Henri Christin Isamboyo LONGENDJA, Congolese, is a communicator, teacher and senior education inspector specializing in governance, project implementation and management, as well as a human rights defender with extensive experience in NGO management and project impact assessment, indicator analysis and results-based evaluation working with national, regional and international actors.
He is an African facilitator of participatory budgeting and an environmental activist. He lobbied successfully Congolese parliamentarians for the insertion of Article 8 of Law n°11/009 of 09 July 2011 on fundamental principles relating to the protection of the environment and Article 5 of Law n°14/003 of 11 February 2014 on the conservation of nature, demonstrating his capacity to influence public policies at the highest level.
Henri holds a degree in Philosophy, a certificate in Public Policy and a Master's degree in Human Rights and Gender. He is familiar with the national and international context of sustainable development and human rights. Since 2003, he has been Executive Director of the Committee on Human Rights and Development (CODHOD). He is a focal point of the Natural Resources Network and the Congolese Civil Society REDD+ Group Network for the province of Kinshasa. CODHOD has also accumulated experience as a member of the National Steering Committee of GEF projects in DRC in the past. CODHOD was at the root of the creation of the Coalition Against Illegal Logging, now an autonomous platform supported by WWF and UNDP.
CODHOD has worked with international partners active in the DRC such as the embassies of the United States, France, Sweden, Belgium and Canada, as well as with UNDP, UNODH, UNESCO, UNICEF, CORDAID, WWF and the World Bank, Proforest, OSISA, SNV, IUCN, C-CHANGE, Internews, ODAC and the United Kingdom’s DFID, in addition to national institutions such as the National Assembly, the Senate and the DRC government, the Congolese Water Distribution Board (REGIDESO), and municipalities. Within the framework of the Water Coalition (WASH Consortium), of which it is a member, it also collaborates with the Hydrological and Hydrogeological Studies Unit (“Cellule des Études Hydrologiques et Hydrogéologiques” - CNAEHA).
Since 2011, Henri is the Executive Secretary of COLLECTIF 24, a national platform of Congolese civil society working for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms such as access to information, freedom of expression and freedom of the press. As such, it lobbied the National Assembly for the adoption of the Access to Information Act, which was passed by the Senate in 2015.
As the Executive Director of CODHOD and COLLECTIF 24, Henri has substantial experience in the following areas: human resources / personnel management; sustainable development, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects; development of concept notes; financial management and fundraising; advocacy and lobbying techniques; citizen oversight and monitoring of public policies; organisation and facilitation of events, as well as a deep understanding of the Congolese socio-cultural, economic and political context.
As a teacher, communicator, workshop technical expert and community worker, Henri has gained experience in designing workshop modules adapted to the profile and needs of beneficiaries, including adults, youth and vulnerable children (i.e. street children). He has more than 16 years of experience in mobilising material means for communities, community structuring, training of local actors, support to the Decentralised Territorial Entities (ETDs) of the DRC and the management of local public finances, as well as the supervision of vulnerable children. He is a major player in Congolese civil society
