The Ministers of Environment and Education launch the first phase of the "Afforestation and Waste Separation
Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, and Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, launched today the first phase of the "Afforestation, Waste Separation at the Source, and Recycling in Schools" initiative; with the aim of instilling positive behavior among students to preserve the environment.
The initiative is being implemented in coordination and cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Technical Education and the Ministry of Environment, with the participation of a number of private sector companies operating in the waste system, in continuation of the path of constructive cooperation between the two ministries to enrich the culture of environmental conservation in Egyptian schools.
This came in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Al-Mohammadi, Assistant Minister for Strategic Planning and Follow-up, Mr. Ayman Moussa, Director of the Education Directorate in Cairo Governorate, Mr. Yasser Abdullah, Head of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority, and a number of leaders from the two ministries.
The two ministers began the launch from Sayeda Khadija Elementary School affiliated to the Ain Shams Education Administration, where they inspected the trees that were planted with the support of the Environmental Affairs Agency, and delivered a number of separation boxes Waste in the school, and a number of symbolic gifts were distributed to students to encourage them to positively integrate into all environmental activities.
Dr. Yasmine Fouad stated that the initiative aims to spread the culture of afforestation and waste separation at the source in schools, in containers designated for each type of waste and awareness of the concept of reuse and recycling, within the framework of fruitful cooperation between the Ministries of Environment and Education in many environmental fields with the aim of rooting the concept of environmental conservation in students' behavior, through many activities, including integrating the environmental dimension into educational curricula, carrying out afforestation campaigns in schools, implementing cleanliness campaigns and others, in line with the Ministry of Education's orientation and the new thinking to develop schools.
Dr. Yasmine Fouad pointed out that the first phase of the initiative will be implemented at the level of official primary and preparatory schools in the eastern and western regions of Cairo Governorate, with the participation of “Environmaster” in the eastern region, and “Irteqa” in the western region, which are the two companies responsible for the waste collection system in the two regions. The awareness team at the Ministry of Environment and the awareness team of each company will also present a number of awareness programs inside schools in the two regions, to introduce students to the importance of planting trees, types of waste, the correct way to separate waste, and the importance of recycling. She pointed out that 50 schools in the eastern region and 50 schools in the western region were selected to be implemented in the first phase, where waste bins of different colors will be distributed to teach students the correct way to separate, and the two companies will remove the waste at the time agreed upon with each school. Each company will also disinfect the bins periodically, with the aim of preserving the public health of students. For his part, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif stressed the importance of integrating environmental concepts into educational curricula; To raise awareness among students about the value of waste, especially plastic and electronic waste, and their participation in the waste recycling system within schools, and implement cleaning and afforestation campaigns within them.
The Minister of Education indicated that the Ministry is keen to implement a group of diverse environmental activities, develop positive behaviors towards the environment, work to instill a culture of afforestation and environmental conservation among students and introduce them to the importance of preserving natural resources, and for schools to be promising models for maximizing the idea of waste recycling and implementing it on the ground.
During the event, the two ministers listened to a group of student songs that urge environmental conservation, and they also witnessed a number of students planting some trees in the school garden, and learned about the students' experiences and activities regarding waste recycling.
The Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif directed holding seminars in schools to activate the initiative and raise awareness of its importance in preserving the environment, in addition to disbursing a performance incentive to the school principal for his activity in activating the initiative.
On the sidelines of the event, Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education, inspected the classes of Sayyida Khadija Elementary School, which includes 1,049 male and female students, and followed up on school assignments and weekly assessments.