RUTH DANIEL
Ruth Daniel is the CEO and Artistic Director of In Place of War, an activist, change-maker, Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Manchester, and proud owner of an old VW van. As CEO, Ruth has led global arts and peace-building initiatives, developing over 100 cultural programmes in conflict zones and disadvantaged areas. From guitarist at 8 to record label owner, band manager, TEDx speaker, and award winner, Ruth empowers people through creative entrepreneurship and artistic collaboration.
JENNIFER UCHENDU
Jennifer Uchendu is the founder of SustyVibes, an organisation advancing youth-led sustainability research, advocacy, and community action globally. Her work focuses on how environmental challenges such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss impact youth mental health and on how community-based approaches strengthen youth agency and resilience. In 2022, she established The Eco-Anxiety Africa Project to better understand youth eco-anxiety across Africa and has since co-developed several initiatives that help transform negative eco-emotions into hope and action among young people.
MATT SOWERBY
Matt Sowerby is the Youth Programmes Lead - Europe at The Resilience Project, a youth-driven organisation, championing mental health in the youth climate movement. Alongside this, he is a writer, poet, facilitator, and environmental activist, working to find hopeful approaches to living in a climate crisis. He is the winner of the 2024 Nature Chronicles Prize and, as a performance poet, has earned the titles of 2018 National Youth Slam Champion & 2023 National University Slam Champion. Matt has performed in the Houses of Parliament & on BBC Radio 3, and his work has been exhibited at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. He is a Regional Advisor to the National Trust.
DAN GLASS
Depending on who you ask Dan Glass is an Activist of the Year, a campaigning role model and BBC Greater Londoner or ‘Scum’ (Nigel Farage) after organising the ‘Beyond UKIP Cabaret’ in his pub or a ‘Furious Gay Activist’ (Daily Mail) after last year’s infamous ‘Sodomites Walk’ protest in Hampstead Heath.
Dan re-formed AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) in London helping win access to PrEP in the UK; building international healthcare coalitions in Uganda, Russia, Poland; presenting Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Great NHS Sell-Off which won "Award of Excellence" at the DOCS Without Borders Film Festival - among so many other things.
DAVE OJAY
Dave is a Kenya-based cultural and creative arts curator, activist, convener, professional photographer, and audio-visual public installation artist. He founded NAAM Festival, a community volunteer-based organisation running conservation and nature sustainability campaigns at local, regional, and global levels since 2015. NAAM, a Swahili word meaning “YES” or “to acknowledge,” also means “LAKE” in the Luo languages spoken around East Africa. Through NAAM, Dave has built a creative arts advocacy platform for social and environmental justice. The initiative emphasizes the urgent need to restore lake ecosystems and was recently nominated by the United Nations Museums among the top ten cultures for impact initiatives.
FINLAY CARROL
Finlay Carroll is a development producer and dramaturg, working across commercial, subsidised and fringe theatre sectors since 2021 - both in-house and independently. He collaborates with writers and songwriters to develop new and existing concepts for theatre. Previously, Finlay was Assistant Producer for the UK’s first in-house musical theatre department at Birmingham Hippodrome, which he helped launch in 2023. The team commission, produce and develop new musicals and talent with a national remit. Their premieres include award-winning Hot Mess by Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, selected by the Guardian as one of top five theatre shows in 2025. Through a new role with In Place of War, he also connects youth climate justice leaders with the global music and creative industries. .
CHARLIE MILLER
Charlie Miller is a Bristol based filmmaker and the founder of The Mono Grande, a film production company specialising in live music and documentary. He has directed and shot live coverage for some of the world’s biggest artists. His documentary work with In Place of War has taken him to some of the world’s most marginalised and remote communities. He is the Videographer and Director of the EarthSonic project TAKKUUK - an audiovisual project working with Indigenous Arctic artists and the electronic music duo BICEP.
MOHAMMED USROF
Mohammed Usrof is a Palestinian writer and researcher from Khan Yunis, Gaza, working on energy, infrastructure, and colonial power. He co-founded the Palestinian Initiative for Climate Strategy (PICS), a Palestinian-led institute that centres Palestine within global climate politics and traces the energy infrastructure and supply chains sustaining occupation and war. He was lead research consultant for Oxfam International's COP30 report on energy inequality, and is currently leading research for War on Want on the UK's responsibility for environmental harm in Gaza. He is also a PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London, and works in sound and creative practice, including Resonant Futures, a project on the sonic ecologies of energy and survival in Gaza.
PEDRO INOUE
Pedro Inoue is a Brazilian designer and graphic artist. He has collaborated with David Bowie, William Gibson, Caetano Veloso, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. His work has been featured in exhibitions in France, Japan, and South Korea, and he has given lectures and workshops in Mexico City, Auckland, and Barcelona. Since 2010, he has served as Creative Director of the Canadian magazine Adbusters, and was part of the team that created the #OccupyWallStreet tag and poster, which helped inspire the global #Occupy movement. He’s been nominated for a Latin Grammy®️ and received 2 Jabutis awards from his book covers and creative direction & design work.
FELIPE ALTENFELDER
Felipe Altenfelder is the founder of Fora do Eixo, a cultural network in Brazil.
TRUST CHIKODZO
Trust Chikodzo is the Kick Polluters Out Network Coordinator with Magamba Network in Zimbabwe. An innovative organiser, storyteller, and movement builder passionate about climate, environmental, and social justice, Trust applies an interdisciplinary and feminist lens to drive impact, using digital tools, strategic communications, and creative interventions to activate youth, challenge systems, and build collective power towards a decentralised, just, green Africa.
