John Baimba Sesay

Accomplished communications professional skilled in media relations, digital engagement, and content production. Manages high-level media engagements and produces compelling multimedia content that highlights climate resilience and urban development. Strengthens partnerships with local and global media to amplify advocacy efforts.

• Writing for newspapers
• Watching global news
• Swimming

• Led strategic communications for Africa's first Urban Heat Summit, convened by the Freetown City Council and Climate Resilience for All (CRA), positioning Freetown as a leading African city on extreme heat resilience and facilitating knowledge exchange among African city leaders, technical experts, donors, and global climate partners.
• Spearheaded communications for the implementation and launch of Freetown's Heat Action Plan, helping elevate urban heat as a critical climate, public health, and economic issue while strengthening the city's global profile in climate adaptation and resilience.
• Advanced global climate advocacy through C40 Cities by supporting high-level engagements, speeches, media outreach, and thought leadership initiatives that amplified calls for equitable climate finance, climate justice, and greater investment in cities across the Global South.
• Led communications for major city-level climate initiatives, including air quality monitoring, urban heat resilience, sustainable waste management, clean cooking solutions, and nature-based interventions, translating complex technical programmes into compelling narratives for public, media, and policy audiences.
• Developed and delivered integrated communications campaigns supporting climate action, public health, gender equality, and sustainable urban development, reaching audiences across Africa and strengthening engagement with policymakers, donors, development partners, and local communities.
• Managed strategic communications for high-profile international engagements involving city mayors, United Nations agencies, bilateral donors, development finance institutions, research organizations, and global networks, ensuring consistent messaging and enhanced stakeholder visibility.
• Elevated the international profile of the Mayor of Freetown as Co-Chair of C40 Cities through strategic media engagement, executive communications, speechwriting, digital storytelling, and global advocacy campaigns across international platforms.
• Directed communications for FreetownTheTreetown initiative, one of Africa's leading urban reforestation programmes, helping showcase nature-based solutions that restore ecosystems, create green jobs, strengthen climate resilience, and support community livelihoods.
• Designed and coordinated the #DortiMusGo public and media awareness campaign to support implementation of Freetown's new Waste Management Byelaws, combining mass media, community engagement, digital communications, and behaviour change approaches to improve environmental compliance and public participation.
• Produced high-impact multimedia content, feature stories, executive speeches, op-eds, policy briefs, and digital campaigns that strengthened institutional visibility, influenced public discourse, and amplified development and climate priorities at national, regional, and global levels.
• Provided strategic communications support to donor missions, high-level government engagements, and international partnerships, contributing to stronger stakeholder relationships, enhanced programme visibility, and resource mobilization efforts across multiple sectors.