Education on Climate Adaptation Governance ready to impact millions around the world

The University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân, based in the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Global Center on Adaptation are offering free online courses on Climate Adaptation Governance through FutureLearn. Next to this, Campus Fryslân will start offering a specialisation in Climate Adaptation Governance, as part of the MSc Cultural Geography from September 2021 onwards.

On Friday 22nd of January, 8th Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon and the CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation, Prof. Patrick Verkooijen together with UG/Campus Fryslân launched the online course on Climate Adaptation Governance - Making Climate Adaptation Happen . The announcement was made during the Climate Adaptation Week in Groningen. “You have the power to affect significant and sustainable change, you are the future. Let’s ensure we address our climate emergency together!”, says Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who urges for more action in education and invited young leaders around the world to enroll in the free Massive Open Online Course.

The course, developed by UG/Campus Fryslân team led by dr. Karsten Schulz & Hellen Dawo and in collaboration with the Global Center on Adaptation starts on January 25th via FutureLearn, an online education platform. “We are incredibly grateful that we can offer this course free of charge and help address the global climate challenges, as well as engaging with young people and professionals internationally,” says Prof. Andrej Zwitter, dean of UG/Campus Fryslân.

The aim is to engage participants from all over the world in this course and contribute to climate adaption and movement with a focus on youth, more specifically, youth from the Global South. The online course is part of a larger package of activities, including a series of online courses, a summer school and the master programme in Cultural Geography with a specialisation in Climate Adaptation Governance. “We must give today’s young people the skills and knowledge to deal with a changing climate, the online courses, summer school and the master programmes focused on Climate Adaptation Governance at Campus Fryslân will give young leaders a competitive advantage in dealing with today’s climate crisis.” Patrick Verkooijen, CEO Global Center on Adaptation, highlights in his invitation speech.

The collaboration between UG/Campus Fryslân and the Global Center on Adaptation ensures that practitioners, researchers and experts from both the Global South and the Global North cooperate in developing educational programmes resulting in a richer and inclusive education experience.