The Bouregreg Med-O-Med Gardening School, created by FUNCI (Islamic Culture Foundation), was recently awarded a prize in Brussels by the ETF (European Training Foundation) of the European Union. It is a Spanish-Moroccan training project, inclusive and regenerative, which was chosen from among 600 projects from 60 countries. The award ceremony for the three winners of the annual Green Skills Award took place on 27 February 2024 in Brussels. The school, located on the banks of the Bouregreg in Salé, won second prize in the 2023 competition.
This is an inclusive and regenerative Spanish-Moroccan training project, which was chosen from among 600 projects from 60 countries.
The project was chosen among the 10 finalists by a jury of international training specialists. The first prize of the jury went to the project “Zero Waste Initiative” (Lebanon), while the third prize “E-Waste Management” went to Kenya.
The Med-O-Med Gardening School was represented by Cherif Abderrahman Jah, President of FUNCI, author of the project, who received the award from Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, and Oliver Röpke, President of the European Union’s Economic and Social Committee.
An environmental and social inclusion project
The Bouregreg Med-O-Med Gardening School, the first of its kind in Morocco, is a vocational training centre offering “green” employment opportunities to young people in precarious situations.
Designed and managed by FUNCI, the project offers free training and focuses on eco-friendly gardening practices that respect natural resources.
According to Abderrahman Jah:
“The main objective of this project is to contribute to strengthening the capacities of Moroccan youth and to teach them noble and wise craft of gardening, as it was considered in the past, while helping them on their way to dignity”.
The Bouregreg Med-O-Med Gardening School is not only a training centre for gardening, but also an awareness centre of the protection of the environment, climate change and the conservation of biodiversity.
With a three year programme, based on the gardening training model experimented in Spain, established by the University of Seville and adopted by the Moroccan Ministry of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, the school trains up to 90 apprentices per year and supports their integration into the formal and dignified work market, as a means to reduce irregular migration.
Designed and managed by FUNCI, the project offers free training and focuses on eco-friendly gardening practices that respect natural resources.
In a knowledge transfer approach, the school offers training to Moroccan trainers and professionals in the sector. This structuring project has been implemented thanks to the support of various national and international institutions, namely the National Initiative for the Human Development (INDH), the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra Regional Council, the Spanish Cooperation, the Drosos Foundation and the FAI Foundation, among others.
The European Training Academy
The award ETF “Green Skills Award 2023” is a global initiative launched in 2021. It provides ideas and inspiration from around the world about innovation that is happening thanks to individuals and institutions. This initiative has become a source of good practice that can inspire people around the world to make real change in creating circular and carbon neutral economies and societies.
The awards ceremony took place as part of Meet the Champions of Excellence, a great event bringing together talented young people from the different corners of the globe, organised on the occasion of the International Year of Competence.
Watch the video here
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