Crown Princess Mary donned a face mask to visit the Roskilde Gymnasium, which is a part of the UNESCO’s network of World Heritage Schools as a way to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.
The schools were developed as a way to teach young people about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, to encourage ways for them to get involved in making real change and progress and to help young people realise how they can be global citizens.
The Crown Princess visited students in the third grade who have been working on projects related to the UN’s “peace and security efforts, humanitarian efforts and future role” as a way to celebrate the organisation’s 75th anniversary.
Crown Princess Mary also participated in two workshops with students under the umbrella of Mission UN 75.
“Sustainable development is about balancing environmental, economic and social development, all of which are interconnected,” reads the World Heritage Schools website. “Teaching sustainable development therefore helps to prevent that development today does not threaten the opportunities for current and future generations to meet needs.”
Teaching the Sustainable Development Goals is based on “themes concerning human rights, global citizenship, intercultural competence and sustainable development, all of which stem from previous flagship projects,” the website continues.
World Heritage Schools take part in annual networking meetings and participate in Ministry of Education theme weeks to showcase what the students have learned.
There are currently 62 schools in Denmark that belong to UNESCO’s World Heritage Schools. Around the world, there are 11,500 schools that participate based in 182 countries.
Crown Princess Mary has been actively involved in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for the past five years, and serves as Patron of the UN’s Population Fund which focuses on the issue of gender equality, which is the fifth goal.
