Linking it to the transformations that Algeria is experiencing in the field of clean energy
Algeria is moving towards establishing a new approach to the energy and environmental transition, combining investment in clean energies and green hydrogen on the one hand, and promoting environmental and health education within educational institutions on the other hand, in an effort to build a more sustainable development model, not based on projects and facilities only, but also includes harnessing efforts to spread awareness among new generations in order to protect natural resources and confront climate challenges.
Environmental specialists believe that the success of the energy transition in Algeria also requires building an integrated system that includes scientific research, training, education, and awareness-raising, allowing for the preparation of competencies capable of keeping pace with the transformations taking place in the energy sector, and consolidating environmental behavior among citizens that starts from school and extends to the university, the institution, and society.
For his part, the head of the Algerian Organization for Environment and Citizenship believes that integrating environmental and health education into school life can contribute to the formation of a generation more aware of its relationship with its surroundings, by establishing a culture of afforestation, cleanliness, forest protection, rationalizing the consumption of resources and health prevention.
Sufyan Affan: The school is a starting point towards an environmental and energy transition
According to the same speaker, the school is not only a space for receiving knowledge, but also an institution for creating behavior, adding that a child who learns from a young age the value of the tree, the importance of water, and the necessity of protecting the forest, will be more able in the future to understand issues of climate, energy, and sustainable development.
The speaker was optimistic about this trend, saying that the formation of the features of an energy and environmental transition in our country goes beyond numbers, investments, university laboratories, and awareness sessions within schools, to become a societal project that begins with humans, and is based on science, training, and awareness, and its impact extends to protecting natural resources and ensuring a more sustainable future for future generations.
Affan added that the school represents the real starting point for any sustainable environmental and energy transition, as it is the space in which the child’s behaviors and relationship with nature and resources are shaped from the early years, stressing that talking about green hydrogen and clean energies must be accompanied by parallel work within educational institutions to instill environmental culture in the rising generations.
The speaker explained that environmental education should not remain merely lessons or circumstantial campaigns, but rather it should be transformed into a daily practice within the school, through afforestation, preserving green spaces, rationalizing water and energy consumption, reducing waste, and promoting a culture of cleanliness and forest protection, considering that a child who learns these behaviors in school becomes more prepared to carry them with him to the family and society.
Involving students in afforestation campaigns
He also pointed out that linking environmental education to the transformations that Algeria is experiencing in the field of energy would make the student closer to future issues, and that talking about solar energy, green hydrogen, and the green economy can begin in school with simplified methods that are appropriate for the various educational stages, so that the student realizes from a young age the relationship between energy, environment, health, and development.
Pointing out that investing in children’s awareness is no less important than investing in renewable energy projects, because the success of the energy transition requires a society that understands its goals and participates in its success.
Affan Sufyan stressed the importance of involving students in field initiatives, such as afforestation campaigns, preserving the forest, cleaning the ocean, and rationalizing the consumption of resources, because, according to him, environmental behavior is not acquired through information alone, but rather through practice, experience, and participation, calling for strengthening cooperation between educational institutions, environmental associations, universities, and research centers in order to provide continuous, not seasonal, awareness programs.
