Between August 2021 and November 2022, the Water and Environment Support (WES) in the ENI Southern Neighbourhood Region project, which is financed by the EU, provided technical support to the National Conservatory of Environmental Training (CNFE) from the Algerian Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energies. It focussed on promoting green entrepreneurship by integrating specific training in the university setting that was offered to university teaching staff and young Algerian university students and is likely to contribute to the sustainable development of the green and circular economy in Algeria.
To do this, experts produced and delivered a curriculum for a training course for trainers, a pilot course to a class of master’s students in the technology department of the Université de Boumerdès (UB) and proposed a roadmap for its replication and consolidation.
During this work, the consultation with stakeholders was very constructive, especially during the coordination committee (CC) meetings.
As planned, a series of deliverables, including the training curriculum of the two courses, unit contents, recordings of the classes, and results of the restitution workshop that took place in November 2022 have been proposed together with a roadmap to replicate this training action in Algeria.
This national work from WES has been implemented with the help and services of the Regional Activity Centre MedWaves for the sustainable consumption and production within the UNEP/MAP.
Methodology and Implementation
The work that was carried out covers the following tasks:
• The activity kick-off meeting on 16 September 2021 (online);
• Analysing the assessment, contributions, and potential roles of the various participants;
• Setting up the coordination committee (CC) and the coordination and follow-up meetings:
1st meeting: 20 October 2021 (online). Presenting the work and suggesting the work for the CC. CC members approving the training units, schedule, working methodology, available resources, and beneficiaries;
2nd meeting: 20 December 2021 (online). Presenting the results from training the trainers, the working plan, content, schedule, units, and beneficiaries of the pilot course;
3rd meeting: 13 July 2022 (online). Updating on the results of the students’ pitch and closing the two training tasks;
• Training university teaching staff on green entrepreneurship and the circular economy
between November 2021 and December 2021. Training the students on green entrepreneurship and the circular economy between March and June 2022;
• Organising a restitution workshop for the results and a consolidation workshop for the university training on green entrepreneurship and the economy on 22 November 2022 in Algiers;
• Developing a roadmap for replicating this pilot action.
Main Outcomes
The following main deliverables were drawn up:
A report including the accounts from the meetings, and the roadmap for the network consolidation on green entrepreneurship and the circular economy in the university setting and the replication of the trial;
A restitution report on the training of the trainers;
A restitution report on implementing the pilot course. The course was concluded by giving students participation certificates;
Publishing and circulating the training materials, including the class recordings and videos;
A report on the results of the restitution and consolidation workshop on the university training surrounding green entrepreneurship and the circular economy;
Proposing a roadmap for replicating and consolidating the university training on green entrepreneurship and the circular economy in Algeria (Document not published);
A favourable opinion from the Boumerdès Faculty of Technology’s scientific council on the launch of a trial partnership between the Faculty of Technology and the National Conservatory of Environmental Training.
Conclusions
The National Conservatory of Environmental Training (CNFE) of the Algerian Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energies in Algeria as well as the Department of Technology at the Université de Boumerdès have coordinated this work in close consultation with most of the stakeholders, who regularly meet in the context of the coordination committee that was set up for this purpose.
One of the most significant results is that the pilot training involving 30 environment master’s students at the Faculty of Technology has been greatly appreciated by the students and their teachers and was highlighted in the ten projects that were developed and presented during the final pitch. The ten projects have received support from the incubator at the Université de Boumerdès.
One of the most important observations throughout this work was the need to give more support to young people in Algeria in order to develop green entrepreneurship projects. The students’ motivation, the majority women, and the noticeable quality of the projects that were presented highlights this trial work, which absolutely needs to be replicated within more departments at the Université de Boumerdès and other universities in Algeria. The SwitchMed methodology used by the experts for this training does not necessarily reach young Algerians, and therefore, work within universities is essential as an addition to courses/master’s degrees.
As for the training of the 25 trainers, it would be beneficial for them to receive additional support to consolidate their knowledge and skills in developing business plans so that they can train more teaching staff.
While carrying out this work, momentum was created between the CNFE and UB that we believe should be maintained through exchange meetings and exploring the proposed roadmap for expanding and replicating the course within the university setting. Likewise, we noted that the CNFE is able to play a more active role in developing and integrating the new needs of the green and circular economy in higher education and professional training.
The advantages of implementing a network are significant, and we believe the possibilities and structures, as well as the means to give a continuation to this work exist. A recommendation for possible replication would be for the course to get authorisation, certification, or approval by the Ministry responsible for university education.
Useful Links
All the publicly available documents and deliverables from this work can be consulted on the WES website at:
https://www.wes-med.eu/activities_type/n-e-dz-2-support-for-the-promotion-of-sustainable-consumption-and-production-and-circular-economy/
As well as the materials from the two training courses on the CALEC website:
And the recordings on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmtUU9mCSkZhLAAcv7vuV4w
WES Project
The EU funded Water and Environment Support (WES) is a regional project designed to contribute to the implementation of an integrated approach to pollution reduction and prevention, in line with the Union for the Mediterranean agendas and the Barcelona Convention. WES is also meant to contribute to a more efficient management of scarce water resources in the ENI Southern Neighbourhood region.
The project aims to do so by increasing the capacity of stakeholders that are involved in pollution reduction and water management and support them in formulating and implementing the environmental and water policies.
WES supports the shift to a more sustainable consumption and production model, promotes an integrated and efficient management of water, combats plastic pollution and marine litter and fosters dialogue on key environmental and sustainable development issues. In this way, WES also supports mutual understanding, cooperation, and peace in the region.
For any further information on WES project, please visit: www.wes-med.eu
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DISCLAIMER:
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the WES Project and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.