Green Hope UAE recently conducted an environment academy at a school in Sharjah on the topic of Education for Sustainable Development. Education is the key to progress and is definitely one of the key stepping stones in achieving our goal of sustainable development. Our academy is a part of constant endeavor to reach out to school students in order to spread awareness and engage them in the various issues related to the post2015 and sustainable development agenda.

The academy was very well attended and was hugely engaging. Apart from ESD , we had sessions which focused on sustainable consumption and production. Our planet?s finite resources are getting consumed at an alarming rate and unless we practice sustainable consumption and resource efficiency , future generations will be at risk of inheriting a barren planet. The amount of waste generated , especially in urban areas , is increasing every day , and this menace can only be tackled with proper engagement and awareness within civil society.

We shared feedback and salient outcomes from the IPCC report and it was quite heartening to note the level of participation from the attendees. Future Justice and the rights of future generations were one of key agenda points and we explained the need for civil society to decisively demand the implementation of institutionalized Ombudspersons at local , regional and international level.

Fighting land degradation has always been our call and all our environment academies have tree planting at its core. Teachers , students and our group members concluded the event by planting saplings within the school premises. Our endeavour , through these academies , is to try create awareness and engagement within civil society , especially children and youth , so that we have a defining say in the post 2015 SD dialogue.