Ifrane Model Forest Young Reporters Competition to celebrate 30°anniversary of International Model Forest Network

On the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the International Model Forest Network, the Ifrane Model Forest Association (AFMI) has organized a series of activities for middle and high school students dedicated to environmental education and communication.

These activities aimed to raise awareness of sustainable development to young people, helping them to understand the concept of Model Forest. It was intended for young students from middle and secondary schools, ranging from 11 and 21 years old, to inform them about Ifrane Model Forest, in the National Park of Ifrane.

Participants produced journalistic reportages with pictures and texts or a 3 minutes video, depending on their choosing, for a contest. A WhatsApp group has been created, where AFMI managers helped school supervisors and participating students, answering to their information requests and giving data and useful documents for the reportages.

Once all the material was finished, the AFMI technical committee evaluated the reportages upon two levels:

• First level consisted in evaluating the observance of technical standards of the contest.
• Second level consisted in evaluating the reportages’ interactions on social media platforms Facebook and YouTube.

On 11^th December, during the celebrations of the 30° anniversary of International Model Forest Network, winners of the “Young Reporters” contest were awarded. On this occasion, there was also a workshop about concepts of Model Forest and sustainable development, where videos explaining the beginning of Model Forest, its story and AFMI’s story were projected.

This celebration day was also the occasion for debating with partners and AFMI stakeholders, with the aim of joining forces and prepare a roadmap at the service of people and environment. On this occasion, various speeches enriched the discussion, and participants contributed to lay the groundwork for new thoughts about local sustainable development in the National Park of Ifrane, starting the development of an action plan for the decade 2022-2032.