Regional Hearth Summits Regional Hearth Summits

Hearth Summit Nairobi 2026

HOSTED BY

Axum

ABOUT THE SUMMITABOUT THE SUMMIT

Fostering Intergenerational Wellbeing in Kenya

Axum will convene a two-day regional summit in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together changemakers from across Africa.

This year’s Hearth Summit Nairobi explores the way we work, build & create, placing ecological and relational wellbeing at the heart of how we navigate the challenges of the digital age.

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CONTENT PILLARSCONTENT PILLARS

Relational Wellbeing

The Relational Wellbeing track explores how we deal with trauma, grief, and relational pain with a focus on inner personal and collective healing as the foundation for sustainable impact and self-renewal. It also provides an opportunity to reimagine how we approach interpersonal, intergenerational, and communal restoration, as a way to alleviate the burden of burnout through collective care and shared life.

The Way We Work, Build & Create

At a time of polycrisis (climate change, conflict, and social unrest), made worse by fatigue and uncertainty, changemakers across sectors report deep exhaustion, with many operating in survival mode rather than thriving in purpose-driven work. Urgency has become our default, leaving little space for healing, reflection, or the inner work needed to sustain long-term impact. This track focuses on how we shift towards cultures of care, trust, and wellbeing for individuals, and in institutions and movements.

Wellbeing in the Digital Age

With the increasing importance of digital literacy in human interaction, this track will explore how we connect and act as global and local citizens, and how we build care and community in an environment where smartphones, social media, AI, and constant connectivity shape how we live, work, and interact.

Ecological Belonging

This track explores the relationship between nature and human flourishing. It honors how ecological restoration, food sovereignty, and intentional environmental planning and preservation, can also restore people, while building a sense of purpose as we collectively connect with the world around us.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTSPROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

The summit is then organized around two major sub-themes, each anchoring two of the four core pillars. Each day begins with a plenary session that frames the discussions for the day and sets the context for the two pillars being explored.

Schedule At A Glance

The Hearth Summit Nairobi unfolds over two immersive days, each grounded in the summit’s core pillars. Day 1, Tending the Hearth, focuses on how we work, build, and create, exploring wellbeing in social, professional, and ecological contexts. Participants engage in thematic workshops on burnout, workplace wellness, money and wellbeing, and ecological wellbeing, alongside creative labs in floral design, dance, painting, and candle making. Day 2, Gathering at the Hearth, emphasizes relational and digital wellbeing, with sessions on restoration, reconciliation, coping with grief, and the role of technology in connection, activism, and community.

Together, the two days combine plenaries, workshops, and creative labs to offer reflection, learning, and embodied experiences for cultivating wellbeing in personal and collective life.

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Hearth Summit Nairobi 2024 Hearth Summit Highlights

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STORIES FROM THE SUMMITSTORIES FROM THE SUMMIT

Connecting the Dots for Systemic Change

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Express Your InterestExpress Your Interest in Attending Hearth Summit Nairobi

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Edwin Macharia

Co-Founder, Axum

Edwin is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Axum. He leads work with Heads of State, CEOs, Philanthropists, and Investors, supporting them on strategy, program design and capital deployment.

Prior to starting Axum, Edwin spent 16 years at Dalberg Advisors building the firm’s presence, teams and client work across the world. He left after being elected and serving as the Global Managing Partner of the firm. Before that, he was at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and McKinsey & Company.

Based in Nairobi, Edwin currently sits on a range of global boards that reflect his commitment to transforming lives in Africa and beyond: The Nature Conservancy, Mozilla Foundation, Nabo Capital, The End Fund, Prudential Kenya and The Wellbeing Project. He is a WEF Young Global Leader, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow and was listed by Forbes as one of the 10 Most Powerful Africans in 2015. He holds a degree in biology from Amherst College.

Our Wellbeing Is Tied to the Health of the Planet: Jane NjugunahOur Wellbeing Is Tied to the Health of the Planet: Jane Njugunah

Stories from the Hearth

Guest post by:

Jane Njugunah

Climate activist, Climate Mobility Community Action Network; youth member, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

Jane Njugunah, a youth activist with Climate Mobility Community Action Network and member of the official youth constituency to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), attended her first Hearth Summit in Nairobi in July 2024. As the Summit weaved together the topics of intergenerational wellbeing, Ecological Belonging, and personal resilience, Jane was deeply impacted by the two-day gathering.

