Our Lives, Our People, Our Communities: Advancing Climate Resilience for Equity and Opportunity

Peer Learning Recap

The overarching purpose of this PRC peer learning event was to engage partners across the Partnership for Resilient Communities and the Upper Texas Gulf Coast Regional Resilience programs to bring together leaders of color that are working in partnership with ISC to advance equitable disaster recovery and climate resilience-building strategies in their local communities. The participants, came as teams from seventeen community organizations, across the U.S.(five from the Upper Texas Gulf Coast). The convening, intentionally designed to, offered a safe and supportive environment where space where leaders of color shared learnings and explored the dynamics working to dismantle racially discriminatory practices while at the same time advancing equitable climate and disaster recovery solutions. Additionally, we carefully selected local and national experts to provide coaching, advice, and examples designed to strengthen the participants’ work.

In the spirit of ISC’s value of “peer learning,” the convening program was largely informed by the direct, on-the-ground experiences of community leaders as well as the capacity and learning needs that have been expressed by these local leaders. This convening design approach provided an “authentic” capacity-building experience that is rooted in the overarching value of the PRC– those that are closest to the issues know what works best. This event supported networking and relationship building, offered opportunities to share and gain knowledge and expertise, learn from the equitable development and resilience building work happening in Atlanta, fostered innovation and energized participants, and it was a lot of fun! Our hope is that the offerings during this convening continue to bolster equitable community resilience building across the nation and grow the capacity of leaders of color to advance in the climate space.