Resilient High-Schoolers

 Capacity Building on Climate Change Adaptation through Debating and Education Initiatives in the District of Munshiganj.

The project aims to enable young high-school students in Munshiganj district to tackle the impending impacts of climate change through knowledge and capacity building. Coming from the district of Munshiganj and spending a significant amount of our time there, we have come to recognize that although the char areas of districts such as Munshiganj are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the issues of such areas often go unnoticed and undiscussed compared to the effects happening in coastal or haor regions. In order to mitigate and adapt to such crisis situations, we need engagement and activism from young students at the local and grassroots levels in these areas. 

The theme of the project is to facilitate this process through debate competitions, which will spark knowledge-sharing and awareness-building. The crux of the program involves teaching school-going children in the area about the devastating effects of climate change, introducing them to concepts of climate adaptation, climate activism, climate justice, etc., and encouraging them to actively participate in the fight against climate catastrophe. We are currently working in two schools-  Bajrajogini J.K. High School and Betka Union High School. We are working closely with the school teachers to disseminate knowledge and implement this project overall. To facilitate engagement as well as assess how much the students have actually learned from the lessons, we are organizing climate-themed debate tournaments in collaboration with the local authorities, guardians, and teachers. 

The project is funded by International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD).