Commonwealth Climate Resilience Network working meetings

Throughout November and early December, the ACU’s Commonwealth Climate Resilience Network (CCRN) will host a series of six online working meetings to discuss the future phases of the network, covering the following themes:

• Governance
• Resilience of higher education institutions
• Teaching & learning
• Research
• Advocacy

The sessions will be a great opportunity for you to meet ACU colleagues and fellow CCRN members at universities across the Commonwealth.

How to attend?

Please register for each session by using the links below. All members of the CCRN will receive an email invitation. If you are a member of the CCRN network and you have not received this, please contact us.

Registration links

• Sessions 1 &2 - Monday 23 November - 19.00-21.00 GMT
• Session 3 - Tuesday 24 November - 14.00-16.00 GMT
• Session 4 - Monday 30  November – 21.00-23.00 GMT
• Sessions 5 & 6 - Friday 4 December – 01.00-03.00 GMT

Join the CCRN Network

If you are actively engaged in research, teaching or climate resilience activities within your institution, we invite you to join the CCRN network for opportunities to collaborate and share your knowledge with peers from across the Commonwealth.

Agenda

Sessions 1 & 2 - Monday 23 November – 19:00-21:00 GMT

Session 1 – Introduction, review, governance & engagement

Lead contributors:

• Jeremy Collymore, Consultant, Disaster Resilience, Office of the Vice Chancellor, The University of the West Indies
• Nii-K Plange, Director, Fiji National University Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies and Sustainable Development
• Elisabeth Holland, Director, Pacific Centre for Environment & Sustainable Development, University of the South Pacific
• Alex Wright, Head of Public Affairs, Association of Commonwealth Universities

Session 1 will introduce and review progress against the work plan of the ACU’s Commonwealth Climate Resilience Network. Steering Committee members will also outline future priorities and opportunities to engage with the network and to further develop governance arrangements.

Session 2 - Resilience of higher education institutions

Running directly after Session 1, Session 2 will be led by Jeremy Collymore, The University of the West Indies, who will share initiatives supporting the resilience of higher education institutions in the Caribbean and set out opportunities for collaboration in extending these to other regions of the Commonwealth. This will be followed by an open discussion and an opportunity for participants to highlight relevant initiatives and opportunities for collaboration.

Session 3 - Tuesday 24 November: Teaching & learning – 14:00-16:00 GMT

Session 3 will feature a presentation on the outcomes of a teaching focused virtual visiting fellowship between Durham University and the University of Cape Town, as well as the Education for Sustainable Development in Africa – Next Generation Research (ESDA-NGR) Network. There will be space for an open discussion and consideration of proposals for enhanced network collaboration in teaching and learning (for example, establishing a directory of potential Ph.D. candidate co-supervisors). Participants will also have the opportunity to highlight relevant initiatives and opportunities for collaboration in related areas.

Lead contributors:

• Ben Campbell, Department of Anthropology, Durham University
• Leigh Cobban, African Climate Development Initiative, University of Cape Town

Session 4 - Monday 30 November: Research – 21:00-23:00 GMT

Session 4 will focus on supporting research. This will include the potential for the network to support data management capacity, and a presentation of an initiative being developed by the network with the Global Resilience Partnership to address resilience challenges in small states. In addition, there will be an opportunity to explore options for collaboration and engagement with the ‘Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate’ project. This will be followed by an open discussion during which participants are invited to provide input to the proposed vehicles for collaboration. Participants will also have an opportunity for participants to highlight their own relevant initiatives and opportunities for collaboration on research.

Lead contributors:

• Professor Elisabeth Holland, Director, Pacific Centre for Environment & Sustainable Development, University of the South Pacific
• Dr David C Smith, Coordinator of the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) and Director of the Centre for Environmental Management (CEM), The University of the West Indies
• Professor Tristan McCowan, Professor of International Education, UCL Institute of Education, University College London
• Jackeline Nyerere, Senior Lecturer of Educational Leadership and Policy, Kenyatta University

Sessions 5 & 6 – Friday 4 December – 01:00-03:00 GMT  

Session 5 - Advocacy & communications - towards COP26

Session 5 will focus on opportunities for the network to collaborate on advocacy initiatives, particularly in relation to the forthcoming Climate Change COP26 (Glasgow, November 2021). The ACU will share platforms it is developing for member engagement and to amplify the voice of higher education. Participants are invited to share information on their priorities for COP.

Lead contributor:

• Alex Wright, Head of Public Affairs, Association of Commonwealth Universities

Session 6 - Working meeting series summary & closing

Running directly after Session 5, Session 6 will close the Working Meetings with a summary of the agreed actions, priorities, and next steps.

Lead contributor:

• Alex Wright, Head of Public Affairs, Association of Commonwealth Universities