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CCDB, COADY TEAMING up for CLIMATE COURSES
Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable nations to the effects of climate change. The Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) has been tirelessly working on adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the ever-changing challenges of climate change. These challenges make it even more difficult for women to be financially and socially independent.
As one of the partners with ENGAGE! Women’s Empowerment and Active Citizenship, the connections between empowering women and building climate-resilient farming solutions are evident. On a trip to Bangladesh in 2022, program teaching staff Marian Turniawan met partners from CCDB and explored the possibility of creating a joint climate course, drawing on each organization’s strengths. Through Engage, we are working alongside each partner to develop co-hosted and co-designed courses and training opportunities that draw out and complement our various expertise.
While a level of collaboration occurs in all off-campus courses, Marian noted the uniqueness of this series of courses as the curriculum was completely co-designed by both Coady and CCDB staff. Marian worked with Md. Foezullah Talukder, Mousumi Halder, and Abdul Alim Shaikh from CCDB to co-design the courses, with Foez, Mousumi, and Palash Sarker co-facilitating alongside Marian. The series produced two courses at Coady and one at CCDB, with participants from multiple countries attending. The courses focused on building resilient communities in the face of climate change.
The Bangladesh iteration, Building Community Resilience in a Changing Climate, was specifically designed for Engage partners to collaborate and learn how to build empowering communities while dealing with the effects of climate change.
Engage partners had the opportunity to learn within the CCDB Climate Centre, a knowledge hub for climate learning that models Bangladesh’s five main ecosystems.
The most recent course at Coady, Community-led Solutions for Climate Change, focused on asset-based community development combined with the local adaptation plan of action process.
Some participants noted that it was meaningful to have a South Asian expert co-facilitating, as it is impactful to have someone from a non-North American region explain adaptation and mitigation in a relevant context.
The focus on community in climate change work and diversity in perspectives inspired many, including Anna Sangai from Tanzania.
“The successes achieved during the process have strengthened my belief in the importance of inclusive, participatory approaches in addressing climate change and building resilience,” Anna says.
This past year, CCDB celebrated their 50th anniversary as an organization; CCDB’s work of empowering women and working to mitigate the effects of climate change continues to inspire. Coady Institute has had the privilege to partner with CCDB since 1972 and continues to build our connection now into the future. Congratulations to CCDB for all the milestones they have achieved and the inspirational work they do every day.
