Environmental Education is the heart of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection’s mission.
In fact many foundation are dedicated to children to prescribe eco behavior, according to the wishes of HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa.The Eco School program is one of the Foundation for Environmental Education’s (FEE) flagship programs.
In 2002 the Kingdom of Morocco became the first Arab - Muslim country to join the Foundation for Environmental Education. Attracted by the potential of the Eco Schools Program, in 2006 Her Royal Highness launched a large-scale pilot program comprising of 8,471 students in 17 primary schools within 9 regions.
Today more than 60 countries around the world have adopted this program.
The program aims to embed Environmental Education in the curriculum. Eco Schools allows students and the different school stakeholders to build a practical environmental project for the living space they share.
This experiment is an in vivo experiment that will later enable them to convey and defend behavior and lifestyles respectful of the environment.
Everyone’s participation makes the program original:
Students, teachers, local representatives, parents, school administration, and associations experience the Eco-Schools project as true diversity.
Once a precise methodology of 7 points is implemented, this program will allows a social innovation concept experience:
Participatory democracy: everyone’s opinion is required in the debate.
Five main themes of work are proposed: Waste Management, Water, Food, Energy and biodiversity.
Each theme generates benefits at and around school in terms of quality of life, economic resources, and learning citizenship rooted in commitment.
The objectives are:
- Allow teachers to integrate Environmental Education into their courses by establishing links with the subjects they teach. This principle of infusion is an innovative teaching method, placing Environmental Education at the heart of each subject and not as a separate subject outside of context.
- Educate students about environmental issues, starting with priority themes as they arise in their local environment.
- Allow students to become aware of their behavior’s impact on the environment and thus promote civic education.
- Promote environmental management practices through the involvement of local authorities. Children, participating along with elected officials, bring freshness of perspective. Decisions by those involved follow the famous principle of subsidiarity, a major theme of local governance that aims for the most appropriate level of decision closest to the citizens.
