BANGLADESH, RANGPUR AND MYMENSINGHNDIA
Community Engagement for Sustainable Impact
- Hub
- Activity
- Model
- Citizens’ Assemblies
- Actors
- Citizenship and communities
- Marginalized communities
- Civil society and intermediaries
- Social organizations
- Purpose
- Citizen empowerment and capacity building
- Citizen empowerment
- Public advocacy
- Public policy
- Strengthening democracy
- Democratic education
#DELIBERATIVESURVEY
The main goal of this practice, led by Probha Aurora in Bangladesh, is to protect rickshaw and van drivers from the effects of extreme heat through a participatory, community-based, and youth-driven approach. Emerging in a post-pandemic context, the initiative combines climate and health education, the distribution of eco-friendly products made from traditional materials like bamboo and cane, and public deliberation sessions.
Its objectives include reducing climate-related risks, improving working conditions for informal laborers, and strengthening relationships between vulnerable communities and local authorities.
- Training youth volunteers in health and environmental sustainability.
- Identifying vulnerable urban areas and raising awareness among rickshaw and van drivers in public spaces.
- Distributing free, eco-friendly sunshades inspired by traditional knowledge and crafted by local artisans.
- Engaging diverse stakeholders including community leaders, public officials, local media, and cultural figures.
- Proposing a nationwide expansion model based on volunteer networks and collected evidence for future policy advocacy.
- The initiative reduced heat exposure among drivers through the use of bamboo-and-cane protectors and sun hats. It empowered youth leadership and provided temporary employment opportunities for volunteers. The experience was documented and widely shared via media outlets and institutional platforms. One key challenge identified was the need to formalize volunteerism and develop sustainable funding and scaling strategies.
- This initiative demonstrates how a deliberative practice can have deep impact in vulnerable urban areas of the Global South. In Rangpur and Mymensingh, trained youth—supported by institutions like WHO and UNICEF—designed and implemented a participatory response to intensifying heatwaves. The project brought together institutional, community, and media actors to collectively address the effects of climate change.
- From distributing bamboo-and-cane ecological gear to building intergenerational networks, the project promoted environmental awareness, youth empowerment, and sustained connections among informal workers, young people, and public institutions. It also integrated traditional knowledge into contemporary solutions, laying the foundation for a participatory model now aiming to scale nationally.
Probha Aurora
KEY CONCEPTS
Contextual: Heatwaves, informal labor conditions, plastic pollution.
On Democracy: Community participation, youth empowerment, public health, climate adaptation.
