
Climate Change Action
There is no greater issue facing the world today than climate change and its pervasive economic, social and political effects. NESA has worked with Jamaican and African partners in developing effective, engaging and motivating programs; courses and workshops for the teaching of climate change content; and, more importantly, practical mitigation and adaptation strategies.
There is no greater issue facing the world today than climate change and its pervasive economic, social and political effects. NESA has worked with Jamaican and African partners in developing effective, engaging and motivating programs; courses and workshops for the teaching of climate change content; and, more importantly, practical mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Jamaican CCAT ProjectThe Climate Change Action Training (CCAT) program grew out of the recognition that Jamaica’s unique features make it particularly vulnerable to the effects of global climate change. In response, the Jamaican government and several international agencies, including ACDI-VOCA and USAID, began a number of initiatives to increase climate change awareness, encourage effective mitigation and adaptation strategies, and help Jamaican communities become more climate resilient.
NESA associates were contracted to identify key training needs and devise a program for informing and mobilizing Jamaican communities around climate change issues. CCAT was conceived as a program that would help develop cadres of informed, skilled and dedicated climate change action agents at the community level provide immediate and ongoing climate change leadership. Extensive community and agency consultations regarding program content and target audience led to the focus on youth between 14-28 years as the primary beneficiary of the training since that sector is most often identified as being critical to future climate change action and overall community development. A Designing a Curriculum (DACUM) session was conducted in 2013 that brought a broad cross-section of climate change specialists together to plan the program. With this field input, the NESA team worked with Jamaican communities, government and NGO agencies, and youth organizations to create a comprehensive training program develops in youth the critical skills, attitudes and knowledge - as well as community, Jamaican and international linkages -- that prepares them to act as climate change Action Agents in the fight to make Jamaica more climate change resilient. The first CCAT certificates were awarded to graduates in 2013. By 2016, more than 1,000 Jamaican youth had completed the CCAT program. Read more here and here. |
Taking Action on Caribbean Climate Change: Course Development for University of Technology, Kingston, JamaicaThis university-level course curriculum was developed by NESA associates Iain MacDonald and Don Sawyer. An Environmental Science elective, the course arms and empowers students with knowledge of the science, politics, impacts and ethical questions surrounding climate change, with a strong emphasis on Jamaica and the Caribbean.
The major focus of the course is on identifying ways that individuals, groups, communities and organizations can take action aimed at adapting to and mitigating climate change impacts. Much of the course assessment is based on students ability to put into practice skills such as climate change hazard identification, community needs assessment, advocacy, lobbying, and community leadership. Using an action-oriented, practical approach, participants learn how to effectively evaluate local and global information on climate change, identify appropriate solutions to local challenges, mobilize support, and share success stories through effective communications strategies. The skills and knowledge acquired in this module enhance job prospects and can be utilized throughout students’ academic and professional careers as well as in their homes and communities. |
Jamaica Ministry of Education: Building Climate Change Action across the CurriculumThe Climate Change Curriculum Workshop, sponsored by the JaREEACH program of ACDI-VOCA in conjunction with the Jamaican Ministry of Education, was held from July 20-22, 2016. Facilitation was divided between Tracy-An Hyman, who was responsible for introducing Climate Change (CC) science in a Jamaican context, and Don Sawyer, who emphasized methods and strategies for effectively teaching CC in the classroom.
Thirty-eight educational officers, subject and curriculum specialists, and Ministry personnel from across the country participated in the event. Don wrote the final report, which contained 19 recommendations to the Ministry for successful implementation of climate change education throughout Jamaican schools. |