A total of eight written, six photographic and eight videographic reports won prizes in the 22nd edition of the competition, which for the first time had a theme specific to Morocco, which had chosen to get young people thinking about the consequences of natural disasters, following the earthquake in Haouz.

For its 22nd edition, corresponding to the 2023-2024 school and university academic year, the Young Reporters for the Environment competition, organized by the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Environmental Protection, chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports, has awarded 22 distinctions in the three reporting categories: written, photographic and videographic.

The competition, organized simultaneously in 44 countries around the world, invites young people to become environmental activists for the duration of a report. It invites them to go out into the field and investigate using journalistic techniques, under the supervision of a teacher, to analyze, testify and propose solutions. The competition raises their environmental awareness and encourages them to take a positive, constructive approach.

Every year, a different theme is proposed to all Young Reporters around the world. But for the 2023-2024 school academic year, Morocco made an exception for the first time in 22 years. Just as the students were returning to school, the recent earthquake in Haouz moved and plunged the country into grief on September 8, 2023. The jury therefore decided to adapt the theme of the competition to the dramatic circumstances at the start of the school year.

In each region, the Young Reporters for the Environment community reflected on the consequences of natural disasters, whether earthquakes, floods or fires, and on the short- and long-term issues raised by these natural disasters, such as the sustainability of habitats and infrastructures and their reconstruction, the preservation of cultural heritage, nature’s response to natural disasters, and solidarity with affected populations.

As a result, the September 9 earthquake in the Haouz region featured strongly in the themes covered and rewarded, with reports from the field in the village of Akrad Nawaduz, solidarity and civil society in Taroudannt, hope (amidst the rubble and pain of the earthquake… new hopes and aspirations will emerge in life).

But the natural disaster that has come to the fore most is the drought that has plagued the Kingdom for the past six years. “The worst is yet to come… How do we deal with the drought crisis in our country? ”, “Dayet er-roumi: a site of biological interest at risk”, “Oum-er-Rbia: a bleeding wound from the heart of nature”, “Water resources: between the hammer of climate change and the anvil of misuse”, ‘A piece of stale bread, may God bless your parents… a path of solidarity from the table to the cattle fodder’, five reports dealt with the impact of drought, showing how deeply it is felt by populations, including the youngest.

The Young Reporters for the Environment also looked at solutions, such as seawater desalination in Agadir, water tryears oldfers to Casablanca, and direct seeding as a farming alternative to launch the campaign in the absence of rain. In all, eight of the 22 prize-winning reports dealt directly or indirectly with drought, a natural disaster that has permeated people’s minds over the last six years.

Other types of natural disaster were also covered, such as forest fires in northern Morocco or in the Aoufous palm groves near Errachidia, and even locust invasions.

For three days in early July, the jury studied the 662 contributions to this 22nd edition, at the Hassan II International Center for Environmental Training. In view of the high quality of the reports, the jury chose to reward 22 of them, submitted by 74 students and the 22 teachers who supervised them, compared with 18 for the previous season. Winners in all three categories will receive their prize certificates and digital tablets.

Given that the theme of this 22nd edition was exceptionally different from that proposed worldwide, Morocco was unable, as every year, to submit reports to the international competition.

Finally, with the 2023-2024 season barely over, the 2024-2025 edition is already underway. This year’s theme is ecosystem restoration.