The Centre for Development of the Tensift Region - Marrakech Forum (CDRT) organised, from 8 to 10 April, at the Aghbalou Educational and Cultural Centre under the Al-Haouz province, the 13th edition of the Youth University on the theme "Youth and citizenship in the light of climate change".
Initiated in partnership with the Marrakech city council, the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation, and the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (DVV International), the 13th edition of the Youth University brought together more than 100 participants, including university students, civil society actors, and activists from different political parties. This meeting, placed under the slogan "Active youth... A balanced environment", allowed these young people, who were supervised by university researchers, environmental specialists, and economic actors, to examine several questions inherent to the challenges of climate change, renewable energies, strengthening the capacities of young people in environmental matters, philosophy and the environmental dimension, public policies in environmental matters, and evaluation techniques in the environmental field.
"This event is of particular importance in that it constitutes an ideal opportunity to highlight the initiatives to be taken with a view to promoting the citizenship of young people in the service of solid, sustainable, and resilient development, in the face of the expected harmful effects of climate change", stressed the Minister Delegate in charge of the Environment, Hakima El-Haïti, in a speech read on her behalf. She noted that this university and the various awareness-raising sessions will contribute strongly to the development of green engineering capable of strengthening the awareness and capacities of young people in the face of national and global challenges of sustainable development and the fight against climate change.
The minister also observed that environmental and sustainable development issues are currently experiencing unprecedented momentum at the national level, thanks to the recent adoption of the framework law on the National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development, which constitutes the reference for all public policies in the matter. This new momentum, she added, has resulted in the preparation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy, the adoption of a Green Investment Plan for the operationalisation of the said strategy, and the acceleration of environmental upgrading programmes, notably the National Liquid Sanitation Programme and the National Household Waste Management Programme.
In the same vein, the president of the CDRT, Ahmed Chehbouni, remarked that his institution was working to raise awareness among civil society so that it could contribute, not only to the evaluation of the resilience of ecosystems and the awareness of citizens, but also to the proposal of solutions capable of reconciling adaptation to climate change, preservation of the environment, and promotion of sustainable development. In this capacity, the CDRT has already piloted several development projects in the region that integrate the climate change dimension.
