The Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET) has won the 2024 UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation. The award is a recognition of NaDEET's long and outstanding efforts in advancing sustainability and environmental education in Namibia through a leadership-driven non-profit organization committed to sustainable development.
During a ceremony at the World Science Forum in Budapest (Hungary), the UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize was awarded to the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), a non-profit organisation established in 2003 which operates environmental education centres in and around the NamibRand Nature Reserve.
The Centre’s immersive, hands-on programs work with adults and children to build sustainable practices, including solar cooking, water conservation, and recycling. Their activities encourage participants to live sustainably in one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Over 16,000 Namibians have already participated in a NaDEET Centre programme since its founding.
In addition to its Centre-based programs, NaDEET is also extending its impact nationwide through initiatives on education for sustainable development. The 2-year program has trained hundreds of teachers, leading to the implementation of over 740 activities on education for sustainable development in schools across Namibia, reaching more than 75,000 students and teachers.
The organization has played a key role in advancing Namibia's environmental policies. Between 2017 and 2019, NaDEET spearheaded the development and finalization of Namibia's first National Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development (EE/ESD) policy in Southern Africa. NaDEET's work has been recognized and acknowledged throughout, such as by winning the 2018 UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development.
