With support from COL, Dominica’s Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD) is promoting climate change resilience through a series of public education messages under the theme Update, Upgrade for a More Resilient Dominica. A local multimedia piece developed by the Ministry, seeks to raise awareness about climate change and how individual and community action can contribute to a solution.

“The project allowed us to develop messages that addressed the fears of our people and their challenges. We were able to develop advisories on best practices for implementation before, during and after emergencies that we hope will be taken up by the populace,” said Ms Dionne Durand, MEHRD Communications Officer.

COL has been working with the Commonwealth member states to improve capacity in facilitating learning for development, with resilience as a key focus area in countries most at risk from the effects of climate change. In Dominica, COL’s Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) has been working in the non-formal education sector through a public education campaign designed to encourage citizens, especially children, the youth and heads of households to adopt behaviours that promote disaster prevention and preparedness. VUSSC now plans to support the formal education sector to integrate resilience competencies into curricula, develop resources, and deliver courses to improve knowledge and skills about climate change resilience.

According to Dr Mairette Newman, COL’s Education Specialist: VUSSC: “Without action to mitigate the effects of climate change, small countries of the Commonwealth will continue to be disproportionately affected by natural disasters. COL is supporting Dominica’s efforts to raise awareness about climate change and develop relevant, and actionable messages.”