For the majority of my childhood, I never had an answer to the commonly asked question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I knew I wanted to have a career that helped people, but could not get any more specific than that, and no one job stood out to me more than the rest. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school, when I took an Environmental Science class, that I was introduced to a whole new world of possible career fields that finally had an impact on me. This class was just the beginning, and while I still cannot fully answer the question of what I want to be when I grow up, I know it will involve some role in furthering our collective sustainable development goals for a better future.
I think about where I would be if I had not taken this environmental science class in high school. For many students around the world, this kind of environmental education is unattainable. According to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, “The future of humanity and of our planet lies in our hands. It lies also in the hands of today’s younger generation who will pass the torch to future generations.” How can today’s youth become the leaders of this movement without having the necessary knowledge or empowerment tools to understand the role they can play in making a difference? As International Youth Day approaches (August 12th), it is important to take the opportunity to highlight this highly important part that young people around the world have in a global realization of sustainable development.
It has been shown that young people not only want to contribute to capacity-building in their communities but they are already active participants in proposing new ideas for social progress. The concept of youth work is a series of professional principles, practices, and methods which are often described as the science of enabling youth people to believe in themselves and build positive futures. This concept focuses on harnessing youth leaders’ potentials as agents of change and empowerers of marginalized youth from different backgrounds. Important to this process is the development of the existing skills and attributes of youth for long term-capacity building, rather than focusing on “fixing a problem”.
When youth are engaged in a way that offers them the necessary skills and opportunities to reach their inherent potential, they can become a driving force for sustainable development by encouraging their peers to engage in the movement as well. Young people themselves best understand the problems that youth face today, therefore, positioning them in an ideal position to become the leaders of projects to achieve the sustainable development goals.
With an understanding of the transformative power of youth development, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) has incorporated these ideas as a high priority in our mission. HAF aims to merge the fields of environmental protection with youth engagement and development, creating groups of young people who are excited about the world they live in and even more eager to protect it.
Because education access is still a challenge across Morocco, HAF aims to address first the present state of the Moroccan school system and support students by addressing their needs in this area. Capacity building for students directly enhances their ability to then empower others around them, in a self-amplifying cycle.
HAF’s engagement with youth occurs in a range of ways. Collaboration with leading international universities offer immersive and hands-on study abroad experiences that connect students from around the world with real-world development work. From these experiences, students can take the lessons learned back to their own communities and share knowledge that may be novel to them.
HAF’s facilitation of the Youth Conservation Corps for young women (and now young men) allow youth to learn new practical skills and build capacity for environmental stewardship and advocacy, that once again can be taken back with each participant to their own communities.
HAF also conducts a legal clinic program that gives university students from Moroccan law schools real-world, hands-on practice by providing free legal aid to underserved communities in Marrakech, Fes, and Oujda. This offers students an opportunity to engage with what they learn in the classroom on another level, benefiting themselves and the communities they serve.
Environmental education in schools is another pillar of HAF’s work with youth. HAF provides engaging and entertaining workshops to schools around the country for students to not only learn about the environment but also understand the value of becoming environmental stewards in their communities. I recently got to attend a workshop at a local orphanage where one of HAF’s field monitors held a workshop with the children all about tree planting. He highlighted different kinds of trees native to Morocco and the importance of planting trees, and all of the children got to participate in an actual tree planting. Seeing the excitement the kids had to learn about every step in the process gave me a lot of hope for our future of sustainable development so long as kids are simply given the resources to engage.
Exposing youth to the ideas of environmental awareness and stewardship from an early age can be a determining factor for our ability as a collective to realize our sustainable development goals. Equally as important is the initial empowerment of youth to feel confident in themselves and their ability to make change in their communities and beyond.
I know that my early environmental education played a major role not only in my awareness of environmental issues and the need for sustainable development, but also in my internal drive to actually take part in solving these same issues.
In light of this year’s International Youth Day, it is important to consider the ways in which today’s youth can be supported as the future leaders of the world, making sure all kids have the opportunity to engage with the environment like I was able to.
Kaitlyn Waring works as a Program Manager at the High Atlas Foundation, a nonprofit sustainable development organization in Morocco.
