The climate crisis has no borders, yet some geographies in the world, such as Bangladesh, are indeed being more affected than others, even though those same geographies are not really the ones that are most negatively exacerbating the climate crisis in the first place.
The question does arise that as citizens of Bangladesh, how much should our site of action be local and how much should it be beyond the borders of Bangladesh, that is global, or both?
In which case, how much can our educators and learners afford to be passive bystanders as the climate crisis worsens and if we were to learn and develop the skills to address this climate crisis, should we develop the skills to act locally, as well as globally? What does that mean when it comes to what is to be taught in classrooms and in learning spaces beyond classrooms?
To make sense of these questions and to navigate the intersection between education and climate change, educators and environmental activists convened at a #NextGenEdu community gathering last month, December 2023, post COP 28. The following are a series of reflections to consider when thinking about education and its role in addressing climate change:
Curiosity for nature and climate change can be nurtured from an early age
It is essential for children to develop a strong relationship with nature and environment from an early age. It is reassuring to know that one of the ten key learning areas in the new National Curriculum transformation is Climate and Environment. The competency statement for this learning area is two-fold: (1) to behave responsibly towards nature and wildlife in the light of the concepts of environmental elements, environmental pollution and its remedies and environmental conservation (2) to be able to contribute to build a safer, habitable world through acquiring knowledge about the concepts of climate, causes of climate change and disasters, their impact on individuals, environment and social economy and adaptive to evolving circumstances by adhering to various strategies.
The BRAC Institute of Education Development (BIED) has collaborated with 400 pre-primary government schools in Bangladesh to develop Green Play Labs for children aged four to five, who create stories about nature through play. Trained teachers play a vital role in instilling such curiosity and they allow parents to get involved in these exercises, allowing indigenous knowledge to come alive in these stories. Gradual behaviour change is key; therefore, it is vital to nurture curiosity as early as possible while engaging both parents and teachers. However, what pedagogy should be in place to nurture such curiosity? Are lectures and verbal discussions enough?
Experiential learning is pivotal for teaching climate change
Curriculum should feature experiential learning, allowing students to immerse themselves both inside and outside the classroom through various activities and reflect on their experiences. It is encouraging to note that the recent national curriculum transformation has institutionalized experiential learning as a core pedagogy, In addition, the prescribed teaching-learning practices emphasize on utilizing local context in the activity design.
Given the varying climate challenges in different communities across Bangladesh, there is a need to sensitize learners to local climate situations. In primary and secondary schools, there could be opportunities to apply experiential learning where learners can sensitize themselves with local indigenous knowledge, livelihood practices, as well as take ownership of solving local environmental problems. This is where teacher training can play a part in exploring the local context ways for learners to actively engage with the environmental challenges of the community.
The Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI) promotes the concept of stewardship that reinforces youth to be more responsible towards nature by being a caretaker. It is worth exploring how such concepts can be integrated into experiential learning activities across classrooms in Bangladesh. The Climate Fresco game, run by an NGO in France, and the Climate Game, run by Mekateam in Bangladesh, are also game-based experiential learning activities, where participants reflect on issues of climate change, as and after they play. However, what kind of discourse should be encouraged when discussing and reflecting during the experiential learning cycle?
A critical climate discourse should be actively encouraged
Not all environmental crises are due to climate change and one needs to be critically aware to attribute the causes behind a particular crisis. For example, if there is a flood in Dhaka, people could jump to the conclusion that the reason was climate change, but it may have occurred due to some man-made interventions that caused the rise or movement of water.
In order to equip learners with the skills and knowledge required to critically understand the environmental challenges affecting Bangladesh and our planet, the Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative (BYEI) encourages a Critical Climate Discourse. For example, it is important for learners to understand the nine planetary boundaries, as advocated by Johnan Rockström, among which just one of these boundaries is climate change. The rest are biodiversity loss and species extinction, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean acidification, biogeochemical flows, land-system change, freshwater use, atmospheric aerosol loading and introduction of novel entities. However, even within a critical climate discourse, where should the knowledge, frameworks and case studies come from?
Reflecting upon colonial and post-colonial bias in curriculum
The curriculum for countries that have negatively affected the climate (mostly wealthier countries) should ideally be different from the curriculum for countries that are most affected by climate change. Learners and citizens in climate-vulnerable countries can't take actions to conserve the environment upto a certain extent unless learners and citizens in countries that cause climate change the most change their behaviour. Thus, on one hand, it is important for learners in climate-vulnerable countries to be able to adapt to the negative consequences of climate change. On the other hand, it is important that these same learners have a critical understanding of why this climate change is happening in the first place and the main people/entities responsible are beyond their borders -- thus, these learners would have to be strong advocates, storytellers, negotiators and even actively lobby or support learners, citizens and entities in countries that cause climate change to change their behaviour.
In tertiary education, a significant proportion of our courses and curricula have traditionally been shaped by knowledge originating from countries that have colonized us in the past. Thus, countries that are most affected by climate change should be wary if knowledge, frameworks and case studies about how to go about addressing climate change come from countries that have created this problem in the first place. Thus, there may need to be some form of decolonization of curriculum in climate-vulnerable countries.
