Leyla Aliyeva’s Priority is Environmental Education

Leyla Aliyeva is not only the first daughter of the president of Azerbaijan but also an activist for many causes, one of them being the environment. Many people don’t even know what environmental education is but for her, it has always been a priority. Environmental education means being aware of environmental issues and knowing how to contribute to improving them. It is something that we all should make a conscious effort to do. In the end, without environmental education there is no way to make responsible decisions regarding the future.

Leyla Aliyeva has campaigned for many years and worked in building a path for a greener and healthier future, for us and for the younger generations. She really believes in the importance of educating people about the earth’s vulnerabilities. In helping everyone to see the direct link between environmental degradation and human activity.

Leyla Aliyeva’s IDEA campaign

Leyla Aliyeva knows that this topic is most of the time portrayed as boring and complex. That is why in 2011 she founded the IDEA campaign (International Dialogue for Environmental Action campaign). One of the main goals was to make the subject of environment and stability more engaging and entertaining, especially for young people and the next generations to come.

In an interview to Equinox.com Aliyeva addressed some of the hardships she encountered during the years in her environmental journey but she mainly talked about how these challenges created growth and eventually led to extreme success and appreciation. “From day one, [the] IDEA campaign prioritized education as the best way to win people’s hearts and minds so that they commit to protecting the environment and behaving responsibly towards it. These people, especially youth, will pass on the message and motivate others, who, in their turn, will take it further”.

That is exactly why the campaign puts so much attention and effort into education and awareness-raising. Aliyeva also mentioned that every year they expand the agenda with new study activities covering the three pillars of the young generation: children as young as 5 years old, students, and young professionals. Every year, hundreds of people benefit and enjoy IDEA’s educational projects, which include training sessions, scientific courses, seminars, lectures, vacation camps, field studies, and conversation clubs.

Goodwill Ambassador of FAO

The year 2015 was a big year for Leyla Aliyeva. After years of helping and supporting activities in the humanitarian and environmental areas, she was awarded the title of a FAO Goodwill Ambassador. She was awarded this title for her many contributions, such as combating hunger, ensuring food safety, increasing efficiency of agriculture, forestry, and fishery, and creating healthy food systems.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), founded in 1945, had as its main goal to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. Today, the FAO is, in the United Nations system, the largest specialized agency and the lead agency for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and rural development.

The FAO and Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan joined FAO as a member in October 1995. Nowadays the FAO implements global, national, and regional projects in Azerbaijan which envisage the development of agriculture, strengthening food security, managing resources, increasing potential, fighting against plant and animal diseases, and more. In addition, those projects are based on technical cooperation programs that appeal to the most important needs of the government of Azerbaijan.

During 2015, FAO general director, Jose Graziano da Silva visited Azerbaijan, and during that visit two agreements were signed: “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the establishment of the Coordination and Cooperation Office and providing technical assistance” and the “Agreement on FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Program”. Agreeing to cooperate with each other for a common matter. The partnership program imbodies the already active contribution of the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan to projects of technical assistance on the development of local and foreign agriculture.

It was during that visit that Leyla Aliyeva was awarded the title of Goodwill Ambassador of the FAO. The founder and head of the IDEA campaign expressed her gratitude and appreciation for all the projects that have been implemented in Azerbaijan regarding agriculture, forestry, and fish farming. Also, she calls everyone to participate and work together to make the world a better place because according to Aliyeva “Our life is changing every second”.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes