Global Community Organizing and Advocacy for Climate and Health (Global COACH) Scholars

An FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Course

Supported by Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Global Climate and Health Alliance, Stanley Center for Peace and Security, Health Care Without Harm, and the CHA Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy.
Crystal Earth with a medical doctor's stethoscope on green grass. chayanuphol / Shutterstock

Applications for the 2026 cohort have now closed.

Course Overview

Increasingly, health professionals recognize that mitigating and responding to the impacts of climate change is critical to improving the health of their patients. 

Health professionals have been shown to be among the most effective, trustworthy messengers for climate action. But to be effective agents of change they must be empowered with skills to gather and organize others, have an ability to work with communities, and possess a strong sense of self-efficacy and purpose. This course supports development of practices to implement climate solutions in the community you serve. This course will begin in March 2026 and has in-person and online components.

Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies

From March 28-April 3, 2026, the weeklong in-person immersion component of the program will take place in Nafplio, Greece, at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece (CHS Greece), Harvard’s global office in the country and a supporting institution of the program. Scholars will travel to Athens and participate in community building and social activities at the beginning of the immersion before traveling as a group by bus to the headquarters of CHS Greece in Nafplio where programming will occur for the remainder of the week. Scholars will travel back home on April 4.

After the in-person immersion concludes, there will be monthly Zoom two-hour sessions for six months until October 2026.

Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Harvard University logo

Philosophy

Our vision is to create a vibrant educational space and community to develop a global cadre of health professionals who are inspired and enabled to develop and advance climate solutions. The power to accomplish this will come from learning about the health equity implications of climate change and through developing durable community organizing and leadership practices. There will be focus on the responsibility we have to protect the health of children and future generations.

2026 Important Information at a Glance

Dates: March 2026 – October 2026

Location: In-person immersion in Athens and Nafplio, Greece, from March 28, 2026 to April 3, 2026. All other sessions will be held monthly online on Zoom from May-October 2026. Attendance of all sessions, both in person and online on Zoom, is mandatory.

Applications Open: Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Applications Close: Friday, September 12, 2025

Cost of Participation: No Tuition Fees. The organizers will arrange and cover round trip, economy class airfare to Greece, as well as accommodation, meals, and ground transportation during the in-person immersion week. It is the responsibility of each participant to obtain the necessary visas for travel, though the organizers can supply supporting documentation and reimburse costs, including long-distance travel to an embassy or consulate if required.

Logistics Onboarding: Accepted scholars will have an onboarding Zoom session with course administrators in September 2025. We will have strict dates by which participants will need to have their passport and visas processed. Details covering travel, lodging, logistics, and further programmatic details will be described in this required Zoom onboarding session.

For additional information on the program or application process, please email us at fxbcenter_info@hsph.harvard.edu.
See the 2026 application worksheet here Get program updates here

Additional Information

FAQs

I’m a practicing health professional, am I going to be able to fit this program into my health professional work?

All scholars are expected to attend all sessions in the program, both in person and on online on Zoom. If there are extenuating circumstances, we ask them to contact program leadership to let us know right away.

How much is tuition?

There is no tuition for the program. The organizers will arrange and cover round trip, economy class airfare to Greece, as well as accommodation, meals, and ground transportation during the in-person immersion week. It is the responsibility of each participant to obtain the necessary visas for travel, though the organizers can supply supporting documentation and reimburse costs, including long-distance travel to an embassy or consulate if required. Attending all sessions, both in person and online on Zoom, is mandatory.

Why are people asked to apply as a group?

We believe we will enable more change to occur if we have people apply as a group of three, thus bringing back to their organization a number of individuals who have learned community organizing and leadership skills. We also give health professionals the option to include a community partner from a local community based organization to be a part of the team which can foster collaboration with local initiatives. If you are interested in applying as an individual or a differently sized group, please contact us.

Where can I learn more about this program?

A U.S. version of this program, called the Climate Health Organizing Fellows Program, has been running for the last four years. Learn more about the outcomes of that program here.

What is community organizing?

Community organizing is a form of leadership practice that enables a group of people to turn its resources into the power to achieve its goals through recruitment, training, and development of leadership. Organizing is about equipping people with the power to make change. Organizing people to build the power to make change is based on the mastery of five key leadership practices: telling stories, building relationships, structuring teams, strategizing, and acting. In order to develop our capacity for effective community organizing, we must learn:

– How to articulate a story of why we are called to lead, a story of the community we hope to mobilize and why we’re united, and a story of why we must act.
– How to build intentional relationships as the foundation of purposeful collective actions.
– How to create a structure that distributes power and responsibility and prioritizes leadership development.
– How to strategize turning your resources into the power to achieve clear goals.
– How to translate strategy into measurable, motivational, and effective action.

Questions

For additional information on the program or application process, please email us at fxbcenter_info@hsph.harvard.edu.