GCA CEO launches 2023 Youth Adaptation Forums at event on crucial role of youth, universities in adaptation in Bangladesh
D
haka, Bangladesh, 11 December 2022 – An Adaptation Public Lecture and Intergenerational Dialogue exploring the pivotal role of youth and universities in driving climate adaptation action took place today at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Participants at the event, organized by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), included BUET faculty and students, youth and climate adaptation leaders.
The activity, called “Driving Climate Action: The Central Role of Youth and Universities,” aimed to promote climate resilience and adaptation among young people while empowering and elevating the voices and influence of Bangladeshi youth in the adaptation agenda.
During the event, GCA CEO Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen announced the launch of GCA’s 2023 regional Youth Adaptation Forums. The Forums build on the success of the Youth Adaptation Network, launched in Bangladesh in September 2020 by H.E. Saima Wajed Hossain, Ambassador for Vulnerability for the Climate Vulnerable Forum, and will be organized by the GCA CEO’s Youth Advisory Panel and GCA’s Youth Leadership Program. In April, the Youth Adaptation Forum will take place for the Asian region.
Prof. Verkooijen delivered a lecture on the urgency of adaptation for Bangladesh and the world.
“Bangladesh, which is home to almost 50 million young people like yourselves, will be disproportionately affected by a climate crisis it did not cause. Left unchecked, the consequences of this crisis will be hitting you even harder in the next two decades – at the very peak of your potential to be useful and productive members of society. But being alarmed by what lies on the horizon isn’t a prescription for despair… there are many things that we can start doing today to adapt to a future that will have to be greener, more resilient and more sustainable if we are to have any future at all,” said Prof. Verkooijen.
Sadia Jahan Rothi, 23, who is from Bangladesh and a member of GCA’s newly appointed 2023 Youth Advisory Panel, presented the 2023 Panel at BUET and discussed its plans for youth engagement in the coming year.
“We, the youth, are facing and will face the brunt of climate disasters although we were not part of changing the climate. It is high time all of us are involved in adaptation action and prepare ourselves for the future. So, I call on countries to share adaptation strategies so that they can make each other resilient to climate vulnerabilities as well as involve youth in adaptation plans and actions locally, nationally, and globally,” she said.
BUET student Moon Islam agreed on the urgent need for adaptation action and the crucial role that university students can play.
“From first-hand experience of visiting vulnerable communities and listening to the marginalized population, I can attest that this country needs immediate action to adapt and live with the rapidly worsening situation due to climate change. I believe that university students can play a central role in research projects on ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change through training, education, and research excellence. We look forward to what the engagement of BUET and GCA in youth activities can do to make Bangladesh a climate-resilient country for this as well as the next generation,” she said.
The event concluded with remarks by Mr. Shaikh Muhammed Mehedi Ahsan, GCA’s Bangladesh Country Manager.
“Youth is the real powerhouse. It is very important to work on the nexus of science, policy and practice for shaping the adaptation agenda to address the climate crisis. Today’s event has paved that pathway through GCA’s youth adaptation forums,” he said.
The lecture and intergenerational dialogue took place as part of a three-day visit to Bangladesh by the GCA CEO that included the inauguration of GCA’s Global Hub on Locally Led Adaptation by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. The Global Hub, housed at GCA’s regional office in Dhaka, aims to support 1 million climate migrants in Bangladesh. It includes an online platform to inform and connect Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) practitioners around the world.
GCA and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently launched a $310 million project to scale up climate adaptation in Bangladesh using Nature-based Solutions (NBS). The project, which BUET will be supporting, will assist more than 5 million people in 22 coastal towns in low-lying Bangladesh that are highly vulnerable to flooding, sea level rise, and other climate impacts.
The collaboration with BUET will focus on providing upstream technical support, including high-resolution climate data and analytics on the exposure of the infrastructure system to current and projected climate risks. The collaboration will also support the integration of NBS into the investment master plans of the selected coastal towns.
About the Global Center on Adaptation
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization that works as a solutions broker to accelerate action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sectors. Founded in 2018, GCA operates from its headquarters in the largest floating office in the world, located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. GCA has a worldwide network of regional offices in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Beijing, China.
