In Mumbai — India’s second most populous city — the perils of climate change are already alarmingly evident.
The coastal city is now experiencing rising sea levels, heatwaves and floods. It has also seen a huge influx of migrants, all fleeing rural regions across India in a bid to escape problems caused by the changing climate.
This past summer Maya Gandhi, Samantha Misner and Yashree Sharma wanted to document the unique challenges faced by women and children in this situation. Their original, on-the-ground research project was made possible by the Asian Institute’s Richard Charles Lee Insights through Asia Challenge (ITAC), an award-winning experiential learning program open to all U of T students.
Named after Hong Kong business executive and philanthropist Richard Charles Lee, ITAC is now in its eighth year. This year’s six winning teams were awarded funding for travel and research costs, enabling them to pursue interdisciplinary projects that covered concerns ranging from the arts, politics, climate change, human rights and more.
Both Gandhi and Sharma recently completed a Master of Global Affairs degree at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, while Misner is a student in the Juris Doctor/Master of Global Affairs program.
“When we first heard about this project, we tried to figure out how to combine all of our interests,” says Gandhi. The team’s areas of expertise covered the areas of migration law, sustainability and Indian politics. Its eventual report, the elements of which are now forming the basis of a policy brief, looked at women, girls and climate change-induced migration through the lens of Mumbai’s construction sector.
Female migrants “gravitate to that industry because of certain low barriers of entry,” Gandhi says. “This work also has different effects on women than it does on men.”
She affirms that support from ITAC was critical to the team’s research. “I know that we wouldn’t have gotten the insights that we did without travelling to India,” she says. “In fact, we wouldn’t have thought about looking into the construction industry if we hadn’t gone to Mumbai — as soon as we got there and started speaking to people, we realized this was the niche that we needed to look into more.”
Gandhi says that few resources related to her research existed online, particularly as “women and girls are often left out of this conversation.” Travel, therefore, was all the more essential to the team’s efforts.
While Gandhi’s team spent the summer in India, Napas Thein’s three-member group travelled to Thailand — from which vantage point they were able to investigate the massive economic, political and social shifts that have taken place since a military coup upended Myanmar in 2021, resulting in a civil war that still rages.
Thein’s group chronicled the hard work of non-governmental, humanitarian and political organizations engaged in pro-democracy and development efforts.
“This trip allowed those of us who are part of the Myanmar diaspora to use our networks in Canada to connect with people,” says Thein, who recently completed a Master of Public Policy degree at Munk. “We were able to do a lot of groundwork here first, then meet with people on the ground and see what’s happening there.”
Thein’s team members included Natalie Frigon, a member of Woodsworth College who recently graduated as a specialist in Munk’s peace, conflict and justice studies program with a major in contemporary Asian studies; and Mercy Sang Te, a member of Innis College who is currently pursuing a double major in psychology and political science, with a minor in French.
Echoing the value of hands-on research, Thein says: “without ITAC, this initiative would not have been possible. We can engage in activism from Canada, but to be able to connect with these organizations is something that cannot happen without support. In order to provide effective humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, we in Canada have to work with these grassroots organizations if we want to create a legitimate humanitarian assistance strategy.”
Both groups were assisted by faculty mentors; Thein’s team worked with Professor Matthew Walton of the Department of Political Science, and Gandhi’s worked with Darius Ornston, assistant professor at the Munk School; Jayeeta Sharma, an associate professor in the Department of History; and Joseph Wong, professor in the Department of Political Science.
In the wake of their trip, the team is using their findings to craft two policy briefs. Along with Gandhi’s team and those of the other four groups, Thein and his colleagues presented their findings at an Asian Institute gathering at the Munk School this past October.
On a personal note, both Gandhi and Thein said that ITAC also helped them connect with elements of their heritage. “I have family in India that I’d never visited before, so that was a special opportunity for me,” says Gandhi.
Thein’s parents were born in Myanmar and sought refuge in Thailand after the famous “8888” uprising — named for its beginning on August 8, 1988.
“At the time, my father joined up with pro-democracy movements in the jungle,” he says. “This trip allowed me to go back in time and see what he was working on, with NGO’s, refugee camps as well as pro-democracy groups. I was able to meet some people that he knew and see how things have changed and how they haven’t.”
ITAC is one of several experiential initiatives sponsored by the Asian Institute, one of the world’s leading research centres in Asian studies. Rachel Silvey, the Richard Charles Lee director of the Asian Institute and a professor in the Department of Geography & Planning, is effusive in her praise of ITAC’s transformative power.
“ITAC changes lives,” she says. “It often provides the first international travel experience that students have ever had. It launches research careers, deepens students' understanding of their own and their communities' migration histories, and allows our student body to be truly engaged with international issues.
“In all of these ways, the ITAC experiences open students' eyes, build bridges between Asia and Canada, and feed into academic excellence. It's an honour for all of us to be a part of this transformative initiative.”