Friendship's educational programme contributes to combating climate change in char areas

Under the Friendship education programme, students are learning strategies to combat climate change and the resulting disasters from their schools.

They are subsequently disseminating this knowledge within their families and communities. With the support of the Malala Fund, the extent of damage caused by natural disasters in the Jamuna-Brahmaputra char areas has been significantly reduced.

This information was shared by speakers at a seminar held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital.

The seminar, titled "Technological Education and Social Awareness to Tackle the Challenges of Climate Change in Char Areas: The Perspective of the Friendship Education Programme", was attended by Professor Nehal Ahmed, Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, as the chief guest. Special guests included Runa Khan, founder, Friendship; Dr. AQM Shafiul Azam, Director of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education; and SM Hafizur Rahman, Professor at the Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka.

In her speech, Runa Khan mentioned that students from Friendship schools are participating in conferences, seminars, and programmes in various developed countries. As part of this initiative, students from
Friendship schools attended the European Youth Event (EYE) in France in June 2023 and Conference of Parties COP28 in Dubai in December of the same year.

Brigadier General (Retd.) Ilyas Iftekhar Rasul, senior director and head of Friendship Education, highlighted the success of the Friendship education programme in combating climate change.

He stated that for over two decades, Friendship has been conducting primary, secondary, and adult education programmes in the char areas of the Jamuna-Brahmaputra in northern Bangladesh. Over 6,000 students are studying in the 44 primary, 16 secondary, and 49 adult education centres operated by Friendship. In addition to academic education, these schools, with the support of the Malala Fund, teach climate change mitigation, raise awareness, and train students in strategies to adapt to adverse conditions. For this purpose, the "Digital Literacy, Connectivity and Climate Resilience Project (DCCP) has been implemented.

The seminar was attended by Friendship's senior programme manager Neamat Ullah, programme specialist Sakhawat Ferdous, journalists from various national media, and other relevant officials and experts.