Send us a text

Welcome to the IEFG Brains in Gear Series. In this inaugural episode exploring education philanthropy and the climate crisis, we examine "The things that can happen when education and climate meet."

This episode explores a pivotal question: Can education funders fulfil their missions without addressing climate change? As host Sally Vivyan notes, "You can't be an education funder in lower and middle-income countries if you aren't thinking about intersections with climate." Our four discussants challenge us to recognise that most education funders are already climate funders - they're just not realising it yet.

Sally Vivyan, Co-Director of Gower Street, leads a spend-out grant maker focused on climate crisis intersections with education in Ghana and globally. She previously worked in international development and migration, holds a PhD in charity leadership, and continues writing on philanthropy topics.

Naghma Mulla, CEO of EdelGive Foundation, has spent over a decade transforming collaborative philanthropy in India. Under her leadership, EdelGive evolved from grant-making into a philanthropic asset management platform bringing together diverse stakeholders to co-design ambitious projects for India's most marginalised communities.

Francesca Beausang, Global Director of Communication and Partnerships at the Pharo Foundation, brings unique experience spanning academia and corporate finance. After completing her PhD at Cambridge University and lecturing at LSE, she transitioned to macroeconomics, covering emerging and developed markets. She has authored two books on globalisation and multinationals.

Ross Hall, Education Portfolio Lead for Fondation Botnar, models system change architecture, ensuring holistic child development while communities learn to thrive together, focusing on sustainable educational frameworks supporting individual growth and collective resilience.

Christina Kwauk, Ph.D., social scientist and policy analyst specialising in girls' education, 21st century skills, and gender-education-climate intersections. Co-editor of "Curriculum and Learning for Climate Action" and co-author of "What Works in Girls' Education," she serves as an education consultant at Unbounded Associates and co-founder of Unbounded Alliance.

Through candid discussions, these five reveal how climate change intensifies inequalities, examine barriers preventing greater climate education investment, and offer practical solutions for moving from indirect to direct climate action through education. From insights on India's education system, where only 120,000 of 1 million schools have eco clubs, to Kenyan water bank schools boosting attendance up to 95%, this conversation provides sobering realities and inspiring innovations.

The discussion emphasises education as the strongest predictor of adaptive capacity while warning against limiting impact to indirect links. Speakers advocate for intentional climate education integration, systemic resilience approaches, and collaborative action moving beyond silos to create change at the scale and speed our climate crisis demands.

Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode! And don't forget to rate and recommend this podcast to your colleagues.

You can follow the IEFG on LinkedIn here. https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-education-funders-group-iefg