💪 Strengthening Rural Resilience: Highlights from the SNRD Africa 2025 Conference
Participants explored rural resilience through peer learning, innovation and strategic collaboration. Highlights included expert-led trainings, field visits, and visionary discussions on the future of development networks in Africa
Key Takeaways for Readers
Hover over to have a look!Key Takeaways for Readers
The SNRD Africa Conference is a strategic, internal gathering for GIZ practitioners and partners working across Africa to collectively reflect, exchange practices, and coordinate future efforts to strengthen rural resilience in a time of massive change — demographically, environmentally, and economically.
The conference takes place every two years and is rare chance for participants to connect across projects and regions, access cutting-edge ideas, and influence policy and implementation strategies in a hands-on, cross-sectoral setting.
In June 2025, over 160 development professionals from more than 20 African and three Asian countries gathered in Lusaka, Zambia, for the SNRD Africa Conference. Held under the theme Strengthening Rural Resilience: Achievements, Opportunities and Future Pathways, the event fostered peer learning, knowledge sharing, and collaborative thinking around food systems, climate adaptation, and institutional transformation.
Key highlights from the week
✅ 11 pre-conference trainings led by peer educators
✅ 6 thematic working groups addressing resilience from different entry points
✅ 6 field visits showcasing rural development best practices in Zambia
✅ 6 parallel mini-workshops offering deep dives into pressing topics
✅ 1 strategic platform enabling sustained peer exchange
The official opening featured high-level Zambian government officials, including the Permanent Secretary from the Office of the Vice President, Ms. Lillian Kapusana, and representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, and the Green Economy and Environment.
Two compelling keynote speeches set the tone
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Antony Chapoto spotlighted Zambia’s resilience during recent droughts
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Kah Walla emphasized the role of African state functionality in enabling long-term rural development
Throughout the week, participants examined local innovations in agroecology, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, gender equity, and the evolving role of GIZ and sector networks in the development landscape.
Marking 30 years of SNRD Africa, SNRD’s Speaker Heike Hoeffler reflected on the network’s evolution and laid out a vision for a more inclusive, future-oriented structure — a “network of networks” that opens its doors to a broader set of rural development actors beyond GIZ.
A warm thank you to all participants, speakers, partners, and organizers for contributing to a week filled with momentum and meaning.
👉 Lots to learn about and from SNRD Africa
Materials and interviews from the meeting will be released in the coming months. So keep checking this spot as well as our Youtube channel for the latest bits from the proceedings.
Alternate photo collection
National Food and Nutrition Commission of Zambia (on Facebook)
Contact
Caroline Willeke, community management SNRD Africa, Email: snrd@giz.de
