News
SED Student Nominated 'International Climate Champion' by the British Council
SED PhD student Damian Burton has been nominated an International Climate Champion by the British Council.
Damian has developed a pilot project that aims to mobilise the Bangladeshi diaspora in the Northwest of England to become a messenger of climate change adaptation in its communities of origin in Bangladesh.
It is estimated that rising sea-levels in Bangladesh will displace upwards of 40 million people, but adaptation messages to vulnerable Bangladeshi communities struggle to reach the required audience. Many diaspora groups are successfully mobilised to act as volunteers in the transfer of knowledge and skills in areas such as accountancy or health, but there is no existing offering for raising awareness of climate change adaptation. Damian's pioneering project is designed to demonstrate the viability of developing a programme of knowledge and skills transfer through the diaspora targeted at its communities of origin.
As part of the project, a volunteer member of the Northwest Bangladeshi diaspora will be trained as a messenger of climate change adaptation before influencing their community of origin through the sharing of adaptation knowledge and skills. The project acts as the basis for further research that Damian is currently undertaking for his PhD at the Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI), hosted by SED.
Damian's research seeks to develop practical policy recommendations and will use the outcomes of this project as a learning tool. One of the aims of Damian's research is also to seek ways of rolling-out programmes for other Bangladeshi communities (e.g. Tower Hamlets, London) and other diaspora groups whose community of origins are acutely threatened (e.g. Gujarati Indians).
The nomination attracts a bursary of up to £1000 in support of the project.
SED would like to congratulate Damian on this success and wish him all the best with his PhD.
More information on the British Council's International Climate Champion project is available at http://www.britishcouncil.org/climatechange-climatechampions.
Posted September 9 2009