Mali Kambandu graduated from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences and Communication. This degree enabled her to combine disciplines well in areas that she had a keen interest and strength. Since graduating from Juniata, she has been fortunate to continue with the Communications track of the degree program in various positions with much satisfaction, and have been able to develop her repertoire of experience in media and communications to include development communications.

Mali has a particular strength in youth and children’s issues and has worked in a number of interventions to elevate their challenges on the development agenda, through policy change and advocacy. With positions held at Panos Southern Africa and Youth Media, Mali implemented a wide range of programmes for youth and child participation in development, while enabling young people to actively use communication techniques and methods to drive their development agenda.

Mali is an experienced freelance writer and has contributed to several periodicals, publications and online platforms in Zambia and other countries. Most notably, she contributed to the Reuters AlertNet news service on climate change. Working within the parameters of the AlertNet requirements for producing local stories that analyse lesser-known or interesting issues within the environment, she produced two stories as part of this series. The series was published online as part of the Reuters AlertNet news service in 2010.

Mali has developed radio, television, short film and print materials for many organizations and government agencies across themes such as smallholder farming schemes, sexual reproductive health in children and youth, governance and accountability and poverty reduction. One particularly successful intervention was done for Care International Zambia’s A Safer Zambia GBV campaign where Mali developed Information, Education and Communication (IEC) and Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) materials.