On August 12, 2024, I participated virtually in a session focused on the Alarming Impacts of Climate Change in Pakistan: Evidence and Call for Action from ASER 2023, organized by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA). Baela Jamil I left with a strong picture of the challenges faced and the need for contextualized solutions especially for the most marginalized communities in Pakistan. - Monazza Aslam highlighted the vulnerability faced by Pakistan which is likely to cause a substantial GDP drop, heightened marginalization and inequality, cause major disruptions to teaching and learning processes, and have long-term consequences. She highlighted critical pieces of longitudinal research and insights from previous natural disasters. - Fozia Parveen mentioned research on the difference in wellbeing and learning linked to green spaces, and the importance of creating opportunities to interact with green spaces in large cities such as Karachi. In her engagements trying to mainstream climate change education in higher education and develop toolkits for K-12 education, she noted the greater emphasis on cognitive understandings of climate change, and argued that it is a must to focus much more on climate action. - afia salam spoke of the need to also reach out of school children, deal with the disproportionate impacts on girls, have better geographic planning of schools. Governments have to make alternative displaced camp arrangements so school systems are not disturbed for prolonged periods. She stressed the value of informal, contextualized learning – highlighting how community-based organizations use multiple tools using local language content, graphics, and even theater plays to provide contextualized learning and awareness. - Muhammad Toheed stressed the disproportionate impacts on marginalized groups in informal settlements, where children face very poor indoor environment quality due to rising temperatures, and suffer from hours of power outages, lack of ventilation etc., which directly impact their cognitive function and learning outcomes. He recommended that NGOs, schools and educators can better advocate for policy change for climate resilience buildings, especially to provide a comfortable learning environment. In my pre-recorded message, I briefly discussed the reflections, findings and recommendations of the GEM Report UNESCO Education and Climate Change paper, and as I typically do - asked the panel and experts at Pakistan to think about how we can prioritize education systems in the discourse/narratives as climate change rises up the political agenda. The panelists ended with a plea to listen to communities' demands, focus on what is critical for the communities for their survival, highlighting the need for roads, the pooling and collation of successful strategies, and learning through drills and practical work and not just in classrooms. Thank you to Sehar Saeed for the invite. I learned a lot from the experts!
Meet the Experts Driving Change in Education and Climate Resilience! Join us on August 12th, 2023, at 11 am PST for a critical webinar featuring: - Dr. Monazza Aslam, Managing Partner at Oxford Partnership for Education Research and Analysis (OPERA) - Dr. Fozia Parveen, Assistant Professor at Aga Khan University (AKU) - Dr. Priyadarshani Joshi, PhD, Senior Research Officer at the GEM Report UNESCO - Ms. afia salam, Journalist and Environmental Communications Consultant - Muhammad Toheed, Urban Planner and Visiting Faculty at Institute of Business Administration, Karachi These experts will leverage their decades of experience to prioritize climate change adaptation in education and strengthen Pakistan's education system against future climate challenges. Together, we will explore practical solutions and strategies to build a resilient and sustainable education system. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to contribute to the conversation. Register now to be part of this essential discussion. Register Here: https://lnkd.in/d6pT7-iZ #ClimateChangeChampions #EducationMatters #ASER2023 #ClimateChange #Pakistan #Sustainability #EvidenceToAction Baela Jamil Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office VSO Pakistan UNICEF Pakistan