Read Jane’s reflections from the event and how the Summit has inspired further action in her organization to promote climate resilience and youth wellbeing.

Attending the Hearth Summit Nairobi was more than just an event — it became a catalyst for change in my personal, organizational, and community wellbeing. As a youth advocate passionate about climate diplomacy and international relations, I’ve always felt the weight of responsibility to contribute to sustainable solutions. However, the Summit provided me with a renewed sense of purpose and clarity, particularly in aligning my personal goals with the greater wellbeing of my community and my work with CMCAN (Climate Mobility Community Action Network).

On a personal level, Hearth Summit Nairobi expanded my understanding of how climate change deeply affects wellbeing — not just in terms of environmental health, but also mental and social resilience. It underscored the importance of self-care as an advocate and emphasized the need for sustainable personal practices as we work toward larger goals. I left the Summit with a stronger commitment to both my own wellbeing and that of my fellow youth advocates.

For my organization, CMCAN, Hearth Summit Nairobi became a turning point. I brought back innovative ideas and strategies, particularly around youth-centered climate action, that we’ve since incorporated into our initiatives. We now focus not only on climate mobility but also on building community resilience and wellbeing, thanks to insights I gained from the Summit on holistic sustainability. The ripple effects are already being felt in my community: through workshops and dialogues inspired by the Summit, we are fostering a greater sense of collective responsibility for climate action. The conversations that started at Hearth Summit Nairobi are now shaping community-based solutions, empowering youth and marginalized voices to take leadership roles in local environmental actions.

The Hearth Summit Nairobi has become a foundational experience in my journey, reinforcing the belief that wellbeing — whether personal, organizational, or community — is tied to the health of our planet.

The global network I connected with continues to inspire me, and I look forward to contributing even more to this shared mission. I am looking forward to more Hearth Summits. Thank you for having me!

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Discover Ecological Belonging FurtherDiscover Ecological Belonging Further

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers exploring our relationship with the planet and nature.

Investing in Youth Wellbeing, Investing in Africa’s Future: Carolyn KandusiInvesting in Youth Wellbeing, Investing in Africa’s Future: Carolyn Kandusi

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Carolyn Kandusi

Regional Program Officer, Segal Family Foundation
🌍 Arusha, Tanzania

In this interview, meet Carolyn Kandusi, Regional Program Officer at the Segal Family Foundation, as she discusses the importance of empowering African leaders, addressing wellness and mental health, and fostering trust-based philanthropy to drive social change in Africa. As a member of our Funders + Wellbeing Group, Carolyn took the stage at Hearth Summit Nairobi to discuss new approaches to philanthropy to better enable the wellbeing of grantee changemakers.

The Segal Family Foundation is a social impact funder and advisor backing local African leaders with huge potential to transform society and help progressive donors do the same. The foundation invests in early-stage, local leaders with big visions, and its grantmaking team is 100% African, working with local experts to identify visionaries with the potential for great social impact—including those at the beginning of their journey.

Watch the interview below.

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Discover the Wellbeing Movement in PhilanthropyDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Philanthropy

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Ecological Wellbeing in Kenya: Where Are We Now and Where Should We Go?Ecological Wellbeing in Kenya: Where Are We Now and Where Should We Go?

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Session Recap From:

Hearth Summit Nairobi 2024
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

Hearth Summit Nairobi invited changemakers to reflect on their relationship with the natural world by being held in the landscape of the Karen neighborhood of Nairobi, known for its forests, flowers, and vegetation.

Quick Reads

Ecological Belonging and planetary wellbeing were key themes at Hearth Summit Nairobi, the first regional wellbeing summit for social change held in East Africa by Axum.
A diverse group of experts – Fridah Kiboori, Nyaguthii Chege, Constant Cap, and Kevin Juma – shared perspectives on contributors and inhibitors to ecological wellbeing in Kenya.
They recognized drastic environmental changes over the years in Kenya, including the loss of green spaces in cities like Nairobi, and the need for conservation and green urbanization.
Community-driven initiatives, justice, and equity were highlighted as necessary to successfully reclaim and transform urban spaces and achieve ecological wellbeing throughout the country.
Possible solutions explored include significant investments in accessibility to green spaces, successful biodiversity conservation, and community-led projects.

