HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa Deems Education for Sustainable Development Absolute Priority

Rabat – Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, called, Monday, on the international community to make a firm commitment, during this decade, to establish education for sustainable development as an absolute priority, underlining the urgency of this action.

“Let us make a firm commitment, during this decade, to establish education for sustainable development as an absolute priority. This is urgent. This is vital!,” insisted Her Royal Highness in a video message to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, held virtually on May 17-19.

In this video message broadcast during a plenary session, held under the theme “Creating the change we need in the time of planetary crisis – ESD for 2030”, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa affirmed that the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection has been working, for more than two decades, to develop various programs aimed at reducing or eliminating the negative impact of Man on Nature.

Her Royal Highness indicated, in this regard, that His Majesty King Mohammed VI, whose interest in the subject goes back to his youth, has always encouraged us to develop the most ambitious approaches, rooted in the present and resolutely turned towards the future, noting that the Sovereign has consistently reminded us that the school is at the very heart of these development issues and of the environmental challenge in particular.

“Tasked with the provision of instruction and the transmission of knowledge, the school is, more broadly and perhaps even more importantly, a place for education and the transmission of values. Educating young people to respect the environment means believing in the promise of a new, more harmonious and sustainable world,” said HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa.

“Education for sustainable development – the theme bringing us together today – is the key to success,” added Her Royal Highness, stressing that “for this reason, we wanted our Foundation to focus on raising awareness and training young people in these issues”.

“In that way, we believe we are sowing the seeds of environmental awareness so that we may ultimately contribute to the emergence of a society that is aware of the natural environment in which it lives, and that is capable of adopting appropriate, eco-friendly behavior,” said HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, expressing her pride in the partnership between the Foundation and UNESCO, with which “we have been working since 2020 to mainstream environmental education into school curricula at all levels, up to the baccalaureate”.

In this regard, Morocco is one of three countries in the world that are conducting a pilot experiment for the UNESCO Global Schools program, noted Her Royal Highness.

“Mobilization for environmental issues can only have a lasting effect if it becomes a natural part of initial training: education from an early age is therefore an essential priority,” said HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa.

“A generation separates us from the Rio Summit,” pointed out Her Royal Highness, considering that it is imperative to examine the reasons that may have slowed down the introduction of education for sustainable development in school curricula.

Her Royal Highness emphasized, on this occasion, that “the very special context we live in today, it is up to us to build, together, a new, indispensable consensus, by defining the priorities we set for ourselves as human beings bound by a common destiny”.

“The covid-19 crisis reminds us, in particular, of the urgent need to achieve global, equitable sustainable development that serves everyone,” said HRH the Princess, stressing that the protection of the environment and the preservation of our planet – “which is our common home” – are fundamental elements of this approach.