Roger Hammond was a British environmentalist and sustainability campaigner who believed passionately in the importance of helping communities to meet the challenges of environmental and development issues by talking and working with them. He felt that understanding their desires and challenges would lead to better outcomes than just telling them.

He co-founded Living Earth, an NGO that pursues these aspirations, and worked across the world to convince oil and mining companies that dialogue and partnership with communities impacted by their operations made moral and business sense.

Roger’s death in 2012 sparked a campaign to establish a fund to help carry on the work he was so passionate about - bringing people together in innovative ways to tackle issues of poverty and environmental degradation through inter-cultural exchange programmes and cross-sector partnerships.

Together with his wife, Sonia, a professional musician, Roger used music as a catalyst to bring communities together, especially in Africa, so that they could share their experiences and learn from each other.

Music is a vital tool for bringing people together and helping them explore and express the values that underpin collective choice and behaviour.

Different skills and perspectives are needed to understand the challenge and identify solutions. Science has a role to play but cultural transformation is more than just the application of technical knowledge and critical thinking. Choosing a new direction is an emotional as well as practical response to the world we live in.

At this stage, the trustees are in the process of creating and registering the Trust, gathering financial and in-kind support, and expanding the number and diversity of the trustees. The focus of the activity will be on Africa, a continent that Roger loved, and where he did much good work, the impact of which is still being felt.”