Chennai corporation schools given Tamil climate dictionary
The initiative aims to make global climate terminology accessible to students in their own language, which is Tamil, while cultivating a deeper understanding of the climate crisis.
Dictionary being handed over to a teacher on Saturday
CHENNAI: Recognising the need for climate education and to understand its implications from a young age among children, Habitat Forum India (INHAF), a non-profit distributed the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ‘the Tamil climate dictionary’ in Chennai corporation schools.
The initiative aims to make global climate terminology accessible to students in their own language, which is Tamil, while cultivating a deeper understanding of the climate crisis.
Speaking to DT Next, Joel Shelton, a consultant with INHAF for this initiative, said that climate literacy was the need of the hour and children must be educated on climate change implications. “That’s why we’re collaborating with Corporation schools and actively creating awareness and distributing the climate dictionary translated into Tamil to schools for children to access during their library hour,” he added. “This dictionary will help children understand climate change situations in their local language and narrate incidents to their families and thereby cause a repeal effect in the society.”
Additionally, as part of the outreach effort, INHAF members began visiting schools in Chennai in October and delivered awareness presentations on climate change, its local impacts, and the importance of environmental stewardship. So far, the team has visited seven schools and will continue to distribute Tamil climate dictionaries in the coming weeks.
During these sessions, students were introduced to key concepts such as carbon footprint, resilience, sustainability, and adaptation which is explained using simple, child-friendly Tamil translations from the climate dictionary. Also, this dictionary can support classwork, environmental clubs, science fairs, and school-level climate initiatives.
INHAF field executive M Kavya piped in, “We believe that equipping children with the right knowledge and vocabulary is the first step toward building a climate-aware society. By providing this dictionary in Tamil, we hope to bridge the language barrier and empower students across Chennai to participate meaningfully in climate conversations.”
Email INHAF - studioinhaf@gmail.com – for a copy of the Tamil Climate Dictionary
