On 14 November 2025 at the Swiss Ambassador’s residence in Antananarivo, the Embassy of Switzerland and the Wyss Academy for Nature co-hosted ‘Voices for the Forest.’ Youth changemakers, researchers, policymakers, civil society and international organizations, private sector partners, and artists met in a cross-sector meeting ground to examine how forests sustain biodiversity, livelihoods, and culture—and how evidence, creativity, and governance can translate dialogue into practical steps in Madagascar’s forest landscapes. 

Inside that setting, the dialogue brought together youth leaders from the Changemakers program, researchers from ESSA-Forêts at the University of Antananarivo, and representatives of government and civil society. The panel featured HE Ambassador Stefano Toscano; Mr. Rinah Razafindrabe, Director General for Environmental Governance at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development; Dr Sarobidy Rakotonarivo, researcher and environmental socio-economist; and Mrs Ambinintsoa Ratsitoarison, founder and CEO of Ecococo.  

The dialogue also included the participation of Rafanomezantsoa Michaël Manesimana, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, underscoring the conversation’s relevance for national priorities. Moderation by Dr. Ntsiva Andriatsitohaina (Wyss Academy for Nature) and Ms. Rebecca Andrianarisandy (Youth First) guided the exchange from rapid pitches to the panel, linking field experience, research, and policy questions. 

Across the venue, initiatives examples from Changemakers program fellows to participants carried numbers. Eco-Kid reported reaching 350 children and 21 educators in a year, a small but steady pipeline of forest knowledge that begins in classrooms and flows into households. "Ivo-toerana Mirohy” community digital centers logged more than 6,000 visits since early 2025, a sign that access to practical information and local services, can shape day-to-day decisions. An immersive tourism effort trained 60 community members and mapped three circuits linking nature, culture, and traditional know-how, showing how livelihoods can depend on healthy ecosystems and, in turn, reinforce care for them. Ecococo set the energy question on the table, producing charcoal from 100 % coconut shells in a context where most households rely on charcoal and roughly 25 trees are felled for each ton of wood-charcoal produced. Collectively, the figures served not only as visual enhancements for presentations but also highlighted areas where targeted policy and strategic financial investment could drive progress, as well as identifying priorities for future monitoring efforts. 

Policy and governance framed the exchange. Panelists pointed to decentralization and accountability, noting that environmental spending remains a small share of the national budget. Research contributions emphasized working with local students, building methods responsive to context, and sharing results in forms communities and authorities can use. As Dr. Sarobidy Rakotonarivo put it, “Research begins with a question. Dare to ask a question.” The Ambassador added a Swiss foreign policy perspective on forests and youth engagement, placing the discussion within broader international cooperation. Youth voices were direct: the logistics of running a community tree nursery—seed sourcing, watering, and moving seedlings to planting sites—organizing volunteers, the time and cost of travel outside Antananarivo, and the difficulty of finding testing facilities for new products. These details grounded policy talk in lived experience and pointed to the enabling conditions—permits, standards, small grants, and data—which all make local initiatives more durable. 

Between the pitches and the panel, the room paused for an art–science interlude.  As part of the “On Forests” residency, the Malagasy electronic artist Antsa Arimalala (Encoder Experiment) presented soundscapes and images, that invited participants to sense the forest differently. The piece opened a conversation about how conservation is perceived across the Global North and South, and how memory and silence can sit alongside datasets in public debate. One line captured the role of creative practice in a dialogue like this: “Art captures what numbers cannot say.” Set inside an Embassy, the piece sets sensory memory next to the language of plans and budgets, softening the distance between living places and policy. 

Holding the dialogue at the Swiss Embassy connected field experience with the public authorities and international cooperation channels that shape policy and funding. Opening the residence in Ambohibao Antehiroka turned a diplomatic venue into a meeting ground where youth and officials could speak directly. It also marked the first collaboration between the Wyss Academy and the Embassy in Madagascar and created space for follow-up, including an announced visit to the Wyss Academy Solutionscape, practical signals that the exchange will continue. 

Over the course of the event, the program followed a deliberate arc: one-minute pitches, a gallery-style walk, and a focused panel. Through this, a multifaceted program stayed centered on specific questions: what to test next, who needs to be involved, and where policy may unblock progress. The tone remained informal but attentive. People listened closely, and conversation moved easily between methods, field experience, and what it will take to make change endure. 

Our long-term approach centers on co-creating grounded solutions, strengthening governance and livelihoods, and linking regions through trans-local learning. This dialogue brought those strands together in one room. Youth projects offered near-term, place-based evidence; researchers contributed methods and context; public authorities situated findings within policy and budgets; and art widened the language we use to talk about forests. Taken together, this is the path our work pursues—protecting biodiversity while supporting livelihoods and informing decisions with both data and lived experience. 

We thank the Embassy of Switzerland for their hospitality, as well as HE Ambassador Stefano Toscano and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development for their participation. A heartfelt thanks you to the the youth, researchers, artists, and partners as well, whose presence brought depth and a determination to continually explore effective solutions.