On Friday December 8, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa attended the high-level segment on Education for Sustainable Development at the Greening Education Hub at Dubai Expo City, the venue for COP28.  HRH shared the podium during the high-level panel on “getting every leaner climate-ready” alongside His Excellency Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education of the United Arab Emirates, Ms. Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO Education, in presence of H.E. Shamma Al Mazrui  COP28 YOUTH CLIMATE CHAMPION, and other leading personalities.

Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa was also invited to speak at the first annual conference of the Partnership for Green Education, launched at the United Nations Summit on Transforming Education in New York in September 2022, in which the Foundation played an active role.

In her address at this high-level event, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa shared the Foundation’s practical, ongoing and productive action on Education for Sustainable Development by way of programs it has run for 20 years, in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports.

HRH also emphasized Foundation actions to mobilize and unite Africa’s young people through its African Youth Climate Hub and African Green Universities and Youth Education Network initiatives.  A host of network members from these initiatives joined the Foundation and its partners at COP 28 to convey the voice of the South.

In her speech, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa spoke of the African Youth Climate Hub, now boasting more than 18,000 members from 9 countries across Africa. The first edition spawned 10 projects, now generating $500,000+ in monthly revenue. The leaders of these projects also sealed over 20 partnerships, creating 15 jobs in barely six months. The second call for projects, which closed on October 15, 2023, drew 245 project submissions.

In her address, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa called for greater global solidarity, particularly from developed countries towards the developing world, at a time when the widespread adoption of new technologies widens the gap between North and South, not least in terms of access to data and artificial intelligence in education. To offset such inequalities, HRH underlined the urgency of practical measures to simplify international funding procedures and improve access to resources so as to enable full inclusion.

Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa urged for investment in the education that is needed, in today’s age of new technologies and artificial intelligence, to shape younger generations into global citizens, proactive in protecting their planet. HRH stated that we need all the goodwill we can muster to rise to the challenges of the day.

In conclusion, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa made an inspirational appeal to young people, calling on them to express their creativity and challenge inertia in protecting the planet from the effects of climate change. HRH encouraged young people to draw on the wisdom of their elders, for inspiration in adjusting to present difficulties, and building a more sustainable future for all.

About Sustainable Development Education at the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection:

The Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection is dedicated to environmental education and awareness. It primarily targets younger people, in keeping with the credo of our Chair, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, who strongly supports raising the environmental awareness of tomorrow’s generations as a key driver of sustainable development.

The Foundation began running programs aimed at the very young quite early-on, drawing on the tools of the Foundation for Environmental Education and the resources of the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports.

Today, it runs six Education for Sustainable Development programs aimed at young people of all ages.

Eco-Schools:

Eco-Schools is a program designed by the Foundation for Environmental Education and deployed in Morocco by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports. The program now includes over 4,000 schools and has reached over two million pre-school and primary school children since 2006.

Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE):

Designed by the Foundation for Environmental Education, the program was introduced in Morocco in 2002. Over 34,000 high school, college and university students have taken part in the competition. Young reporters conduct their own journalistic investigations, analyzing environmental problems and subsequently offering recommendations.

Global Schools:

Global Schools is a Sustainable Development Solutions Network program that helps education systems around the world incorporate UN Sustainable Development Goals into school curricula. The program aims to equip every primary and secondary school student with the knowledge, values and skills needed to build a sustainable world. Morocco is the pilot country for this program.

African Green Universities and Youth Education Network (AGUYEN):

African Green Universities and Youth Education Network (AGUYEN), a program run by the Foundation jointly with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), brings together institutions of higher education incorporating the environment into their education, training, and campus operations.

AGUYEN also educates students on Sustainable Development.

22 universities in eight African countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Comoros, Kenya, Uganda) are part of this program run by the Foundation in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Program.

African Youth Climate Hub (AYCH):

The AYCH initiative was launched in New York by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa to mark the Climate Action Summit of September 21, 2019. Supporters include the Official Children and Youth Constituency (YOUNGO) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the OCP Group (Office Chérifien des Phosphates) and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University of Benguerir. It is a youth network, environmental start-up incubator, forum, knowledge center, observatory and dashboard for climate action.

Digital inclusion:

The digital inclusion program was set up during the COVID-19 lockdown period to enable student access to distance education. The program has been renewed every year since. Schoolchildren in remote schools of rural Morocco receive tablets with educational resources developed by the Foundation and its partners.