Dubai: The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) and GEMS Education have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation between the two parties in implementing green education initiatives and integrating environmental sustainability topics into UAE schools.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, the Assistant Under-Secretary of the Care and Capacity Building sector at the Ministry of Education, and Mr. Dino Varkey, Group Chief Executive Officer of GEMS Education, on the sidelines of the second meeting of the National Committee for Green Education, hosted by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority.
The Ministry of Education is keen to continue working to include climate agenda and sustainability concepts in the UAE’s education system as part of its vision towards achieving sustainable development goals in line with national policies and the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071. This MoU, which aligns with UAE Vision 2031, aims to provide the general framework in which the Ministry and GEMS Education can achieve mutual benefit by identifying areas of common interest and exploring the possibility of implementing agreed joint activities to build the capacities of academics and students in public and private education in the field of environmental sustainability.
Mr. Al Shamsi shared.
Mr. Varkey commented that “we are delighted that the Ministry of Education has chosen to collaborate with GEMS Education to leverage our expertise and educational resources to design and implement green education initiatives, as well as highlight the essential role of promoting sustainability and the environment in the UAE’s education system, as we look forward to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), beginning next month.”
According to the MoU, the MoE is committed to achieving effective communication with school operators in the country to support GEMS Education’s initiatives in the fields of environmental sustainability and climate education.
GEMS Education is committed to implementing the Virtual Schools Climate Change Training Program to educate academics on climate change and environmental sustainability, share educational resources aligned with the Curriculum Framework for Environmental Sustainability, and support student writers by publishing their stories on GEMS Education’s official website.