When Flora Alick from KYC TV Malawi arrived at the SDI Secretariat in Cape Town for a five-month Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (Norec) youth media exchange, she carried with her the stories of communities on the frontlines of climate change. By October 2025, she had launched Voices From The Frontline, a new podcast series exploring how federations are using local knowledge and nature-based solutions to respond to climate challenges.
The series emerged from a transformative youth media exchange facilitated by the Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (Norec) in partnership with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the SDI Secretariat from July to November 2025.
During her exchange, Flora learnt everything from camera setup to video editing, public speaking to concept development from the KYC TV team at the SDI Secretariat—Xola Mteto and James Tayler. “I can now use the cameras, set them up, design a podcast by coming up with a concept note and edit videos. I have also learnt public speaking, know when to speak and make sure I give a proper input,” Flora explains. “When I go back home, I will gladly teach my fellow youth what I have learnt.”
Flora wasn’t alone in this journey. Tadala Zidana, the Finance and Administration Officer at the Centre for Community Organisation and Development (CCODE) in Malawi, spent her exchange with the SDI Secretariat Finance Team. During the programme, Tadala gained practical experience in a range of financial tasks ranging from compliance, requisitions, organisational budgeting, survey creation and weekly priority tracking. She says, “I also strengthened my skills through job shadowing, preparation of monthly management accounts and the consolidation of financial statements for the SDI Secretariat and its affiliates—an especially valuable experience, as I typically prepare financials for a single organisation.”
“Beyond the technical skills, I learnt important lessons in leadership dynamics, teamwork, patience and shared responsibility. Visiting the members of the South African SDI Alliance in Johannesburg further broadened my perspective, allowing me to see how practices we use at CCODE, often through hard-copy systems, are implemented here in digitised ways. I am keen to further strengthen my understanding in these areas and adapt some of the lessons back home,” Tadala concludes.
The first episode of Voices from the Frontlines features Natasha Kabosha, a youth federation leader from KYC TV Zambia, sharing insights on community-led climate action and the power of youth leadership in the SDI movement.
