Circular Tourism

Albania

Eco-representative students

SECTION 1: BASIC INFORMATION

SECTION 2: PRACTICE OVERVIEW

  • Short Description of the Practice

The practice is a national school programme where each middle-school and high-school class elects one or two “élèves éco-délégués” (eco-representative students). These students are elected to work on projects to implement sustainable development in their school, such as promoting biodiversity and monitoring actions to reduce climate impacts; They act as “ambassadors” for environmental action and propose and carry out concrete projects, such as gardening, waste sorting or recycling drives. They also help to mobilise their peers and school staff. The main objective of this nation-wide initiative is to make schools greener and more climate resilient by involving students directly, thus shaping a new generation to make climate change and ecology a priority. The programme was generalised during the year 2020 and was initiated by the government.

  • Implementation Period: 2022 - ongoing
  • Status:

[  ] Planned [  ] Pilot phase [  ] Fully implemented [X] Ongoing and evolving

  • Thematic Areas Addressed:

[   ] Farm to Fork / Sustainable Food Systems
[X] Waste Management
[X] Resource Efficiency
[   ] Other: ___________

  • Describe how the practice aligns with the selected Thematic Areas.

Eco-representative projects align directly with resource efficiency and waste management because they translate policy into everyday, measurable actions in schools. Students lead concrete initiatives such as waste reduction, collection and sorting, recycling and reuse, campaigns to cut food waste and lower energy consumption, all measures explicitly listed by the Ministry of Education. By organising monitoring and school projects, eco- representatives aim to change habits among students and staff, which reduces unnecessary consumption and raises awareness. By engaging students in these practical projects, the practice promotes efficient use of materials and energy as part of daily school life. National guidance and a toolkit further support quality and replicability, encouraging schools to document results and share methods.

  • Explain how this activity fits within the tourism sector.

While the measure is an initiative for schools in general, its principles can inspire VET schools in tourism and be rolled out in more detail across specific activities, for example the culinary arts. Raising awareness will shape future hospitality professionals, who will better understand the role of climate change and ecology. Applied to tourism, this means developing sustainable awareness in future tourism professionals which is crucial for the next generation of tourism workers. More pragmatically, the approach of training participants as sustainability ambassadors can be transferred to tourism businesses. For instance, hotels or tour operators could similarly appoint “eco-reps” among staff to lead green practices (like reducing waste or water use): While all staff members should be aware of sustainability measures, one person can take the lead when it comes to suggesting and implementing green and circular economy measures within the business.

  • What learning value for VET training, curriculum development or capacity-building of professionals
    does the practice offer ?

This practice embeds education on ecology and circular economy across the curriculum of students of all ages. It offers a practical learning model that empowers students: they diagnose relevant issues, plan actions, and carry out projects on real environmental problems. This approach, based on practical projects, teaches problem- solving, teamwork and leadership. Eco-representatives work closely with teachers, the school management and even external experts, developing partnership across multiple stakeholders. The project management or communication skills the students gain are explicitly valued by future employers. In a vocational school context, the eco-representative system shows how sustainability can be integrated into education: it provides structured, experiential training in resource efficiency, waste management and engagement. This can inform VET programmes by illustrating how to include practical green projects and build capacity among trainees, just as it does for middle or high school students.

SECTION 3: CHALLENGES AND ALIGNMENT WITH CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRINCIPLES

  • What challenges or barriers were addressed (based on the report findings)?

[X] Waste management and disposal
[X] Energy/resource use
[X] Infrastructure limitations
[   ] Seasonality
[X] Skills and capacity gaps
[X] Low awareness of CE
[   ] Behavioural resistance
[   ] Financial or funding constraints
[   ] Other : ________________________________

  • How were these challenges overcome?

Eco-representatives tackle waste management and disposal through concrete projects, such as implementing waste sorting and reduction campaigns in schools. This directly improves waste handling by reducing waste and promoting recycling. Similarly, students run initiatives to cut energy consumption (like turning off unused equipment) and save water/energy. The practice uses existing school facilities like classrooms, courtyards or cafeterias for improvements or for developing projects such as gardening or the setup of recycling bins. Without major new infrastructure, projects can still be developed as schools can adapt current spaces to sustainability projects, overcoming infrastructure limitations. By making students representative on the topic of sustainability, this programme raises the awareness of students and staff of the whole school. Representatives share knowledge and eco-gestures with other students, teachers and staff, spreading habits that support a circular economy. The ministry also provides training materials like guidebooks, thus helping to build skills among both students and educators.

  • Which circular economy strategies does this practice address?

