Each year, 10 students from villages near the park receive a scholarship to enable them to attend primary or secondary school. The scholarship covers books and all other learning materials and is valid for one year. We select the scholarship recipients through interviews with teachers and within the framework of DSCN classes. A DSCN scholarship comes with the commitment for the students to report on their scholarship and on the park or environmental protection issues in their classes. The scholarship enables the children to obtain a school leaving certificate; in addition, they can implement small environmental protection projects on their own initiative. In 2021, the first 10 students were awarded scholarships.
Our projects
What are our goals, and how do we intend to achieve them?
One of the foundation's goals is to raise local, national, and international awareness of the sustainable protection of Comoé National Park and its biodiversity. To achieve this, the importance of the park must be brought to the attention of the general public.
At the local level, we aim to sustainably embed the principles of environmental and biodiversity protection. Through school and university scholarships, we want to support the younger generation and create incentives to become involved in environmental and nature conservation. We want to encourage local people to take the initiative to protect the park. Together with them, we want to develop environmental protection projects tailored to their needs, so that they can assume long-term responsibility for the park's preservation.
These are our current projects:
DSCN school scholarships
DSCN University Scholarships
The goal is to award one such scholarship annually to enable dedicated young people in Côte d'Ivoire to study biology with a focus on environmental and nature conservation. The recipient will act as a tutor for projects within the park and report on the DSCN at the university. In the future, we also plan to establish a permanent DSCN project manager position, which a scholarship recipient can assume upon graduation. This will ensure that the sustainable protection of the park and its biodiversity creates local jobs and directly benefits the local population.
DSCN Sustainability Days
As part of the DSCN Sustainability Days, school classes will learn about the park's animals and plants both in the classroom and through field trips. This will allow students to gradually understand the importance of the park and its biodiversity, and to develop an understanding of ecological relationships.
DSCN awareness campaigns
Through regular events in the villages, informing residents about the importance of the park, we aim to reach the local population. In close collaboration with them, we want to develop and support project ideas for sustainable value creation and park conservation. We intend to involve the entire village community in this process. This will foster the development of local mediators and experts who will further promote the concept of nature conservation.