Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 1:30 p.m.
Rabat – The Mohammed VI Foundation for environmental protection, chaired by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, is mobilizing for the oceans by organizing a whole week of activities to raise awareness of the importance of this vital space for regulation of the climate and for Humanity which lives on its numerous resources.
Organized on the occasion of World Ocean Day, celebrated this year under the theme “Awaken new depths”, Ocean Week, a major national initiative dedicated to the development and exploration of riches of the ocean across Morocco, which the Foundation will carry out in collaboration with its partners from June 3 to 8 in eleven cities on the Moroccan coast, from Al Hoceïma to Dakhla, will highlight key sectors, notably the economy blue water, ocean infrastructure, the circular economy, underwater heritage, as well as marine science and technology.
This initiative, which is part of the Foundation’s ongoing commitment within the global framework of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, offers a program rich in discovery and awareness activities about the Ocean. , aimed at the general public, in particular the educational communities of the Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment programs, two emblematic Education for Sustainable Development programs led by the Foundation, a founding member of the United Nations Decade of Science ocean resources for sustainable development (2021-2030) launched by the UN and of which HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa is the godmother.
According to a press release from the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, a founding member of the Ocean Alliance, more than 500 young people will have the opportunity to participate in activities organized in eight coastal regions of the Kingdom. They will have the opportunity to visit various maritime sites, such as the Tanger-Med port, the Charif Idrissi scientific boat of the National Institute of Fisheries Research in Agadir, lighthouses in Tangier, Casablanca and Safi, desalination stations in sea water in Al Hoceïma, Agadir and Laâyoune, as well as aquaculture farms in Tétouan and Dakhla.
Participants will also discover the circular economy by visiting waste reprocessing sites in Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca.
In addition, this year, the Ocean Week will highlight the underwater heritage of the Kingdom, including an exhibition on the wreck of the Kaiser Wilhem Boat in Dakhla and the discovery of an underwater archaeological site off the coast of Safi, explained the Foundation, adding that it will announce, in collaboration with the center of studies and research in underwater heritage under the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the discovery of a new historic underwater wreck by an association local partner off the town of Fnideq.
Committed to the pollution of the ocean by plastic waste, this summer the Foundation will carry out the 5th edition of its #b7arblaplastic operation, the relevance and quality of which have been recognized and rewarded around the world. An exhibition on the recovery of plastic waste, bearing the slogan “كلشي إلا نلوحو فالبحر”, will be organized on June 7 and 8 at the Hassan II International Environmental Training Center.
The exhibition, accessible to the Foundation’s sustainability education programs on the first day and to the general public on the second, will feature a variety of awareness-raising booths.
In addition, the “Message in bottle” initiative, inspired by maritime literature, by slipping messages for the ocean into glass bottles, will see the participation of eco-schoolchildren and Young Environmental Reporters from different regions. They will commit to taking action during the next #b7arblaplastic campaign, aimed at sorting and recycling tons of plastic waste throughout the summer.
Endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) as an activity of the Decade, Ocean Week “is only made possible by the support of its partners, private and public economic operators, public administrations or civil society associations who will be mobilized from North to South in the service of a common good: the ocean,” concluded the Foundation.