At Hearth Summit Nairobi, the first regional wellbeing summit for social change in East Africa, 300 changemakers gathered to explore a new culture of social change in Kenya and beyond. With Ecological Belonging as a core pillar of the Summit’s program, changemakers reflected on their relationships with the natural world, climate change in Kenya, and the rich cultural heritage present in the region. The Summit was organized by consulting firm Axum as part of their work to foster climate-positive, digitally innovative, inclusive growth, economic development, and social advancement across Africa, the Middle East, and the world.

A diverse group of experts were brought together to explore the intersection of urban development, nature conservation, and the future of green spaces. Fridah Kiboori, Associate Partner, Axum, moderated the conversation featuring:

Nyaguthii Chege, Director, Natural Justice East Africa Hub
Constant Cap, urban planner and researcher, and
Kevin Juma, Africa Climate Director, The Nature Conservancy

Each speaker shared personal experiences and professional insights, creating a rich dialogue that highlighted both challenges and opportunities in the realm of ecological wellbeing.

Catch a glimpse of the Summit here in this short video:

Scene Setting: Changes in the Kenyan Landscape

Each panellist shared personal stories of their relationship with nature, particularly reflecting on their memories from childhood and how they shape their present perspectives. From their stories, the discussion was rooted in real-world examples and human-centered views on the complexities of conservation, urbanization, and community action.

Kevin Juma shared his journey from a nature-loving boy in Western Kenya to a leading forestry specialist. He recounted his childhood experiences of gathering wild fruits and playing outdoors, which later inspired him to study forestry. Kevin highlighted the drastic changes he observed over the years, from shrinking rivers to disappearing fruit trees, underscoring the urgent need for conservation. His career spanning over two decades has been dedicated to understanding and preserving the intricate connections between natural environments and human wellbeing.

Constant Cap brought a contrasting viewpoint as someone who grew up in an urban setting. He vividly described how Nairobi has evolved from the 80s and 90s, where open spaces and public parks were more accessible. Over time, these green spaces have been encroached upon, impacting the city’s ecological balance. Constant mentioned the intentional grabbing of public land and the subsequent deterioration of communal spaces. Despite these challenges, he highlighted positive community actions and initiatives aimed at reclaiming and preserving urban green spaces.

Nyaguthii Chege tied the conversation to her childhood memories and larger societal impacts. She discussed the systematic theft of public land and how it has reshaped Nairobi’s urban landscape. Nyaguthii emphasized the importance of justice and equity in ensuring ecological wellbeing, pointing out how past struggles to protect spaces like Uhuru Park are still relevant today. She touched upon the emotional and psychological benefits of green spaces and the necessity of fighting to protect and reclaim these areas for future generations.

Conservation Matters

Watch episodes of NTV’s Wild Talks with Smirthi Vidyarthi to discover five captivating stories of The Nature Conservancy’s conversation work in Kenya.

Looking Forward: Actionable Solutions for Ecological Wellbeing

As Fridah guided the panel towards discussing actionable solutions and developments, the panellists gave examples of projects and initiatives that are driving positive impacts for ecological wellbeing. Kevin talked about the necessity of balancing conservation with economic activities. He advocated for better enforcement of environmental laws and the inclusion of indigenous communities in conservation efforts. Constant highlighted grassroots initiatives like the Dandora Transformation League and Nairobi Placemaking Movement, which are successfully reclaiming urban spaces. Nyaguthii pointed out community-driven efforts like the Ghetto Farmers of Mathare, which transform trash-filled areas into green spaces and cultivate local produce. These initiatives showcase the power of community action in restoring and maintaining ecological health.

Watch to learn more about the Ghetto Farmers of Mathare, one of the solutions highlighted by the panel.

Envisioning the Future: Headlines of Hope

The panelists concluded by sharing hopeful headlines they would like to see in the future. Constant envisioned a significant investment in walking and cycling infrastructure in African cities, aligning with a broader push for sustainable mobility and making green spaces more accessible. Kevin’s ideal headline focused on a dramatic increase in the population of black rhinos, indicating successful conservation efforts and biodiversity protection. Nyaguthii’s emphasized the need for social justice as a foundation for ecological wellbeing, envisaging a society where fairness and equity drive environmental actions.

Fridah wrapped up the session by underscoring the interconnectedness of individual actions, community efforts, and systemic changes in achieving ecological wellbeing. The conversation highlighted the dual need for protecting natural spaces and ensuring equitable access to these areas for all.

Go further and learn about Axum’s work to pioneer sustainable forestry management and drive biodiversity conversation in East Africa.

