The Red Sea Mall’s productive families initiative “How to Be a Leader,” launched in cooperation with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, completed its second successful year.
It is a platform that enables families to become a part of the business world. The initiative supports the ambitions of many, and 100 participating families were awarded for achieving positive results this year.
Aidrous Al-Bar, executive member of Red Sea Markets Company Ltd., which owns the mall, expressed his appreciation for the participating families. He also thanked the “Ala Mazaji” group, which supervised the “Productive Families Kiosks.”
Al-Bar said: “The success of this initiative that was a result of fruitful cooperation between the Red Sea Mall and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry brings us pride. In only two years, the initiative has attracted 200 families that displayed various projects with great commercial ideas. From the very beginning, the mall has had plans to ensure the success and continuity of the initiative to support the participating families. We will continue to support the families in line with Vision 2030 and to integrate the private sector and achieve economic development. Small enterprises now form an important segment which is highly supported by our government.”
Mohammed Al-Asiri, marketing manager of Red Sea Mall, said: “We worked on developing this initiative to become an active platform for productive families with limited incomes. There have been many meetings with governmental entities to specify the sector which benefits the most from this initiative aiming to further develop it and the results of these meetings will soon be announced.”
Several participants displayed their products during the two-day event at the mall.
Participant Rania Ghimrawi, a microbiology graduate, said: “I have always been intrigued with Arabian style and fashion to create my personal style. I studied graphic design courses and began participating in various initiatives allowing me to showcase my products. Through my participation in the ‘Productive Families Kiosks’ at the Red Sea Mall, I was able to make a bigger difference, and for that I thank the Red Sea Mall for supporting me to fulfil my goals.”
She said she hopes to some day have her own store at the mall.
100 productive families benefit from Red Sea Mall’s initiative
100 productive families benefit from Red Sea Mall’s initiative
Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet advances climate resilience in Bangladesh
The Jameel Observatory Climate Resilience Early Warning System Network, an initiative co-founded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Community Jameel to reinvent climate change adaptation in vulnerable communities into a proactive, integrated and evidence-based process, announced the launch of its Adaptation Fortress initiative, transforming existing cyclone shelters and providing protection from heat waves in Bangladesh for the first time.
The first Adaptation Fortress is under construction in Satkhira district, southwest Bangladesh. If this pilot is successful, the initiative will open a pathway, with additional funding, to scaling up to 1,250 Adaptation Fortresses providing heatwave relief to half a million of the region’s most vulnerable residents.
More than 30 million people live in southwestern Bangladesh. Between 2019 and 2021, including in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple cyclones hit the region, devastating land, homes and entire communities. The threats posed by climate change — rising sea levels and more extreme weather — mean that people living in this region are likely to face similar crises in the years ahead. In addition to cyclones, extreme heat is a growing threat, putting people at risk of dehydration and heatstroke. In 2024, the UN found that heat waves caused nationwide school closures for two weeks, with some schools closing for six to eight weeks due to the combined impact of heat waves and flooding.
In Bangladesh, the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet has used its mid-century climate projections and analysis of local human systems to design a pilot for a multi-purpose, multi-objective structure called an Adaptation Fortress.
By engaging extensively with local communities, the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, which includes among its partners BRAC, a global nongovernmental organization established in Bangladesh, is demonstrating a new model of climate adaptation that repurposes schools that are also cyclone shelters to serve as sanctuaries during extreme heat events.
The climate resilient shelter model is the first of its kind in Bangladesh and serves as a blueprint for infrastructure development across South Asia. Designed to protect the most vulnerable community members during government-declared heat emergencies, Adaptation Fortresses feature solar power generation and battery backup systems to ensure the shelter is resilient to outages during extreme heat conditions. The site also includes rainwater harvesting capacity and is designed so that excess energy generated when air conditioning is not in use is made available for community use.
Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel KBE, founder and chairman of Community Jameel, said: “The Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet’s construction of this first pilot Adaptation Fortress marks a milestone for Bangladesh and the region. It lays the foundation for a proactive response to cyclones and heat stress — emergencies that the team has projected will become frequent events, threatening the lives of millions in Bangladesh. By adapting infrastructure today, we are building the resilience needed for tomorrow.”
Professor Elfatih Eltahir, lead principal investigator of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, said: “Bangladesh built a vast network of cyclone shelters that have been effective in protecting vulnerable populations. For the first time the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet is introducing the concept of shelter from heat waves as well as cyclones in southwest Bangladesh. This integrated and proactive initiative will significantly improve climate resilience in a region with some of the highest risks from climate change.”
Dr. Deborah Campbell, executive director of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet, said: “Bangladesh is getting hotter and will experience more frequent and severe heat waves, leaving many people very vulnerable to heat stress and lacking the resources to adapt. The Adaptation Fortress initiative will provide shelter for the most vulnerable community members in southwest Bangladesh and has the potential to serve as a model for similar proactive climate resilience infrastructure development across Bangladesh and South Asia.”
Dr. Md Liakath Ali, principal investigator of the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet at BRAC, said: “BRAC is proud to partner with the Jameel Observatory-CREWSnet in pioneering the Adaptation Fortress initiative, an important step toward protecting vulnerable communities from the growing risks of extreme heat in coastal Bangladesh. By transforming existing cyclone shelters into multi-purpose, climate-resilient infrastructure, we are demonstrating how locally grounded solutions can address emerging climate hazards while strengthening community well-being. Alongside the pilot, we are committed to engaging policy makers so that future heat and climate risks are integrated into national planning processes. The lessons from this initiative will not only support communities in the southwest, but also inform long-term, scalable strategies for resilience across the country.”
