BRE 2019

Project title: Global Perspectives on Sustainability through Education in The Bahamas

Summary: The focus will be on projects and academic study that help to inform innovative solutions to complex education and sustainability issues, addressing the project areas of focus: Education and Social Services.

Leadership training will be an integral component of the project. All participants will undertake leadership training which will be a combination of workshops in four themes: personal development to foster the discovery of leadership potential and skills, global citizenship to develop strategies to make a difference in the community and beyond, career development to prepare for the workforce, and leadership development to prepare for continued growth as leaders

Project title: Climate Adaptation and Resilient Development: Policy, Research and Practic

Summary: The project will contribute to developing a community of young, engaged leaders working to advance policy, practice, and research to confront the pressing challenges of climate change. This project will strengthen the public health, education, social and economic development analysis within on-going, cross-departmental work on Climate Smart and Resilient Development.

Building on the important role that youth have been playing in climate action globally, this initiative will engage Caribbean and Canadian youth in novel research, practice and policy initiatives related to the public health, social, and economic impacts of climate change. The ultimate objective of this project is to promote population health, resiliency, and well-being by building a bridge that links research with practice between Canada and the Caribbean region.

Project title: Scholars Network for Building Disaster Resilient Communities

Summary: Building resilience to natural disasters to protect human health and social services including housing and critical infrastructure for water supply, sanitation, and energy is a complex challenge that communities globally need to address.

Canadian students will participate in short-term internships focused on building community resilience to natural disasters. These students will acquire the interdisciplinary expertise and skills needed to work with international partners to reduce the impact of disasters on health and social services. The project will also support international graduate students from varied disciplines and will belong to the collaborative graduate specialization in Hazards, Risks and Resilience at Western University.

Project title: Engaging Indigenous Languages, Knowledges, Learning and the Land

Summary: Our program goal is to create a community of Education-focused scholars who will become leaders and advocates in global Indigenous language vitality, Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies, Indigenous food sovereignty and learning from the land. This scholarship program will engage both community-driven and higher education approaches, with the ultimate goal of the program becoming fully Indigenous focused and Indigenous led. The project will increase, sustain and strengthen relationships in respectful and relevant Indigenous education, specifically around four program themes: Indigenous and official languages, Indigenous knowledges, Indigenous food sovereignty and learning from the land as well as increasing local capacity in in educational leadership, and provide opportunities for emerging Indigenous leaders and classroom teachers who work with global Indigenous children.

Project title: Renforcement d’un réseau mondial de jeunes leaders engagés pour l’includion dans la santé et le développement durable face aux vulnérabilités sociales et environnementales

Summary: Le projet vise à former des leaders professionnels et de recherche en santé publique sensibilisés aux besoins et aux pratiques de collaborations interdisciplinaires et intersectorielles pour mettre en œuvre la vision des Objectifs du développement durable (ODD). Ce projet est axé sur l’intégration des savoirs, des savoirs-faire et des savoirs-êtres nécessaires pour faire face aux enjeux des ODD particulièrement importants pour les contextes socio-écologiques des Caraïbes : les effets des changements climatiques tels les maladies vectorielles, les zoonoses, l’insécurité alimentaire, et la migration forcée par les crises écologiques et socio-politiques liées aux conditions climatiques ; l’accès aux soins de santé et la couverture sanitaire universelle comme outils d’inclusion sociale dans des contextes d’inégalité socio-démographique, économique, genrée et racialisée ; et le développement de nouvelles approches interdisciplinaires et intersectorielles telles Une Seule Santé (One Health).

Project title: Strengthening capacity to tackle non-communicable disease (NCD) in the Caribbean

Summary: The project focuses on strengthening capacity in the healthcare and education systems, including future healthcare professionals and educators, and creating community awareness, including families and children (through schools), to target modifiable risk factors for NCDs, particularly nutrition and physical activity in Caribbean countries and Canada. Students in healthcare professions, including nutrition, public health and nursing, as well as education students, will develop knowledge and skills in global health, traditional health practices, and culturally appropriate care to prevent and treat diabetes in primary care clinics and in collaboration with K-12 schools.