From the ground up: Lessons in locally-led solutions with Runa Khan @ClubofRome
From the ground up: Lessons in locally-led solutions with Runa Khan  @ClubofRome
Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What does it take to reach the world's most marginalised communities - not just with aid, but with dignity? In this episode of the Club of Rome Podcast, host Nolita Mvunelo speaks with Runa Khan, member of the Club of Rome and founder of Friendship, an international social purpose organisation that has been working on the river islands and coastal chars of Bangladesh since 2002. In 2025, Friendship won the Earthshot Prize in the Fix Our Climate category.

Runa grew up in a privileged "glass bubble" in Bangladesh, shielded from the realities of deep poverty. An encounter with communities on the nomadic islands of the Brahmaputra river sparked a lifelong commitment to justice and equity. Her father's words stayed with her: "You are only as rich as what you can do without."

Find more episodes of the podcast at clubofrome.org/podcast
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From the ground up: Lessons in locally-led solutions with Runa Khan

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