ACCESS4ALL hosts progress sharing and platform launch at Six Seasons

Adapting Climate Change Education Skills and Sustainability for Advancing Locally-Led Solutions hosted a Progress Sharing and Platform Introduction event at the Six Seasons Hotel, Gulshan-2, Dhaka, on 8^th January 2025.

The aim was to showcase the project's progress and ongoing work on its online platform and convene stakeholders to discuss the importance of focusing on capacity building for Bangladeshi higher education institutes and greater North-South collaborations to transform the curricula for climate change education with partners working in the space of climate change education.

Funded under the Erasmus+ CBHE (Capacity Building for Higher Education) grants, ACCESS4ALL (Adapting Climate Change Education, Skills, and Sustainability for Advancing Locally-Led Solutions) focuses on co-creating short course curricula and collating resources led by Global South institutions to empower communities, professionals, and young learners with the skills needed to drive locally relevant solutions.

A consortium of three higher educational institutes in Bangladesh—BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University; Independent University, Bangladesh; and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh—is advancing the project, as are two European partners, Maastricht University and Heidelberg University.

The event opened with video remarks from Dr Laura Reichenbach, Dean of BRAC JPGSPH and Director of the Centre of Excellence for Science of Implementation & Scale-Up (CoE-SISU). "The BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health is incredibly proud to play a key role in addressing the pressing challenges of climate change and in shaping the future of education and skills development in Bangladesh and beyond," said Dr Laura Reichenbach, Dean of BRAC JPGSPH, in her opening speech.

It was followed by a welcome speech from Dr Sabina F. Rashid, Professor Mushtaque Chowdhury, Chair in Health and Poverty, Project Director, ACCESS4ALL, BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University—the project's coordinating institute.

"Through this partnership, we bring in different strengths. To address climate change, we need sustained collaboration with the climate-affected communities. There is much to learn from these communities, and I am glad we have EU support, which has been pivotal in continuing this collaborative work with the institutions," said Dr Sabina F. Rashid.

Dr. Bernd Spanier, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh, was the event's Chief Guest. He shared, "This partnership brings together two critical topics: climate change and education. It creates opportunities for students and professors to handle the challenges of climate change. The collaboration between Bangladeshi institutions and European partners is a prime example of how an exchange between students and faculties creates lasting relationships."

Ishrat Jahan, Research Fellow at the BRAC JPGSPH, BRAC University and Coordinator for ACCESS4ALL project, presented the project's objective, key achievements, and process documentation of creating the collaborative curricula. This was followed by a panel discussion on "Amplifying the Global South in Climate Change Education in Higher Education Institutes," chaired by Professor Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; Dr. Samiya A Selim, Professor and Director, Center for Sustainable Development of  University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; Ms. Roufa Khanum, Assistant Director, Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research of BRAC University; Devjani Chowdhury, Research Associate from BRAC JPGSPH, and moderated by Dr K Ayaz Rabbani, Associate Professor, Department of Environment Science and Management, School of Environment োনু Life Sciences of Independent Univesity, Bangladesh. The discussion was based on the need for South-led curricula development, barriers faced during the process, lessons learned, and why this course is essential.

Stakeholders from BRAC, BRAC University, ULAB, IUB, CARE Bangladesh, BUET, USAID, YPSA, Sajida Foundation, iFARMER, and Friendship attended the event. The upcoming work seeks to foster collaborations and knowledge sharing on rethinking pedagogical approaches and approaches to community acknowledgement co-creation in the climate change and climate change education space.

The event concluded with closing remarks from the Vice Chancellor of Independent University Bangladesh, Professor Mohammad Tamim, reflecting on the vision for the next decade to address climate change, "We need to adapt to the problem quickly. Faculties must understand that what they teach should be relevant to the context. Climate education from the bottom up is important as we don't know many things that have a day-to-day effect on the life of those living in climate-affected areas, and I hope this course will include these factors."

The project looks forward to engaging, collaborating, and rethinking climate change education for a greener tomorrow.