Connect: GRID-Arendal Annual Report 2017

Promoting climate leadership in Central Asia

We live in an uncertain age with issues as ranging from unpredictable politics, to unprecedented population migrations and resource insecurities. Our societies are increasingly having to adapt to ever changing social and ecological conditions. We need transformative leadership at all levels.

In 2017, GRID-Arendal was engaged by the German Development Corporation (GIZ) to collaborate on the design and facilitation of a three-part Climate Leadership training programme. The Leadership for Sustainability Learning Journey gathered 26 individuals from government, business and civil society in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. These Central Asian countries face their own specific realities with respect to climate and environmental challenges. The idea behind the programme was to work with people to help them think through complex problems in new ways. The programme included group work on leadership issues related to natural resources affected by climate change, strengthening leadership and management abilities and changing ways problems are approached. Participants inquired into different modes, methods and tools connected to transformational leadership. They worked on innovative approaches that could best serve countries looking to ensure resilience in the face of uncertain climate and environmental futures.

had gained valuable experience that will help their efforts to increase local, national and regional resilience in a changing climate. Some of the project results include developing a regional network of change makers who now have strong interpersonal relationships and trust each other. A leadership network was formed to promote cooperation on sustainability and climate adaptation across the three countries. Participants said they gained a deeper understanding of how to contribute to adaptation strategies and how to ‘lead the change’. This kind of programme doesn’t teach new skills as much as helps people to recognize connections and draw out their abilities. It’s called “transformative leadership” and it’s needed at all levels, whether in Central Asia, or managing our oceans, or making decisions about how to deal with the mountains of waste our society continues to produce. In the end, it’s all connected. Our problems require global solutions. GRID-Arendal will continue to work with UN Environment and other partners to find those solutions.

At the end of the programme, participants said their skills had developed, their knowledge grown and they

Participants at the Climate Leadership training programme.

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