The South Pacific has been severely affected by extreme weather events due to Climate Change. In 2018, Fiji initiated the Climate Change Resilience Programme (CCRP) at the University of the South Pacific. The CCRP was the first regionally recognised climate change qualification that aimed to foster climate change resilience of local communities. However, previous research (Takinana & Baars, 2023) found that the CCRP was mainly focused on climate change resilience in the workplace rather than supporting local communities. This article evaluates the CCRP review process between 2020-2022 by (i) highlighting the refocusing of the curriculum objectives towards local community resilience and (ii) identifying how all stakeholders involved negotiated these changes. The Stage Gate decision making theory (Aristodemou et al., 2020) was used to highlight how curricular changes were made and agreed upon by stakeholders throughout the review process. The relational ethics concept of “Teu Le Va” (Muliaumaseali’i, 2022) was applied to identify how, in particular, compromises were made amongst various stakeholders. This paper argues that Climate Change Education (CCE) should value all stakeholders involved and aim for an inclusive approach to climate resilience. Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries have recently highlighted the importance of increasing climate awareness through education. However, climate change programs in Thailand are still in their infancy. Hence, this study aims not only to inform developers of climate change education programs around the world, but to specifically assist similar projects in Thailand.

Authors:
Anuantaeka Takinana, Yokohama National University, Japan
Roger C. Baars, Kyoto University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Mr Anuantaeka Takinana is a University Doctoral Student at Kyoto University in Japan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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