Recognizing the need to address diverse problems and incorporate local wisdom, it is crucial for our education system to reflect the unique challenges and knowledge embedded in our local communities. It may be the case that climate-vulnerable countries need to develop novel solutions and even lead the discourse. This is particularly critical in the higher education sector. It is heartening to see proactive efforts from some private universities, notably BRAC University and the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), who are collaboratively engaged in the development of case studies from climate-vulnerable contexts.
For instance, the challenges faced by the people in Satkhira, such as intense salinity problems resulting from pursuing blind economic policies, underscore the necessity of capturing these local stories. By doing so, our higher education can effectively document and analyze the lived experiences of local communities, providing a foundation for exploring innovative solutions. This approach ensures that our educational endeavours not only impart theoretical knowledge but also actively engage with and contribute to addressing the real-life challenges faced by our communities.
In this context, the “oppressors” may not have the power within them to address this problem, unless “the oppressed” lead this movement. Of course, in the spirit of solidarity and unity, it is important that we all act as allies towards addressing this global issue, but it is important for all parties involved to be critically aware of these dynamics in discourse. This collaborative approach represents a strategic move toward preserving and respecting indigenous knowledge. By actively involving local universities in shaping educational content, we not only enhance the relevance of our curricula but also contribute to the preservation of cultural nuances and community-specific insights.
Climate change curriculum cannot be contained only within the sciences
Climate change is not just an environmental or a scientific issue -- it is a complex challenge with interdisciplinary dimensions. While science is fundamental, a nuanced curriculum must seamlessly weave together science, politics, humanities and the arts. Starting from secondary school, students need insights into the social and political dimensions, fostering a keen awareness of structural inequalities perpetuated by countries that are having the most negative impact on climate change. In order to be strong advocates within the country and beyond, it is important that learners are skilled in language, rhetoric and logic. It is important that learners understand human behaviour and the behaviour of various entities, such as governments, companies, etc. It is important that learners are skilled in the arts to be able to shape compelling stories of alternative ways in which the people of this planet can lead quality lives and avoid climate change. Science is important, but even how to communicate this science effectively may not be found within just the sciences. All these dimensions that are required in the movement to address climate change are not just limited to the sciences.
Upskilling and reskilling agenda to navigate climate change needs to be factored in our education system
As we, Bangladesh and the world, set our sights on decarbonizing the economy, Bangladesh’s education system needs to stand at the forefront of facilitating this transition. The journey towards renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and a circular economy demands a diverse skill set and knowledge base. To meet this demand, upskilling and reskilling initiatives take center stage, resonating with the concept of lifelong learning. It is a call for our educational, training and vocational institutes on tailoring training and skills curriculum to align with the needs of the Bangladesh and global economy, needed for a world that successfully addressed and minimizes climate change.
Platforms like COP-28 can play a vital role to amplify the voices of climate-vulnerable people and contexts, however, those are probably not the only platforms one can depend on -- given how much oil and gas lobbyists have also taken up space in these platforms. To advocate efficiently, our professionals, policymakers, and youth need creative and critical skills in negotiation and storytelling, potentially even being more creative than those who do not seem to care about the issue of climate change. These abilities are also critical to demanding justice and carving alternative pathways for a just transition. Our education system must emphasize on developing these skills, fostering critical awareness and empowering individuals to negotiate their rightful demands on international stages like COP28.
Building trust is key among key ecosystem partners
The education sector must start collaborating with actors from different disciplines to bring the holistic narratives of climate change into our education system. Such collaboration can first start within the education sector, followed by cross-sectoral collaboration. For example, there could be ways state, non-state, and youth organizations can work together in achieving the core competencies around climate and environment or not by exchanging knowledge and co-creating experiments together. Cross-sectoral collaborations with other disciplines such as health, agriculture, and renewable energy can also be explored further in designing solutions.
It may even be necessary to build trust with actors who are currently not aligned with the climate change agenda. However, more time should be spent on champions and those who are potentially willing to be part of addressing climate change, instead of spending too much time on those who will resist no matter what. It is important that allies from different disciplines and contexts work together.
The more we address such cross-sectoral collaboration, the more we can shift away from designing prescriptive solutions, ignoring the lived experiences of people residing in challenging environments. We need to bring diverse voices to bring lived experiences of their work. For this, the ecosystem players must connect, convene and co-create to ensure the education system is listening to diverse voices and co-creating solutions together.
To tackle Bangladesh’s climate emergency, our education system must synchronize seamlessly from early years through primary, secondary, tertiary education and into lifelong learning. It is urgent for our education sector to step up and for all relevant disciplines to interact with each other, weaving a holistic narrative of climate change that works for all people and countries of the world, not just some.
Salman Sabbab is an intern at WHO Innovation Hub at Geneva, Switzerland. Shakil Ahmed is a Futurist, Educator and Storyteller at Ridiculous Futures, Resident Futurist at a2i and pursuing his PhD in Futures Studies at Tamkang University, Taiwan. Both are core team members at #NextGenEdu.
