An official award ceremony was organised, on 08 December 2023 at the Cote d'Or National Sports Complex, to remit certificates to representatives of 69 schools which participated in the National Eco-schools programme 2023. 49 schools received the internationally recognised Green Flag Award, 15 received the silver award and five were presented with the bronze award.
The Vice-President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Marie Cyril Eddy Boissézon; the Vice-Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun; the Executive President of Reef Conservation, Mr François Rogers; and other personalities were present on the occasion.
In his address, the Vice-President underlined the importance of education to shape and transform the lives of children. The youth, he stated, have unlimited potential to impact the community, thus the need to prepare the coming generations to become action-oriented citizens in the face of challenges.
Vice-President Boissézon reminded that Government is committed to attain the Sustainable Development Goals and is working relentlessly to achieve same. The Eco-schools programme is praiseworthy as it guides schools and provide symbolical framework to educate the future generations to become the right guardians of the planet, he remarked.
He further congratulated the stakeholders and the educational institutions for their remarkable works under the Eco-schools programme and wished them luck in their future endeavours.
As for the Vice-Prime Minister, she emphasised that the programme signifies the dedication and passion of the school community to build a sustainable future. She lauded the students, the teachers, and staff of the educational institutions for their hard work and dedication.
VPM Dookun-Luchoomun, moreover, underlined that the challenges of climate change require urgent and concerted actions of one and all. Such initiatives, she pointed out, play a pivotal role in instilling a sense of responsibility in the future generations.
''Mitigating climate change should remain at the top of the national agenda. We need to show our commitment in contributing to the COP 28 agenda and your participation is evident of your effort to contribute to sustainability,'' stated the VPM.
She, likewise, highlighted that her Ministry is ensuring that the youth are equipped with the necessary tools to advocate sustainable development. Environment and climate change concepts are embedded in the school curriculum to ensure that learners are aware of the importance of sustainable approaches and its contribution for a sustainable planet, she added.
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For his part, Mr Rogers recalled that the Eco-schools programme kick-started with 28 schools in 2015 on a pilot basis. He expressed satisfaction as regards the number of institutions which have joined the programme presently and the wish for more young people to join it so as to bring about positive changes for a more sustainable world.
Eco-schools is an international school-based Education for Sustainable Development Programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education and is currently implemented in 70 countries with over 56,000 schools. The Eco-schools programme 2023 is an initiative of the Reef Conservation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology and the National Social Inclusion Foundation. Around 180 primary, secondary, and tertiary educational institutions are involved in the programme.
