We are glad to announce Sadia Salim, Wedu Rising Star from Bangladesh, as a finalist for the 2025 Wedu Women’s Leadership Awards in the Earth Advocate Award category.

Sadia works at the intersection of environmental health, gender equity, and community resilience, focusing on some of Bangladesh’s most climate-vulnerable regions, including Kutubdia, Khulna, Sylhet, Chattogram, and Cox’s Bazar. Each of these areas faces unique pressures—from salinity intrusion and flash floods to WASH crises and climate-induced health risks.

Connection to the Award

Through the CATA-EARTH project, Sadia led the creation of a community-driven planetary health curriculum that brought lived experiences directly into classrooms. Piloted with more than 150 students and youth leaders, it improved climate-health literacy and is being considered as a scalable model for other at-risk regions. She also authored a policy brief on climate-induced skin diseases in Kutubdia, advocating for free medical treatment—showing how her work translates community knowledge into national policy dialogue.

Mobilising Change

Sadia’s leadership is deeply participatory, ensuring that marginalised voices shape solutions. Under the IDRC-funded Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM) project, she conducted fieldwork in the Rohingya refugee camps and host communities, facilitating workshops and awareness campaigns that amplified the perspectives of women and youth.

Through the GDPC project, she worked in urban slums of Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar, leading grassroots health and climate interventions that directly engaged over 500 community members. These initiatives mobilised residents to take part in clean-up drives, adopt safer hygiene practices, and develop local resilience strategies. Across all her work, she builds bridges between communities, researchers, and policymakers, ensuring long-term accountability and collective ownership.

Why Sadia Stands Out

Sadia’s leadership is guided by the principle that climate action must be rooted in justice. By listening to and elevating the voices of the most affected, she ensures that women, displaced people, and other underrepresented groups are not only included but actively shape the solutions. Her ability to help transform vulnerable communities from passive recipients of aid into informed agents of change reflects her unique strength as an Earth Advocate.

Connect with Sadia on Linkedin

Join us in celebrating women’s leadership!

On 30 September at 6PM ICT, we will announce the awardees of the four Wedu Women’s Leadership Awards in a special online celebration. Reserve your spot and be part of the moment. RSVP here to join us