NADIA SHAIKH
A naturalist and conservationist, Nadia has devoted her life to repairing our relationship with nature. She joined Right to Roam in 2021 after 14 years in the nature conservation sector, convinced that mainstream 'nature protection' wasn't involving people in a meaningful way and that the connections between enclosure, land ownership and our devastating biodiversity loss were too big to ignore.
She now lives in Scotland where she enjoys roaming free, rock pooling and kayaking. She covers the campaign’s operations, events, and work on social justice.
JUAN CHAO
Juan is the Founder of the Archivo de Música Original, an organisation that uses new technologies to preserve Indigenous musical traditions at risk of extinction. My work focuses on collaborative, community-led initiatives that blend traditional music with contemporary tools, ensuring cultural heritage remains alive and accessible for future generations. All projects are co-designed with local leaders.
VERA CHISVO
Maria Chisvo, also known as Vera, is a Zimbabwean civic engagement practitioner, creative industries professional and multidisciplinary artist. She is the Magamba Africa Program Lead at Magamba Network, where she oversees Africa-wide programming across climate justice, civic technology, creative practice and narrative change. Her work focuses on using arts, culture and digital innovation to strengthen youth participation, peacebuilding and social change. She has led programmes in cultural heritage, civic innovation and the creative economy, and has represented civic technology initiatives at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul.
TOM LEAH
Werkha (aka Tom Leah) is a multi-instrumentalist, producer & DJ hailing from Manchester and Cumbria. He has been consistently releasing music and creating live experiences for over a decade. Werkha’s music fuses analogue jazz-funk vibes with the UK’s electronic, resulting in a number of releases nestled between the sounds of broken beat and cinematic moments. He has simultaneously been creating and building another side-project, Saturama - a live audio-visual experience aimed at reconnecting to our rainforests in the UK, which has received support from organisations like Earth Percent, Plantlife, Manchester Museum, RSPB Haweswater and Kendal Mountain Festival.
TORI TSUI
Tori Tsui is a climate justice campaigner and author. She is a Senior Advisor for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and Climate Justice Lead for Brian Eno’s Earth Percent. Her debut book ‘It’s Not Just You’ was shortlisted for the Wainwright prize.
LAURA JONES
Laura Jones is a coach, facilitator and founder of Side B, a space supporting people in music and the creative industries to navigate change, burnout and big “what’s next?” moments. After 20 years in the music industry managing artists, producers and songwriters, Laura now helps creatives reconnect with their values, find clarity in uncertain times and build more sustainable ways of working. Her workshops create space for reflection, honest conversation and practical next steps; helping people move from overwhelm into more grounded, aligned action.
TALIA NIZARANE
Talia Nizarane is an emergent multidisciplinary artist and artistic researcher from Cuba. Her socially engaged practice explores themes of migration, climate justice, and mobility inequality, particularly in relation to the Global South. She leverages public programming and community co-creation as tools for structural change, advocacy, and policy influence.
She has delivered projects in collaboration with grassroots communities and institutions in Cuba, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, and the UK, combining systems thinking with social innovation. She took part in the Creative Agents of Climate Change Programme in 2024.
THAYU KILILI
Thayũ is an award-winning, reclusive storyteller, cultural strategist and creative technologist, whose work is rooted in social impact and artistic experimentation. Their creativity often begins in fragments; memories, emotions, visuals and from these, they weave rich, multidimensional narratives that stretch across mediums and defy convention. When words fall short, Thayũ lets the art speak: vibrant, textured, and unfiltered. They move fluidly between formats; comics, games, theatre, film scripts, books, poetry, experimental music, and podcasts, constantly shifting form while staying grounded in story..
MARTIN ATKINS
Martin Atkins is the definition of entrepreneurial activity in cultural arts endeavours. His 35+ years in the music business spans genres, borders and industries. He was a member of Public Image Ltd and Killing Joke. He founded industrial supergroup Pigface, The Damage Manual, and Murder Inc., and has contributed to Nine Inch Nails (for which he has a Grammy) and Ministry. He is the owner of Invisible Records and Mattress Factory Recording Studios (est. 1988). Martin is the author of Tour:Smart, Welcome To The Music Business….You’re F*cked!” Band:Smart, and is the new Music Industries Coordinator at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Martin is a producer, drummer, documentary filmmaker, DJ, and father of four.
Tafadzwa Chando
Tafadzwa Chando is an indigenous, youth, and climate activist from Zimbabwe. They are the Founder of Magna Youth and the Climate Refugees Initiative, as well as the International Programs Lead for Climate Live. They use music, arts, and culture as a way to educate, engage, and empower a new audience. They also coordinate programs with FFF and a number of youth movements globally. They have led programs in over 40 countries focusing on climate action and arts, and studied law and developmental studies. Currently, Tafadzwa is working on a documentary across Southern and East Africa exploring the vital intersection of indigenous land tenure and grassroots climate resilience
SHEREEN PERERA
Shereen Perera is an award winning cultural producer who spends her time between London and Manchester. She has delivered over 250 UK and international projects in a variety of formats - from 24 hour digital festivals about the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls, to co-managing In Place Of War’s international girl band, to delivering city-wide biennials and co-directing Manchester’s DIY film and music night Video Jam. She was Senior Producer for The WOW Foundation who put on WOW - Women of the World festivals, and currently is a Producer at the Royal Albert Hall in London.