When Honeyguide had the vision of setting up a platform for established East African conservation leaders to share their stories with local youth, she joined the organising team for the inaugural Youth4Nature (Y4N) Conference in Arusha, which was held in December 2022. At the time, she saw it simply as a chance to gain corporate event management experience.
What she did not realise then was that the conference would become a major stepping stone in her conservation career.
The vision for the Youth4Nature conference was originally sparked during the 2022 IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) in Kigali, Rwanda. Deeply inspired by the incredible young conservation leaders from Tanzania who spoke on this global stage.
These young conservationists impressed the audience with their dedication, expertise, and impactful work. Recognising that young Tanzanians back home should have the opportunity to hear from such conservation leaders, the plan to organize the Youth4Nature conference was born.
Learning through responsibility
As part of the organising team, Koku supported the overall management of the conference, content development, and speaker coordination. Her responsibilities included communicating with over 50 conservation leaders, managing session schedules, and ensuring the event ran smoothly. At first, the task felt overwhelming. Coordinating so many moving pieces and people required a high level of organisational skills, patience, quick decision-making, and forward-thinking, qualities she had yet to practice on such a large scale.
"I remember feeling nervous," Koku recalls. "I was hoping my internship would be all about conservation business plans, but here we were, called into setting up a whole conference. I appreciate the incredible support from both my supervisor and my amazing colleagues on the organising team back then. I had to choose between fear or faith, both asking to believe on something you can’t see, so faith it was."
Through the pressure and excitement of preparing a conference, Koku began to grow into the role. The endless phone calls, planning meetings, and emails became more than just tasks; they became learning and unlearning experiences that built her leadership skills.
Most importantly, the conference introduced Koku to a community of youth and professionals who shared her passion for protecting nature. As it was her first time working in the Northern Tanzania conservation space, Youth4Nature proved to be a key gateway into the wider conservation network.
During the conference, she interacted with conservation experts, researchers, and practitioners from various organisations, leaving her with a lasting impression.
"At times when emails weren't getting things moving, I was giving speakers cold calls," Koku notes. "The calls made it easy to break through the clutter of full inboxes to get people’s attention, but
it also allowed me to connect deeper with people, which I believe was more impactful than written communication."
Those conversations often went beyond conference logistics, shifting into shared stories of career journeys, challenges, and successes. These interactions helped Koku build professional relationships, a currency in today's world; and the networks she established soon proved invaluable to her career path.
What started as networking quickly turned into tangible opportunity. A few months after the conference, while searching for work opportunities, one of the professional relationships she built through Youth4Nature offered her a consultancy role as a Conservation Research officer. This marked another important turning point in her career.
For Koku, the work opportunity represented more than just employment. It was proof that spaces like Youth4Nature could create real and lasting impact for youth well beyond the event itself. The relationships, coaching, and exposure gained during the conference opened doors that might otherwise have been complex to unlock.
As her career progressed, Koku remained connected to the Youth4Nature movement. When preparations for the second Youth4Nature Conference began in 2024, she was involved with the organising team, but this time, her perspective had shifted.
She stepped into the role with confidence, bringing understanding of both event coordination and conservation work. Having already walked this path, she was able to mentor and support the other young leaders who were coordinating the conference for the first time.
This year, the third edition of the Youth4Nature Conference approaches, Koku’s prayed a vital role to support the organising team for the conference. She believes it is important to play a part in creating opportunities for the next young generation to benefit from the conference, as it was for her.
Today, she works as an Analyst and Operations Coordinator at Sustain East Africa - a role that evolved from her initial consultancy position - while continuing to support the 2026 Youth4Nature organising team.
Her journey highlights the power of investing in youth spaces that go beyond mere inspiration. Youth4Nature has evolved into a fully realised platform where young people build networks, access mentorship, develop practical skills, and connect with real career opportunities in the environmental sector. As the movement continues to grow, stories like Koku's demonstrate why creating spaces for young conservation leaders matters. When youth are supported and connected, they help lead the future of conservation.
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