Tag Archive for: Fondation Mohammed VI

The voice of the South of the world

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Photo by Larm Rmah, Unsplash

For this 11th edition of the WEEC, a congress in which the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment always takes great pleasure to participate, I come, on behalf of HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, to bring the voice of the South. I do so with all the more conviction as almost 10 years have passed since the congress we hosted in Marrakech in 2003, where we launched an appeal. You may remember it.

I hope you do. Because we called for the strengthening of cooperation in the service of environmental education, especially from the countries of the North to the countries of the South who face particular circumstances that challenge their ability to carry out the essential efforts of education for sustainable development.

While some significant progress was made for the people and the planet in those events, there is a genuine question to be put forward when it comes to the global ownership of that progress, from a civil society perspective. Indeed, again, there were few civil society representatives from the Global South in those events.

And this is far from being an exception of this forum. It is unfortunately still, in 2022, a common reality that we must urgently and meaningfully address. Just a few weeks ago, the Foundation sent a delegation to UNEA 5 and UNEP @50.

But you know very well that in this great event, the most interesting thing, forgive me for saying it, is all the contacts that are made in the corridors, this conviction and this shared human warmth for education for sustainable development. And you know how much we, the people of the South, need this contact, this dialogue and this warmth.

You can see this for yourself in this large room that brings us all together. Many representatives from the South did not have the means to travel, regardless of the Covid-19, so, with the new uses that we have learned from this pandemic, they are following the words that I am saying to you right now behind the screen of their computer.

In addition, while the Global South is connected by similarities in challenges, it is also enriched by the diversity of our contexts and paths. As such, it is not enough to just include a few global south voices, the inclusion of the Global South must not be a monolith but instead must reflect the spirit of leaving no one behind.

We do not lack ideas and practices. We even have some to transmit. In Morocco, in Africa, in South America, the populations have environmental practices that are thousands of years old, certainly developed out of necessity but also out of concern for nature. In the South, the circular economy is not an empty word. Nothing is thrown away, everything is recycled, everything is transformed. Low Tech, whose virtues are being rediscovered, is a daily reality. Indeed, we draw our ideas from nature itself, for lack of access to technology, to industry, and this is perhaps a good for a bad.

Through several programs that we have coordinated with our partners across Africa, such as the African Youth Climate Hub and the African Green Universities and Youth Education Network, we have listened and we have learned. And then we have co constructed with African Youth. And what we have co constructed is based on the fact that African Youth are not looking for generic support.

African Youth are looking for partnerships and advice to fully seize the opportunities that they identified themselves, through solutions they have designed themselves. This is the new African Reality and it is largely led by youth.

The policies put in place for the protection of heritage against climate change are not always contextualized with the needs of the South, which sometimes finds itself alone and isolated to deal with disruptions to heritage values ​​and the lives of communities, considerably limiting their ability to access, benefit from and practice their culture.

We must therefore work together to reconcile ourselves to our territories and our practices through the appreciation of our heritage in all its forms of expression, source of inspiration and witness to our transcendence, heritage reminds us that the well-being of Man must converge with the well-being of nature.

Let’s do it together. Let’s really unite. This is the wish that I formulate here, in the name of the South. It is a wish, it is a call for solidarity at all levels and all over the world for the benefit of the people and the planet, leaving no one behind.

Call for ideas. African Youth Platform for Climate

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As part of African Youth Platform for Climate initiative, a call was launched to choose the best ideas and projects of young start-ups in environment and climate fields.

Selected candidates will benefit from a 6 months incubation program to support their project and bring them to maturity.

Here you can find the Incubation Program

The African Youth Climate Hub is an initiative to respond to and amplify the voices and action of Youth, starting with African Youth. It aims to be a positive space for exchange and concrete support for young Africans both in terms of skills and knowledge and in terms of entrepreneurship and job opportunities. To learn more about them, visit their website.

Here you can submit your project 

This initiative is a formal partnership between the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, the YOUNGO (Children and Youth Constituency to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), OCP Group and University Mohammed VI Polytechnic . Additional partners are welcome, in particular African based partners for the initial African phase of this initiative.

 

African youth against climate change, a new hub is born

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A major new initiative to fight climate change was launched by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, at the 2019 Climate Action Summit of the United Nations. The initiative, focused on promoting the ideas and solutions of young Africans, was launched on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Her Royal Highness, as a globally committed actor, has, for several decades, systematically placed young people and citizens at the center of the Foundation’s activities.

This initiative was born out of a partnership between the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, YOUNGO (group of children and young people at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, the OCP Group, as well as young people who were at the heart of the co-construction of this initiative.

The Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection brings to this initiative its 18 years of experience in education for sustainable development in Morocco, as well as a significant emphasis on Africa, digital technology and international cooperation . YOUNGO makes use of more than 200 youth-led NGOs for young people, as well as its technical expertise. The Mohammed VI Polytechnic University contributes with its approach based on learning by doing (learning by doing), its network of African experts as well as its cutting-edge resources. Finally, the OCP Group provides its support and expertise as a representative of the private sector.

The African Youth Climate Hub will offer young Africans the opportunity to establish and foster a generational movement to fight climate change. The Hub will educate, inspire, empower and mobilize young people to create lasting change in their schools, communities and professional ecosystems, at all levels.

The aim is to create a forum where young Africans can discuss their ideas for combating climate change. The ideas deemed most relevant to the key targets of the Hub will be developed in an incubator before being refined and then deployed. The Hub hopes to bring together the most committed and innovative young African thinkers on climate change, create a learning center and help people find green jobs in Africa.

«Africa is affected by climate change and at the same time constitutes a rich breeding ground for solutions. There has never been a more inclusive and impact-oriented space, allowing young Africans to come together and share their ideas for solutions adapted to their continent». This was stated by Meryem Hdia, a 21-year-old Moroccan woman, youth ambassador for the Hub. «This new platform will allow young Africans to create their own solutions to climate change. It is about developing ideas that will have a real impact on the lives of people around the world».

The African Youth Climate Hub will enable young Africans to identify and connect with the different groups and organizations that need to rely on their ideas to integrate best practices and amplify the impact of their actions. The Hub aims to generate forums involving the main stakeholders and young people, to reduce differences in capacity and to promote an active intergenerational approach.

But the Hub is not limited to ideas: the objective is to generate tangible results with support mechanisms put in place to make ideas happen. Among these mechanisms, the establishment of a network to facilitate cross-border and intergenerational connections, an incubator and a knowledge center.
The African Youth Climate Hub will be based at the Hassan II International Center for Environmental Training in Rabat, Morocco. An annual meeting of the Hub will be held at the Center and will allow young people from all over the African continent to share their knowledge, exchange their best practices, etc.

Contacts: contact@youthclimatehub.org