Friendship schools start Bangladesh, France climate change experience 

Three Friendship SPO schools in the riverine chars of Bangladesh will be sharing their experiences with six schools in France, about dealing with the effects of climate change. 

At the inauguration, representatives of French schools shared their experiences through online video conferencing Thursday, said a press release. 

The development partner organisation Friendship started the programme to inculcate the strategy of surviving climate change among the students at the secondary level from both countries.

The programme was also attended by William Lebedel, chair of Friendship France, Jean-Michel Banque, an official of the French Ministry of Education, and representatives of French schools and Friendship officials. 

French Ambassador to Bangladesh, H.E Jean-Marin Schuh was the chief guest at the online opening ceremony of the exchange of experiences. 

He hoped that through this interactive programme, the knowledge of strategies to adapt to climate change in Bangladesh would spread to not just France, but the entirety of the developed world.

Welcoming the audience, Runa Khan, founder and executive director of Friendship, said, "Friendship is of utmost importance for the welfare of the remote char communities of the Jamuna-Brahmaputra rivers." 

Brigadier General (Retd) Ilyas Iftekhar Rasul, director and Head of Friendship Education, outlined the strategy for tackling climate change in Friendship's schools in  Kurigram Gaibandha districts along with Reza Ahmed, assistant general manager and team leader of Friendship Education. 

In addition to regular education and the government curriculum, these students will also learn about a code of ethics, civic-mindedness, environmental awareness, disaster preparedness, health and hygiene practices etc., which they then spread among their communities.