Green Light Initiative

Environmental Education for Primary and Secondary School Students in Syria

 Context

In cooperation with the Sustainable Business Association (SBA), Massar has developed an initiative that aims at improving the level of and approach to environmental education in Syrian schools.

 The pilot will run for three years and it will:

1. Examine the way environmental concepts are currently incorporated in the education system in selected schools in Aleppo;
2. Adapt existing didactic methods or develop relevant new ones;
3. Expand its activities in the second phase of the initiative to include formal and informal education methods to raise environmental awareness, and to encourage active support from the younger generation to create a sustainable environmental culture within their local communities.

 Massarstarted its work on the Green Light initiative in August 2010; an official announcement was made shortly afterwards, in September 2010, at a workshop organised by Massar, together with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs.

 Objectives

In the long-term, the Green Light projectendeavours to integrate an environmental education programme into the curricula of Syrian primary and secondary schools as a permanent feature. The scheme will also effectively promote a number of different ways in which young people in Syria can help protect their environment.

 Specifically, Massar will:

1. Provide the younger generation with the knowledge and skills required to enable them to become eco-friendly citizens;
2. Raise awareness among the younger generation about the impact their and other people’s behaviour and lifestyle have on the environment;
3. Encourage the younger generation to become actively involved in the protection of the environment;
4. Provide primary and secondary school teachers with relevant materials, methods and knowledge to effectively promote environmental education.

 Project Partners

Massar’s Green Light project is financially supported by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA); it is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs.

 Beneficiaries

1. Primary and secondary school students;
2. Primary and secondary school teachers;
3. University graduates (classrooms teachers);
4. Officials in the education sector.

 Overall, Massar plans to train a total of 11,393 students and 348 teachers in 16 primary and secondary schools in Aleppo.

 Progress Plan

Step 1: Conduct an in-depth study to examine and identify local needs

1. Identify and prioritize the main issues related to the protection of the environment in Syria;
2. Cooperate with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs to develop a clear vision for Massar’s environmental education programme, and implement it in Aleppo as a pilot project;
3. Draft proposals how to incorporate environmental education into the curricula of primary and secondary schools;
4. Select respective schools in Aleppo to implement Massar’s Green Light initiative.

 Step 2: Capacity-building of the Green Light project team (Massar, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs)

1. Provide team members with the appropriate training to enhance their educational, environmental and technical knowledge and competences;
2. Train and support team members to identify and meet local needs through the implementation and follow-up of project activities.

 Step 3: Develop an interactive, informal environmental education programme

1. Create a comprehensive and interactive environmental training programme based on Massar’s existing experience in this area, including effective teaching guidelines and other education materials;
2. Develop and implement standard activities for the key topics of Massar’s environmental programme, using interactive methods.

 Step 4: Develop a viable, formal environmental education programme

1. Produce a number of environmental education concepts as well as related materials and activities, compatible with local needs (in cooperation with the Ministry of Education);
2. Implement the above-mentioned draft curricula proposals in Massar’s selected schools and identify the necessary measures to make the project sustainable in the long-term.

 Step 5: Create an online environmental platform for students

1. Develop an online environmental platform for students;
2. Promote the online environmental platform in targeted schools.

 Step 6: Design environmental project models for student-use

1. Identify major environmental topics and themes, and draft a best-practice guide to the environment;
2. Provide teachers with the appropriate training to enable them to integrate and implement environmental initiatives into their schools, while effectively monitoring and evaluating the process and results of these activities.

 Step 7: Local environmental pilot projects (eco-projects)

1. Investigate and identify possible opportunities for pilot eco-projects, followed up with ongoing support and funding, as applicable;
2. Implement key environmental projects with adequate monitoring and evaluation processes in place, including lessons learned follow-up.

 Step 8: Deliver a Train the Trainers environmental programme

1. Set up a Train the Trainers (ToT) programme to foster already-existing knowledge about the environment and to develop appropriate educational strategies as well as a useful reference base;
2. Provide teachers and other educators with a sound understanding and knowledge of environmental issues and enrich their grasp of the preventive as well as the remediation approach.

 Step 9: Develop effective, national dissemination strategies and ensure lessons learned follow-up

1. Identify a set of strategies to replicate and distribute information about Massar’s environmental concepts and out-of-class educational activities nationwide (phase 2);
2. Disseminate the final project outcomes and results to the wider public through local and regional networks with view to replicating the experience at national and even international level.