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How Leaders Can Cultivate Wellbeing in the Workplace How Leaders Can Cultivate Wellbeing in the Workplace

Stories from the Hearth

Hearth Summit Nairobi Session Featuring:

Caren Wakoki

Founder and Executive Director, Emerging Leaders Foundation
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

In Nairobi, Caren Wakoli, founder and executive director of the Emerging Leaders Foundation, provided insights on how wellbeing inspires welldoing in the workplace. Listen in for both a theoretical explanation of how organizational wellbeing works, plus real-life examples of how ELF brings wellbeing into the workplace. Watch highlights from the session (in English).

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The State of Youth Wellbeing in Kenya The State of Youth Wellbeing in Kenya

Stories from the Hearth

Hearth Summit Nairobi Session Featuring:

Mike Muchiri

Content Creator
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

Rehema Njoroge

SmArtle Me Initiative
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

Eugene Okanda

Founder, Unlock Young Leaders Summit
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

In Nairobi, content creator Mike Muchiri facilitated a dialogue among young Kenyan changemakers on the state of youth wellbeing in the country admist a youth-led social change movement. Rehema Njoroge, who runs SmArtle Me Initiative, and Eugene Okanda, founder of the Unlock Young Leaders Summit, both joined the conversation to provide their insights on youth wellbeing and civic engagement in Kenya. Watch highlights from the session (in English).

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Dive Into Stories From Around the World

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A Deep Dive Into Hearth Summit Nairobi 2024A Deep Dive Into Hearth Summit Nairobi 2024

Stories from the Hearth

Reflections From:

The Axum Team

Organizers of Hearth Summit Nairobi 2024
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

Quick Reads

Axum hosted the first regional Hearth Summit in East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2024.
The Summit’s four main pillars — restorative justice, intergenerational wellbeing, ecological belonging, and faith and wellbeing — guided insightful discussions on integral aspects of societal wellbeing.
The Summit embraced an embodied and uniquely Kenyan approach to wellbeing with diverse arts experiences, wellbeing practices, and celebrations of Kenyan culture throughout the event.
The main takeaways from the Summit centered around the need for driving systemic change using homegrown solutions: for Africa, by Africa!

The Axum and The Wellbeing Project teams gather after a successful first Hearth Summit in Nairobi.

In July, we partnered with The Wellbeing Project to host Hearth Summit Nairobi, the first regional Hearth Summit in East Africa.

The two-day Summit hosted over 300 changemakers from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and fields to explore the intersection of wellbeing and social change. The Summit was thoughtfully crafted to ignite engaging discussions and interactive experiences centered on pillars crucial to our societal wellbeing: restorative justice, intergenerational trauma, ecological belonging, and faith and wellbeing. Within these pillars, participants explored themes that included movements of change and community organizing, wellbeing in the workplace, wellbeing and parenting, sports and wellbeing, among others.

Beyond the breakout sessions, the Summit also offered immersive and interactive art experiences designed to allow participants to explore the concept of wellbeing. These experiences included dance, flower arrangements, and biokinesthetics. Additionally, participants engaged with immersive art such as spoken word and stage readings, musical performances, dances, paintings, tapestries, and a live caricature setup.

For its look and feel, the Summit embraced an Afrocentric aesthetic to cultivate a strong local community atmosphere within our environment. This included using furniture adorned with traditional Kenyan cloth prints and vibrant, patterned banner graphics. The team aimed to create a Summit experience that felt as anti-conference as possible. We wanted our guests to step outside the typical hotel conference room setting, immerse themselves in nature, and participate in physical activities.

Catch a glimpse of the Summit here in this short video:

The four panel sessions touched on the following The four panel sessions touched on the following

Restorative Justice

This panel was co-chaired by Edwin Macharia, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Axum, and Chief Justice Martha Koome, a prominent legal authority with over 30 years of experience in criminal, land, and welfare issues in Kenya. The panel explored justice as a shared responsibility and lived experience, requiring empowered individuals, accessible courts, and support for the marginalized. Critical issues discussed included addressing the overrepresentation of people with disabilities in prisons, reducing stigma, and decolonizing the justice system to promote restorative justice.

Her Ladyship Chief Justice Martha Koome speaks at Hearth Summit Nairobi with Waizeh Solonka, AJAR Trust, and Felicia Mburu, Article 48.

