The Kuwaiti Society for Environmental Protection announced the end of the eighth season of the «Green Schools» program for the current academic year, with the participation of 86 schools that registered in the program’s workshops, seminars and lectures through an extensive training workshop that included 5 scientific lectures, in which 70 male and female teachers from the scientific disciplines from all areas of Kuwait participated.
Training workshop
Janan Behzad, Director of Programs and Activities and Secretary General of the Environment Society, confirmed that the eighth season of the "Green Schools" program concluded with an extensive training workshop entitled "Sustainable Development and Climate Change," organized by the Society.
On the occasion of Earth Day, with the participation of 70 male and female teachers from Ministry of Education schools included in the "Green Schools" program, noting that the workshop was held at the headquarters of the Kuwaiti Lawyers Association with the participation of the Environment Public Authority and the Environmental Police.
Sponsored by the National Bank of Kuwait, the workshop presented an integrated program to introduce climate change and sustainable development as one of the educational and training programs for the climate change literacy campaign.
Specialized lectures
Behzad noted that the workshop program included five specialized lectures, beginning with a lecture on "The Role of the Environmental Police in Enforcing the Environmental Protection Law," presented by Colonel Hussein Al-Ajmi, Director of the Environmental Police. She added that Engineer Sharif Al-Khayyat, Director of the Research and Studies Office at the Environment Public Authority, presented a lecture entitled "The Future of Climate Change in the State of Kuwait." She also mentioned that Ms. Sharifa Al-Salem, Head of the Wildlife Monitoring Section at the Biodiversity Conservation Department of the Environment Public Authority, presented on "The Authority's Role in Biodiversity Conservation." Furthermore, Ali Salem Al-Hamad, a researcher in hydroponics and a certified trainer, delivered a lecture on hydroponics, while Janan Behzad presented her lecture on development.
His Highness planted it in the good land of Kuwait. The Board of Directors and members of the association pledge to His Highness the Emir to continue giving and contributing in support and promotion of the values of environmental citizenship and the concepts of volunteer work, whose pioneering path His Highness, may God protect him, has established.
Environmental citizenship
Ministry schools
Sustainable in the environment.
She reported that 86 private schools from the Ministry of Education participated in the primary, intermediate and secondary stages in the activities of the «Green Schools» program, which was presented by the Programs and Activities Department in the association in cooperation with several entities to serve the program’s diverse topics in both climate change with the General Authority for the Environment and the United Nations Environment Programme to raise awareness of climate change and its effects, as well as the Kuwaiti Lawyers Association, represented by the Committee for the Defense of the Environment, and the Environmental Police Department of the Ministry of Interior, in order to raise awareness of the Environmental Protection Law.
sustainable development
Janan Behzad stated that Sustainable Development Goal 13 calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. This goal is closely linked to all 16 other Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. Addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development are two sides of the same coin, reinforcing each other. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without climate action. Conversely, many of the core development goals are related to climate change. She added, "Sustainable development calls for concerted efforts to build a future for people and the planet that is inclusive, sustainable, and resilient. Achieving sustainable development requires balancing three essential elements: economic growth, social inclusion, and the protection of communities.".
Specialized professors
She added: «The topics covered in the program were presented by specialized professors from the association in the relevant field.” She announced that the eighth edition of the Green Schools Program saw the participation of approximately 2,000 students from Ministry of Education schools and private schools. She noted that the previous seven editions saw an average annual participation of around 5,000 students representing approximately 150 schools. These students participated in a variety of activities, including workshops, panel discussions, training courses, and participation in related events and exhibitions, as well as organizing field visits to environmental sites across the country. She emphasized that the activities included initiatives to promote the implementation of environmental protection laws in schools and raise awareness about the importance of addressing environmental issues.
Regarding the causes of climate change on a personal level for the student and for schools as institutions involved in education and training, with the participation of Ministry of Education schools and private education schools, in addition to university students.».
Active participation
Janan Behzad stated that «the program, in its eighth edition for the current academic year, included many events, activities, and programs that were distinguished by the active participation of specialists and researchers who contributed their knowledge and experience to the program for the benefit of students and teachers. As a result, specialized educational and training curricula were developed in scientific topics that support the school curriculum, such as: preserving biodiversity on coasts, establishing environmental clubs in schools, rationalizing water consumption, climate change, environmental protection law, and other emerging topics. This contributes to strengthening the spirit of active citizenship among students, which begins at school, encouraging environmental volunteer work in the school community, and linking environmental topics to environmental protection law in a way that affects the individual and society. Through field visits to schools, the Green Schools Program team aspires to create an educational and legal awareness that will enable national initiatives in implementing the law through environmental clubs in schools, and to raise awareness among science teachers through experiments and field trips, as well as among non-science teachers, to increase knowledge of science and its applications and the importance of its connection to solving environmental problems around us.»
Events and Activities
She explained that «the program included numerous topics, events, and activities in the field of environmental awareness, which contribute to developing and strengthening active citizenship among young people and encouraging environmental volunteer work within the school community. The association also works to enrich and enhance the program with emerging topics in national environmental work, year after year, to achieve even greater benefit.» She clarified that the «Green Schools» program encompassed all educational levels except…
Kindergartens, noting that applications to participate in the program were received through electronic registration via the association's website www.keps.org.com throughout the year to benefit from the program's advantages.»
