Empowering Youth to tackle climate change

Climate change, Throughout the past years the AFCD Foundation has been embarking on many transformative projects related to climate change, that aims to foster sustainable change Locally and nationally. These projects were designed to comprehensively address the environmental needs, community planning, and create effective policy implementation.

One of those projects was The Oxygen Project Implemented by the AFCD Foundation in partnership with the High Atlas Mountains and funded by the US department of state, the main goal of the project was to educate local communities in Al Haouz province about Morocco’s pioneering charters, initiatives, and successful projects developed since 2011.

The was aim to empower individuals to lead the change in their own communities. Through trainings on environmental awareness, innovative and best practices. Furthermore, we aspired to establish a regional and provincial advocacy group, by breaking the gap between the habitants and locals with the decision makers and government institutions in the region to ensure a participatory approach to environmental preservation and sustainable development.

Another recent project that we have been working on is the eco citizen, through this project the AFCD Foundation has brought together more than 300 young individuals, climate activist, civil society actors, stakeholders, public and private institutions and decision makers who are passionate about waste management and environmental issues on the local level to discuss and brainstorm practical solutions. Where we organized a forum for local waste pickers, involving all the stakeholders to address environmental challenges and restructure the sector.

Additionally, the AFCD launched a digital environmental awareness campaign on social media platforms, focusing on raising environmental consciousness among the citizens. One of the outcomes of the projects so far is that we have created a safe space for discussion and a common ground for civil society activists and elected officials to draft a locally Environmental Charter, as well as to develop a platform for citizens to report environmental issues in the city in close coordination with the municipality of Ait Ourir.

However, Morocco stays a highly vulnerable country to climate variability and change and the expectations of increasing frequency and intensity of droughts for the country are particularly alarming for the agricultural sector and will affect both rural areas and the national economy as a whole.

But words are not as powerful as actions and because of the experience that the AFCD has accumulate in the field, we have decided to take action to the national level, through the Youth Green Generation project, which is one of the actions implemented by the AFCD Foundation in partnership with Dar America Casablanca, driven by ambitious youth, fostering to empower 30 Moroccan youth between the ages of 23 and 30 who are from the Oriental region and have an interest in tackling the climate change issues in order to become climate leaders and enhance innovation to solve climate challenges.