Green Schools programme reported to join UNESCO education network

The Green Schools Programme, a North Cyprus initiative coordinated by GİKAD and International Final University, has joined UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership network, according to Halkın Sesi.

The programme is delivered in schools in cooperation with the TRNC Ministry of National Education. Now in its fifth year, it has reached more than 100 schools in North Cyprus, Turkey and London, the newspaper reported.

UNESCO’s partnership aims to support the transformation of at least half of schools in every country into green, climate-ready schools by 2030. Programme coordinator Prof. Dr. Şerife Gündüz said membership of the network could allow practices developed in North Cyprus to be shared internationally and encourage new cooperation between schools.

Focus on biodiversity and water

For the 2026–27 academic year, the programme’s theme is Biodiversity and Water. Planned school activities include water-saving measures, rainwater collection, drought and climate-adaptation work, protection of aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity monitoring.

According to the report, the initiative seeks to make sustainability part of school culture, everyday routines and students’ behaviour, rather than limiting environmental education to classroom lessons.