Santa Marta, Colombia · April 22–29, 2026
| Client | The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) & The Chisholm Legacy Project (TCLP) |
| Services | Campaign Management & Strategic Coordination | Event Production & Management | Delegation Management & Support |
| Engagement | Pre-Conference Coordination through On-the-Ground Execution & Post-Conference Debrief and Engagement Strategy |
| Timeline | February – May 2026 |
| Forum | First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels — Co-hosted by Colombia & the Netherlands |
| Scale | 57+ organizations across Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, and Africa |
THE MOMENT
The First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels was not a typical climate convening. Co-hosted by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands, it was explicitly designed to place Afro-descendant communities and frontline voices at the center of global energy transition policy — a structural commitment, not a token gesture.
For the Black Alliance for Peace and the Chisholm Legacy Project, this represented a once-in-a-generation opening: a major international forum where Afro-descendant leadership was not just welcomed, but architecturally embedded in the process. The challenge was showing up ready — coordinated, strategically aligned, and prepared to lead.
“Representation without preparation is just presence. Where purpose meets presence, outcomes follow.”
THE CHALLENGE
BAP and the Chisholm Legacy Project needed to mobilize a multi-organizational Afro-descendant coalition within a compressed timeline — roughly ten weeks from initial coordination through on-the-ground conference execution. The delegation would need to span multiple continents, navigate language barriers, coordinate across vastly different organizational capacities, and arrive in Santa Marta as a coherent, strategically unified force.
This required more than logistics. It required a preparation framework that could hold the full weight of political alignment, communications infrastructure, government liaison, and real-time event production — simultaneously.
TERRA40’S APPROACH
Terra40 served as the strategic coordination lead for the Global Afro-Descendant Delegation, architecting and executing the full engagement strategy across four interconnected service areas:
Campaign Management & Strategic Coordination
Terra40 designed and led a structured coordination series — biweekly in March, escalating to weekly in April — to build alignment across 57+ registered organizations. We developed the full delegation-tracking infrastructure, managed the coalition’s communications cadence in both English and Spanish, and served as the connective tissue holding the coalition together across time zones and organizational cultures. Terra40 also created social media content for the Black Alliance for Peace, provided editorial review and editing support for the press release issued jointly by BAP and the Global Afro-Descendant Climate Justice Collaborative, and provided on-the-ground photo and video documentation throughout the engagement — capturing the delegation’s presence and participation for organizational archives and communications use.
Event Production & Management
Terra40 planned, produced, and managed 8 sessions within the Global Afro-Descendant sector at the People’s Summit. In addition, Terra40 prepared and managed the delegation’s participation in the official Pre-Assembly and Assembly of the People for the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels. Every space was designed to ensure the delegation’s voice was present and consequential across the full arc of the convening — from grassroots to government.
Delegation Management & Support
Terra40 served as the primary liaison with Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development on behalf of the delegation, building and sustaining a direct government-to-government relationship throughout the engagement. In the lead-up to the conference, Terra40 facilitated a structured virtual dialogue on behalf of the Ministry, convening all 57 organizations through a formal process to consolidate input, refine solutions, and produce technical contributions for the conference. Terra40 also edited the Global Afro-Descendant Concept Paper, synthesizing delegation feedback into solution-oriented policy positions submitted to both the Colombian and Dutch governments, and provided end-to-end bilingual operational support throughout the eight-day on-the-ground engagement. Following the conference, Terra40 facilitated the post-conference debrief for the full delegation — closing the engagement loop and capturing lessons, wins, and forward momentum from the coalition.
Forum Strategy
Terra40 advised on positioning, narrative strategy, and the delegation’s engagement posture throughout the conference — determining which spaces to prioritize, how to frame the delegation’s message for different audiences across the People’s Summit and high-level segments, and how to ensure the coalition’s voice carried weight in both grassroots and governmental spaces simultaneously. Forum strategy is the difference between being in the room and being consequential in it.
WHAT TERRA40 DELIVERED
| 57+ Organizations coordinated across 4 regions | 8 Days on the ground in Santa Marta | 8 Sessions produced at the People’s Summit | 1 Pre-conference virtual dialogue on behalf of the Ministry |
| 1 Policy document submitted to 2 co-hosting governments | 1 Post-conference debrief facilitated for the full delegation | Delegation prepared & managed for the official Pre-Assembly and Assembly of the People |
FROM THE CLIENTS
| “Fuzieh and Terra40 provided platinum service and coordination for the first Afro-descendant delegation to a historic conference in Colombia prior to, during, and after the fact. It’s irrefutable that the achievements of the delegation would not have been possible without the professionalism and acute adaptability of Terra40, which included the navigation of different languages, cultures, and experience levels in the spaces our delegation found itself in.” Anthony Rogers-Wright, Policy Analysis, Communications & Racial Justice Advocacy The Black Alliance for Peace |
| “Our work before and during the events in Santa Marta — the critical work of coordinating, strategizing, and engaging with grassroots Afrodescendant groups and organizations to make our presence and participation in this first-of-its-kind global event possible — would not have happened without Fuzieh and Terra40. Fuzieh’s consistency, dedication, and passion for the work and the people who are a part of it were essential in making our delegation possible and effective. She became not only part of our team, but part of the delegation in a way that was able to reflect our values and goals; it was a joy to work with her.” Austin Cole, National Co-Coordinator The Black Alliance for Peace |
| “Working with Fuzieh and Terra40 during the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels was an incredible experience. Supporting the first-ever official Afro-Descendant delegation within a global climate process required deep coordination, adaptability, and care, and Fuzieh brought all of that to the work with excellence. From logistics to strategy, Terra40 was instrumental in making our delegation possible and effective. We are deeply grateful for the partnership and support that made our success possible!“ Cheryl KwaPong, Executive Project Manager The Chisholm Legacy Project |
WHY IT MATTERS
This engagement is proof of what a preparation-forward forum strategy looks like at scale. Terra40 did not simply coordinate logistics — we built the organizational architecture that allowed a globally dispersed, multi-sector Afro-descendant coalition to show up at a historic climate convening as a single, coherent voice.
In a field where Afro-descendant and Global South organizations are too often invited into rooms without the infrastructure to lead, Terra40’s work created the conditions for genuine influence — not just presence.
The Santa Marta delegation is now the model. And it is repeatable.
POST-CONFERENCE OUTCOMES
| ✓ | Global Afro-Descendant Concept Paper — developed with Terra40’s editorial and strategic support, synthesizing delegation feedback into solution-oriented policy positions — formally submitted to the Conference Secretariat and reviewed at the high-level segment by both the Colombian and Dutch governments. |
| ✓ | The Colombian government formally recognized the Global Afro-Descendant Delegation as a structured, legitimate stakeholder voice at the conference — a direct result of the sector’s organizational coherence, sustained pre-conference engagement, and productive working relationship with Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. |
| ✓ | A cohesive eight-day on-the-ground engagement was successfully executed across two conference tracks — the People’s Summit and the high-level segment — with 57+ organizations operating as a unified, strategically aligned delegation rather than a collection of individual actors. |
| ✓ | A Post-Conference Engagement Strategy was developed by Terra40 on behalf of the delegation — outlining a forward-looking framework for sustaining coalition momentum, deepening coordination infrastructure, and positioning the Global Afro-Descendant Delegation for continued influence at SB64 Bonn, CBD COP17, and COP31. |
SERVICES DELIVERED
| Campaign Management & Strategic Coordination | Event Production & Management | Delegation Management & Support | Forum Strategy |