Senegal
Circular Economy Mind Map
CEU is a structure which was created to promote the spirit of sustainable development.
An initiative of Conscience Environnementale Universelle (CEU)
Overview of the project
The project is an environmental response, as waste management is a real problem all over the world. The circular economy mind map is a solution for sustainable waste management. It aims to bring about a change in human behavior, for all players at all levels. And in a context of excessive waste production and consumption, in addition to open-air landfill practices leading to contamination and pollution of water, soil, air, canals, beaches… it becomes necessary to create and launch an awareness-raising campaign. That’s why La Conscience Environnementale, through its project la Carte Mentale Economie Circulaire (CMEC), organises educational workshops in schools with the VIE concept (Eco-Initiative Fridays), art competitions with children, reward programs with the best recycling challenge, and above all clean-up days to raise awareness through practice and action. In addition to these initiatives with children, another concept with young people and women has also seen the light of day. This concept, called Formation et Information Environnementale (Fie), is an initiative designed to enhance human responsibility, reduce conflicts over waste management, and improve people’s living conditions by encouraging waste reduction at source.
Training, information and awareness-raising sessions are organised through focus groups, forums, etc.
The main aim of the project is to raise awareness of the importance of managing waste responsibly and sustainably, thereby informing, educating and encouraging students and communities to adopt more environmentally-friendly behavior.
Ongoing research
Project still in progress
This project reaches 812 people.
The primary users are the pupils, and the school of Saint collège de Sacré cœur. Primary school pupils from Ci to CM2 were targeted for the first phase, and more than half of them welcomed the CMEC project, with active participation.
The aim is to raise awareness at all levels in this and other schools, before extending the project or taking it into a national or even international phase. Thanks to these activities, many pupils no longer throw garbage in the yard, and even if the exact number has not yet been obtained, the change in behaviour is visible in many pupils, especially 6-year-olds.
Since environmental tutoring has been provided and the “Vendredi initiative écologique” (ecological initiative Friday) concept put into practice at Dakar’s Collège Sacré-Cœur, more and more changes in behavior have been observed. The environment is more respected, there’s more empathy, attitudes are changing, garbage cans are being used, not the ground. The sense of community is evolving, albeit slowly. Classes are swept by students. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done to reinforce civic awareness and individual responsibility.
So far, the project has been funded in part by the CEU director and a few volunteers.
About the
organisation
organisation
CEU is a structure which was created to promote the spirit of sustainable development through initiatives in environmental protection, good governance, natural resource management, environmental education, child protection and, above all, the involvement of young people and women in the fight against climate change and the achievement of sustainable development goals. In this way, it touches on several development sectors: waste management, risk and disaster management, water, hygiene and sanitation, urban planning and urbanization, sustainable agriculture, sustainable health, renewable energies, capacity building, gender advocacy, human rights, animal rights and environmental rights.