Expanding Global Resilience Centers in Africa & the Caribbean

Summary

In 2024, the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) committed to establish, grow, and expand a series of Global Resilience Outreach Centers with initial centers in Africa and the Caribbean. I-DIEM believes that all people have a right to participate in building climate resilience with communities on the frontlines informing effective adaptation and resilience efforts. The centers’ community-crafted, bottom-up resilience solutions (CCRS) will include strategies and measures designed and implemented by local communities to address the challenges posed by climate change and other disasters. Each center will leverage partnerships with government, universities, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits, and community stakeholders. To achieve equitable, resilient impact, I-DIEM will assemble an interdisciplinary team of experts, including Certified Emergency Managers, public health professionals, researchers, DEI experts, and policy advocates to increase education, awareness, and training on disaster management to communities while leveraging collaborative skills and expansive network of climate and disaster leaders to lead climate resilience solutions in tandem with impacted communities.

Approach

The Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) commits to the establishment, growth, and expansion of two (2) Global Resilience Outreach Centers serving Africa and the Caribbean. These centers will serve as central hubs to smaller, local organizational efforts across each respective continent/region with an anticipated goal for expanding into India, Asia, and South America within the next five (5) years. .

To achieve this, I-DIEM will collaborate with communities to tackle climate change issues through bottom-up approaches with active involvement from the community with the belief that all people have a right to participate in building resilience to climate change impacts with communities at the forefront of informing effective adaptation and resilience efforts. These community-crafted resilience solutions (CCRS) will include strategies and measures designed and implemented by local communities to address the challenges posed by climate change and other disasters.

Each center will leverage partnerships with government, universities, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits, and community stakeholders collectively focused on climate equity. To achieve equitable, resilient impact, I-DIEM will leverage their interdisciplinary team of experts, including Certified Emergency Managers, public health professionals, researchers, DEI experts, and policy advocates to increase education, awareness, and training on disaster management to communities while leveraging collaborative skills and expansive network of climate and disaster leaders, along with key stakeholders, to lead climate resilience solutions in tandem with impacted communities.

Understanding the impacts of disasters on vulnerable and marginalized communities, I-DIEM’s approaches strongly align with CGI’s focus on climate, health, gender, and their intersectionalities as a catalyst to a more resilient future. Further, I-DIEM prioritizes building partnerships with universities, government officials, policymakers, climate experts, nonprofits, and nongovernmental organizations in Africa, and with a growing network in the Caribbean, to support bottom-up and top-down collaborative efforts for climate resilience.

Action Plan

June to October 2024: Launch the Global Resilience Outreach Center in Ghana featuring the Global Climate Resilience Fellowship Program (GCRFP) . Present funding to partner academic institutions for climate resilience research and CCRS. This quarter will also include vulnerability analyses, stakeholder mapping and engagement, and scoping for the Caribbean Global Resilience Center. Deliverables include successful implementation of Fellowship Program, Caribbean vulnerability profiles and stakeholder lists, new partnership agreements within both regions, and identification of location for I-DIEM Caribe.
October 2024 to January 2025: Amplify ongoing efforts and community experiences at a global scale during two major conferences: COP29 and the African Investment Conference in Lesotho. Identify a Caribbean GRN to lead on-the-ground efforts across the region.
January to June 2025: Identify a Global Resilience Navigator (GRN) in Africa to support CCRS projects. Develop the Youth Climate Action (YCA) Program which will be replicable within the Caribe efforts and establish Youth Climate Ambassadors. Deliverables will include a Program Implementation Plan and resources. Establish relationships within the Caribbean region and conduct research to assess needs and identify CCRS, ultimately establishing the first Caribbean center.
June 2025 to May 2026: I-DIEM will prepare for extending the Fellowship Program in each region along with the Youth Climate Action Program while building the network of Youth Climate Ambassadors from several countries to support climate action. Ambassadors will be developed to represent unique countries and advocate for climate equity and resilience while providing support to Global Resilience Navigators. During this period, we will also explore opportunities for additional expansion of Global Resilience Outreach Centers in India and South America.

Background

According to the Ecological Threat Register, over 1.2B people could be displaced globally due to climate change by 2050 while the estimated costs of climate-related disasters is $2.7 trillion over the next 20 years. Countries in Africa and the Caribbean are the most vulnerable and least prepared for climate change and extreme weather events (Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative, 2023) . Subsequently, disaster and climate-related issues in both regions are significant and complex, often exacerbated by socioeconomic factors which increase vulnerability and decrease overall climate resilience.
Sea-level rise, flooding, drought, extreme heat, and tropical storms result in extensive damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and coastal communities. Additionally, major health concerns related to sanitation and hygiene, vector-borne illnesses, and chronic health issues negatively impact overall life expectancy, agricultural yields, and tourism, destabilizing economic resilience. Further, the impact on marginalized communities, including women, children, migrants, and refugees is disproportionate, as they often lack the financial means and social support systems to rebuild and recover swiftly.
Many communities lack education and awareness of climate change and its impacts, have decreased access to resources, and are often excluded from key opportunities that support resilience. These same communities also lack training and knowledge of effective disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery that can support resilience endeavors.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

I-DIEM will be seeking financial resources, implementing partners, and media support to complete and scale the commitment. Financial resources will support establishing the Global Resilience Centers, programmatic activities, global advocacy campaigns and funding for Global Resilience Navigators. Additionally, while we maintain a robust network of partners, identifying local communities and organizations to implement CCRS will be a key supporting function. Finally, media support will not only support the amplification of community voices but also provide a platform for education, awareness, and advocacy among I-DIEM, programs, and Youth Climate Ambassadors. Media engagement can support resilience stories from the field and expand current capacity to global markets beyond the United States for added impact. The culmination of resources and services sought will propel global resilience and climate equity to the forefront with new evidence-based models., I-DIEM provides decades of expertise in emergency management and climate equity with extensive knowledge of disaster management policy and practice, training, and exercise development that provide invaluable solutions to local, national, and global disaster management strategies to combat climate change. I-DIEM leaders have experienced, firsthand, the disproportionate impacts of disasters and the systemic policies and practices that contribute to increased vulnerability. As a leader in disaster equity, I-DIEM has demonstrated best practices in disaster equity and community-based strategies that improve community capacity and resilience which has been a model recognized by both the public and private sector for its successful engagement and outcomes among marginalized communities impacted by disasters.