[X] Waste reduction / reuse / recycling
[X] Renewable energy / energy efficiency
[X] Water conservation
[X] Circular product/service design
[   ] Sustainable food systems / short food chains
[   ] Eco-certifications or green standards
[   ] Repair, refurbishment, or reuse of infrastructure/furnishings
[   ] Digital tools for circularity or sustainability

  • Describe why this practice can be considered as a ‘best practice’ and how it contributes to one or more circular economy principles:

This initiative can be considered a best practice because it is a systemic, large-scale and government-supported measure that can also be applied to a single school or business. In France the official adoption of the scheme implies the designation of 250,000 eco-representatives nationwide. On this scale the programme concretely advances circular economy principles, as students focus on projects like reducing and recycling resources. By integrating those actions into everyday school life, it creates continuous and virtuous loops, meaning schools adopt eco-representatives projects as part of their development: The projects are meant to stay, and the school and future eco-representatives can work on what was previously successfully developed. This good practice can easily be applied to a single school without being backed by the government, as the eco-representatives can scale their projects to what the schools can afford to do.

  • Describe why this practice can be considered as innovative. What new, creative or underused approach brings added value to circular tourism development ?

The innovation lies in empowering students with formal roles. The practice’s unique aspect is this institutionalised student leadership in environmental action, adding value by embedding circular thinking early in education. Each eco-representative is officially elected and given specific missions, both valorising and empowering them. This is a creative, bottom-up approach: rather than only top-down mandates, it makes students active creators of sustainability projects. It also creates new networks: eco-representatives connect across class and school councils (CVC/CVL), making it a transversal endeavour. Although not tourism-specific, this model of student-led environmental action canninspire circular tourism innovation in all sectors including tourism: by analogy, tourism students or staff can be empowered as eco-ambassadors and use this position to develop green projects tied to the circular economy.

SECTION 4: COLLABORATION

  • Describe any collaboration that were involved in the development of this practice ? Did this practice involve local authorities or other groups?

The eco-representatives programme involves wide collaboration. At the national level, the Ministry of Education
provides formal backing, publishing guidance and tools which together frame and support school initiatives. At
school level, eco-representatives work with teachers, educators and staff to design, implement and monitor
projects, making the whole establishment a partner in action. The programme also relies on external
organisations, such as local environmental associations, scientific experts and local authorities who can be
invited to advise, run workshops or support field activities. This multi-actor architecture ensures technical quality,
pedagogical coherence and visibility, and links grassroots student projects to institutional guidance and
community resources, increasing the initiative’s impact and replicability.

SECTION 5: RESULTS AND REPLICABILITY

  • What measurable results or outcomes were achieved?

By design, the programme’s reach is measurable: about 250,000 classes have elected eco-representatives, meaning a quarter-million student representatives engaged in sustainability. Many concrete outcomes stem from their projects. The dedicated website lists diverse achievements: biodiversity observations, schoolyard greening, waste collection and sorting, recycling/reuse initiatives, reduction of food waste and energy use. The creation of the national “Eco-Action of the Year” award by the ministry shows institutional recognition for the works of the students. Overall, the programme has institutionalised sustainability in thousands of schools, has managed to raise awareness amid a young generation and has delivered clear and practical outcomes, as seen through the award.

  • Why is this practice relevant to the Albanian tourism context?

While this practice is tied to French schools, its underlying concept can be applied to any country and any sector: educating and engaging young people in sustainability supports a green and circular economy. In Albania, involving local communities and students in environmental stewardship can benefit tourism by preserving local biodiversity and improving sustainable and circular practices of diverse tourism activities. For example, hospitality or tourism VET programmes could create “eco-representatives” roles for trainees to lead recycling or energy- saving projects in hotels or other hospitality businesses. The French measure also shows the power of grassroots engagement: by similarly empowering Albanians youth to implement eco-projects, it can raise awareness, improve local resource efficiency. Essentially, even if the specific context differs, the practice is relevant because it builds a culture of sustainability, a foundation for any destination aiming to be eco-friendly and aligned with the principles of a circular economy.

  • What is the practice’s potential for further expansion ? How can it be applied or adapted to other Albanian tourism destinations or businesses ?

The eco-representative model is highly scalable. In France it was implemented nationwide, with 250,000 students who took on this role; In the Albanian context, one school or business could replicate it by integrating sustainability roles into tourism education or by appointing environmental representatives. The key elements that are youth empowerment, project-based learning and multiple stakeholder support and collaboration can be applied in a wide variety of contexts. Since the French measure uses schools, an Albanian version could likewise use local vocational colleges to implement similar measures. The practice can easily be implemented in different destinations given its relatively low cost, as no major infrastructure is needed and because the size of the projects can be scaled to the available budget.

  • What advice would you give others looking to implement a similar initiative?

For a school looking to implement that practice, it could be interesting to secure institutional support, such as a local education authority endorsement, so the role is recognised and resourced, as in the French model. It is important to have a referent like a teacher or a staff member to supervise students and link their projects to the school’s programme. For it to work, teachers need to embed projects in curricula (project briefs, assessments) and set simple monitoring (records of collections, participation rates) to show results. It is also important to train delegates with short, practical toolkits and use national or local guides to frame activities. To prioritise small, visible wins like waste sorting, a compost trial, a water-saving campaign is a good idea, so momentum builds quickly. For the project to work, the whole school community, from the canteen to the caretakers, teachers and staff, needs to be involved. The school could reach out to external partners like local authorities, environmental NGOs, activists or scientists for technical support.