Ecological Belonging

The panel was chaired by Wanjira Mathai, MD, Africa & Global Partnerships at the World Resource Institute (in absentia), who unfortunately could not attend the summit. Our very own Fridah Kiboori moderated it, and it explored the deep connection that individuals and communities have with their natural and built environments. The session explored the profound interdependence between humans and nature, recognizing that our wellness and identity are deeply rooted in the health of our ecosystems and spaces.

Faith and Wellbeing

This panel was moderated by Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Archdiocese of Nyeri, one of the co-chairs. The session explored faith as a lifelong journey of questioning our formal or informal beliefs and recognizing that our collective consciousness and actions unite us. Within formal religion, the panel discussed the common challenge of reconciling it with the perception of religion as oppressive.

Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Archdiocese of Nyeri speaks at Hearth Summit Nairobi.

Intergenerational Wellbeing

Chaired and moderated by Edwin Macharia, this panel explored how individuals, families, and communities are interconnected and shape our collective ecosystem. The session explored how traditional methods can address community trauma and bridge generational gaps by preserving cultural knowledge and fostering overall wellbeing.

Sam Mugacha, Imaginable Futures, speaks on the intergerational wellbeing panel with Julie Gichuru, Mastercard Foundation, and peace practitioner Tecla Namachanja.

These were our key takeaways based on overarching themes from the Summit:

The significance of decolonizing our political, religious, and social structures to dismantle narratives of inequality and create systems that support collective wellbeing.

The power of intentionally and collectively identifying traumas and unlearning unhealthy habits, especially from an intergenerational perspective.

The need to remove economic, social, and infrastructural barriers to wellbeing initiatives and ensure accessible and inclusive resources for all.

For Africa by Africa. Homegrown solutions work, and we have what it takes to solve Africa’s challenges.

We left the Summit feeling reinvigorated by the insightful conversations and the deep spirit of community. We’re excited to continue the dialogue around the wellbeing movement in Kenya and look forward to championing a pan-African effort to bring the movement to the rest of the continent!

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Empowering Kenyans Through Justice: Chief Justice Martha Koome on Wellbeing in Kenya Empowering Kenyans Through Justice: Chief Justice Martha Koome on Wellbeing in Kenya

Stories from the Hearth

Reflections from:

Her Ladyship Chief Justice Martha Koome

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

Her Ladyship Martha K. Koome assumed office as Chief Justice and the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya on May 21, 2021.

Prior to her appointment as the 15^th Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya, she was a Senior Judge of the Court of Appeal. During her stint as an Appellate Judge, she headed the Criminal Division of the Court and in addition, chaired Committees which developed the Court of Appeal Practice Directions in Civil and Criminal Appeals as well as the Registry Manual that standardized the registry experience at the Court.

At Hearth Summit Nairobi, the Chief Justice was chair of the pillar on restorative justice, providing deep insights on the role of formal and informal justice in societal wellbeing. She also spoke about the need to support the wellbeing of actors in the judicial system, like judges.

Read her reflections below, originally published on her blog, and watch her exclusive interview with The Star Kenya.

“I have the immense honour to co-host the Hearth Summit Nairobi, 2024 alongside Archbishop Anthony Muheria, Archbishop of Nyeri, Kenya, Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director, Africa and Global Partnerships, World Resources Institute and Edwin Macharia, Partner, Axum Kenya; The Wellbeing Project’s Advisory Board.

The Hearth Summit, hosted by local communities of changemakers, advances a hopeful vision of individual, collective and ecological wellbeing for all – catalyzing a culture of wellbeing for changemakers and in changemaking everywhere.

At this critical moment in our country and planet, wellbeing in all aspects remains core to our survival. At the Judiciary, we are focused on nurturing restorative justice which will heal the justice system by reshaping it through the lens of our innate, empowering age-old reconciliatory systems.

We are deliberately deploying green justice to ease remand and prison congestion and encouraging parliament to review our penal laws in alignment with the Constitution and post-independence state.

By investing in alternative justice systems, we acknowledge that justice is not only found in the formal court system but in homes, communities, places of worship and markets hence the need to have multiple ways of resolving disputes.

We will continue to nurture cohesion through justice and to find uplifting homegrown ways to ensure that the justice system holds safe and sacred the fabric of our society. As we protect the wellbeing of our nation, we also seek your support to nurture and protect the wellbeing of our exceptional judges, judicial officers and staff.

It is not the structure of the systems we build that guard our humanity, it is the humanness of those systems that make our lives dignified and worthy.”