Research project
Voices of the rainforest: Co-creating a traditional ecological knowledge-based climate change curriculum framework with indigenous communities in Malaysia
- Start date: 1 April 2024
- End date: 31 March 2026
- Funding: The British Academy ODA International Interdisciplinary Research Projects 2024 (Knowledge Frontiers)
- Value: £323,419.00
- Partners and collaborators: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
- Primary investigator: Dr Syafiq Mat Noor
- External co-investigators: Dr Siti Nur Diyana Mahmud (Faculty of Education) Dr Zanisah Man (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities)
Voices of the Rainforest is a substantial British Academy research award that aims to co-create a traditional, ecological, knowledge-based climate change curriculum framework for primary schools with indigenous communities, children, and school partners in the Johor, Kelantan, Pahang, and Perak states of Malaysia.
This research project is being awarded in line with the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) and is a central part of the UK’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement (Article 7, Para 5) and Net Zero targets.
Parties acknowledge that adaptation action should follow a country-driven, gender-responsive, participatory and fully transparent approach, taking into consideration vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems, and should be based on and guided by the best available science and, as appropriate, traditional knowledge, knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems, with a view to integrating adaptation into relevant socioeconomic and environmental policies and actions, where appropriate.
About
Climate change awareness among children in Malaysia is low as the centralised education system does not sufficiently communicate its urgency and impacts. At the same time, its Western-centric approach to environmental education marginalises traditional ecological knowledge which is rooted in centuries of harmonious interaction between indigenous communities and their ecosystems.
Voices of the Rainforest is an interdisciplinary research project which tackles this dual challenge by developing a new educational framework that raises climate awareness and integrates traditional knowledge. Bridging anthropology and education, the project's participatory approach uses ethnographic and arts-based methods to co-create a curriculum framework with partner schools and indigenous communities in Malaysia.
This is a collaborative research project with the National University of Malaysia (UKM). It is funded by the British Academy ODA International Interdisciplinary Research Projects 2024 (Knowledge Frontiers).
Read more about the project here.
People
Research team
Dr Syafiq Mat Noor, Principal Investigator, University of Leeds
Dr. Siti Nur Diyana Binti Mahmud, Co-Investigator (Education), Project Lead (Malaysia), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Dr. Zanisah Man, Co-Investigator (Anthropology), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Mazliza Aini Abdul Majid, Research Office, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Dr Nur Izzati Abdullah, Research Assistant, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Qayherah Ahmad Zam Zam, Fieldwork Research Assistant, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Nur Iman Kamarudin Azhar, Fieldwork Research Assistant, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Shazleeza Izlyn Yusaimi, Fieldwork Research Assistant, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Nurfatin Nadia Mohd Suhaimi, Research Assistant, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Norsyazwani Muhamad Dah, Research Assistant, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Annabelle Dawson, Research Assistant, University of Leeds
Muhammad Zulfadhli Kamarudin, Research Assistant, University of Leeds
Advisory Board
Prof Margaret Kovach, University of British Columbia
Prof Mary Brydon-Miller, University of Louisville
Prof Ruth Swanwick, University of Leeds
Prof Vanessa Kind, University of Leeds
Dr Lou Harvey, University of Leeds
Prof Juli Edo, Universiti Malaya
Blog
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News
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