa, Ethiopia. This marked the final official activity of the Academy and served as the core event of its Harvesting phase, transitioning participants into the Transforming phase. The key objectives of this event were to support country groups and individuals in taking and scaling up action, to deepen the learning from previous months, to discuss the potential for upscaling the initiatives developed during the Academy, and  to celebrate and strengthen the networks that had formed.
During this event,  participants reflected on and shared learnings with other country teams, exploring key topics such as personal ecology, individual leadership, habit formation, and communication. A field visit included a tour to a local coffee co-operative processing facility and a diversified small-scale farm. Participants also planned their next steps as transformation makers for agroecological change.
The two international learning events were complemented by a total of four online session, each lasting 2,5 hours, which took place in March, May, July and September 2024. These sessions provided participants with additional insights on models and tools for leading transformation initiatives and advancing agroecology, including effective communication, overcoming obstacles, and influencing political narratives. Thus, these online sessions constituted an important component of the Academy’s Growing phase. 

The purpose of the Academy was to support participants in developing the skills and experience necessary for leadership in navigating complex systems and fostering agroecological transformation.
A suitable concept to fulfill this purpose was developed over a span of three months (July – September 2023): 

Consequently, the purpose was distilled into three key objectives: Learning, Acting, and Networking. These objectives were reflected in the design of each session and supported at three levels:  individuals, country teams, and the global cohort.
The methodology of the Agroecology Leadership Academy was based on 7 principles:

• A close connection between the topic of Agroecology (the “What”) and Transformation and Leadership (the “How”)
• A clear focus on transformation skills and mindset
• Transformation initiatives as core learning projects
• In-Country facilitators to support the country teams
• Linking Learning, Acting and Networking
• Systemic, experiential and relational learning
• The strong role of communication

The general structure of the Academy was organised into four phases: Sowing, Growing, Harvesting and Transforming. Various learning formats were implemented throughout these phases, including an online kick-off event, two international in-presence learning events, four international online sessions, and individual workshops for the different country teams. These formats concentrated on the aforementioned levels. While the meetings within the country teams emphasised teamwork at the national level, the international sessions facilitated mutual learning among the global cohort. 

After the concept development phase, the participant selection process commenced. The goal was to assemble a heterogenous group representing diverse stakeholder groups, skills, ages and genders. 
A call for applications was sent out to a pre-defined group of potential participants from agroecology-networks in the respective countries. Following the evaluation of initial applications based on predefined selection criteria, individual selection conversations were conducted to finalise the group composition, with five participants chosen from each country. 
In selecting participants, not only individual criteria were considered, but also the need for complementary skills within the group composition.  Each participant was expected to contribute something from their personal background that would benefit the group as a whole.
This selection process ensured that different levels of the agricultural and food system were represented - participants included, among others, farmers, founders of agricultural enterprises, university professors, and representatives of ministries of agriculture - as well as ensuring a balanced gender ratio within the group.

Strengthen cooperation in scientific research and continue to carry out scientific research monitoring. The application of infrared cameras and other modern monitoring technology for research, in-depth understanding of forest musk deer habits and survival methods, in-depth cooperation with the Three Gorges University, the Chinese Academy of Forestry and other scientific research institutions, with the help of professional forces to improve the level of protection, jointly carried out forest musk deer protection research. More than 160 cameras have been continuously deployed in Dalaoling Reserve for more than 7 years, and the population dynamics and habitat distribution of forest musk deer have been obtained in real time, so as to strengthen the protection of forest musk deer activity sites and reduce the corresponding human interference.

This building block fosters collaboration among diverse stakeholders to address the structural and systemic issues intersecting gender equality and environmental sustainability. Through activities such as training sessions, conflict management meetings, and leadership support, stakeholders from the gender sector (led by the Division of Gender) and the environmental sector (led by the Ministry of Fisheries) engage in cross-sectoral discussions to align objectives and integrate solutions. For example, fisheries stakeholders provide insights into resource management and illegal practices, while gender sector members contribute expertise on GBV prevention and response mechanisms. The initiative also influences policy by advocating for and supporting the revision of legal instruments like the Fisheries Act and the Anti-GBV Act of 2011, ensuring they address the unique challenges at this intersection. Additionally, technical support is provided for mainstreaming gender considerations in other sectors and integrating cross-cutting issues into broader policy frameworks. By aligning community-level efforts with institutional policies, this approach ensures scalable, sustainable, and contextually relevant interventions.

T his building block focuses on raising awareness and providing tailored gender training to highlight the interconnectedness of GBV, particularly exploitative practices like "sex for fish," and environmental degradation in the fisheries sector. With men dominating fish harvesting and women constituting 90% of post-harvest activities, the sector reveals stark gender dynamics. The initiative educates communities and stakeholders on how these transactional relationships exacerbate resource depletion, harm biodiversity, and perpetuate power imbalances between men and women. Using diverse forms of communication, such as roadshows, community dramas, and GBV Watch Committee activities, the project aims to transform perceptions, foster collaboration, and inspire action to address these interwoven challenges.

This building block is to explain how I developped an App that allow fishers to contribute to marine science knowledge in Africa. 

Initially we gave fishers a pre-printed form to report opportunistic sightings they encountered. However, the form was getting lost most of the time. 

We decided to move to a digital solution. The existing App by then required internet to work and was just too complicated for fishers. So we thought we shoud develop an App that will be more userfriendly for fishers. 

We wrote the  algorithm (workflow) of the App and then contracted an Indian development company to write the code. 

Later we had to bring the development of SIREN back to Cameroon to reduce the cost of developement. 

We work with volunteer around the world that will continuously support with the development of the SIREN

This building block focuses on the establishment of strong partnerships between academic institutions (Universidad Politécnica de Yucatán), local governments (Secretaría de Desarrollo de Sustentable del Estado de Yucatán), and conservation organizations (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), private sector (Huawei), and local communities (Dzilam de Bravo) to enhance the collection and analysis of biodiversity data, access to technological infrastructure, government program instrumentation and application, and local ownership and execution.

FFMA delivers real-time weather forecasts, disaster alerts, and ocean state information in regional languages, ensuring accessibility for diverse fishing communities across India.

Dynamic risk maps, built using GIS and geospatial analysis, identify high-risk areas and guide resource allocation. This tool can be used for urban planning, disaster risk reduction, or managing natural resources like water or land.