The 7th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) will be held in Marrakech from June 9 – 14, 2013

The choice of Morocco as a host country is the result of efforts by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, who chairs the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection. Extremely aware of the role of education in protecting the environment, during the last Congress in Montreal in 2009 she took the opportunity to propose Morocco as a destination. As a result, the Foundation is co-organizer of this event.

This major conference is being hosted by the city of Marrakech in June. Every two years, the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) regroups over 2,000 participants from 108 countries, who come to discuss education and environmental awareness. The conference has been hosted by Portugal, Brazil, Italy in 2005, South Africa, Canada and Australia. Morocco is the first Arab-Muslim host country for the conference.

Major international institutions such as UNESCO, ISESCO, FEE and UNEP, represented by its General Executive Directors of the leading figures in the environment (teachers, writers, activists, etc.) will participate in the plenary sessions.

The appointment will shine the spotlight on the Kingdom for an entire week, where delegates will present, discuss and exchange their experiences. The congress is focused on a central theme (the issues surrounding a better harmony between urban and rural) and eleven sub-themes, such as communications and impact of social media, social movements the construction of green societies, environmental economies, or how to reconcile economy and ecology.

The Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection wants to seize the opportunity of this conference to advance its mission. As such, it has organized side events and exhibits at the conference, for a full week in the lively city dedicated to the environment.

NGOs and associations have been selected across the country for the quality of their work in environmental education and promotion of sustainable development. They will present their work in Marrakech to mobilize society and the press to promote their causes. Recycled art exhibits, and educational workshops on recycling and the distillation of aromatic plants will be offered to Marrakech residents and visitors.

This seventh edition of WEEC will shed light on the ochre city, and publicize environmental causes in our country, including the continuous efforts by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection since 2002, which today coordinates twenty projects that are based on environmental education.

To promote cultural diversity, the congress is multilingual with four official languages: Arabic, French, English, and Spanish. It is organized according to ecological principles: zero carbon, zero waste, and local food.