THE BIG GREEN LEGACY
PROJECT: The BIG GREEN Legacy
PARTNERS: World’s Largest Lesson, United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education, Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, Play Verto
The Brief
COP28 in the UAE in 2023 was a pivotal moment in the global adoption of climate education as critical climate action. Supported and encouraged by UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership, many countries have made national commitments to this. Project Everyone’s Education team was approached by the UAE Ministry of Education to help them create a lasting legacy from their commitments and engagements to climate education at COP28.
In partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation and supported by Play Verto, Project Everyone created The BIG GREEN Legacy — with the ambition to accelerate quality climate and environmental learning for all youth in the UAE.
The Approach
INSPIRATION
With the impact of climate change keenly felt across the MENA region, a “business as usual” approach to climate education will not drive the action needed. The BIG GREEN Legacy was designed to disrupt the traditional approach by directly engaging UAE youth in shaping their own learning.
Central to the programme is the BIG GREEN Legacy Survey — an interactive, play-based survey designed for 12–22 year olds, gathering their perspectives on climate change, their learning and engagement in action.
Through a large-scale coordinated approach with the Ministry of Education, the Survey was shared to all UAE public and private schools along with new learning content to showcase and celebrate the richness of the UAE culture in sustainability and nature protection, increasing momentum towards community action for sustainability. Content was developed in collaboration with a group of youth advisors from the UAE and wider MENA region.
Survey findings were discussed at dynamic intergenerational action planning workshops. Immersed in a mangrove forest at Casa Mikoko in Umm Al Quwain, students and teachers worked closely with curriculum designers from the Ministry of Education and representatives from the Al Ghurair Foundation. 150 ideas were generated, resulting in 42 recommendations to evolve future UAE curricula, BIG GREEN Legacy resources and learning programmes.
We felt that Project Everyone were true to their word - they never said they were going to do something that they didn't do. They always did things with very high quality and efficiency. They were quick to say yes to any request that came from us or from the Ministry.
The Results
TITLE AREA
The BIG GREEN Legacy established a baseline for measuring future improvements in climate education. Over 73,000 students took part — their perspectives directly informing curriculum design recommendations and ensuring future learning is more aligned with their needs and interests (2025 Report).
Key outcomes include skills and awareness growth in sustainability, critical thinking and emotional resilience; real-world learning experiences that bridge the gap between theory and practice; and increased student interest in green jobs, particularly among public school students.
Routinely engaging young people to share perspectives on their education has the potential to be truly transformative. Students who participated spoke of the value in being asked to share their views and a sense of commitment towards the outcomes.
The pioneering model of the BIG GREEN Legacy was recognised by UNESCO and featured in their 2026 Lead with Youth Report. The team were also invited to share the findings as part of UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership through a series of online webinars for all members of the partnership.