On January 22nd, 2026, I was pleased to attend a Master Class entitled, “Universities are Essential to Scaling Sustainable Development” by Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, president of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), at the Business School at the International University of Rabat on the occasion of the 4th Edition of RBS Social Week.

The session was based on Dr. Ben-Meir’s articles through which he illustrates and highlights the importance of university students in implementing sustainable development and being part of it. “Universities are Essential to Scaling Sustainable Development” was the core idea of the debate that Dr. Ben-Meir explained and discussed with the Rabat Business School students who were present at the Master Class.

To do so, he provided students with concrete examples of Moroccan university students as well as international ones who have benefited from different programmes as interns at HAF and in their local universities. HAF has been successful to engage with national and international universities all over the world, resulting in university student facilitators who are able to apply the participatory approach to achieve sustainable development projects with the participation of local communities in Morocco, especially in rural areas. 

Being aware that he is addressing business school students, Dr. Ben-Meir provided students with statistics of sustainable development trainings and completed projects that HAF achieved among its university partners. Among these are the tree planting, women’s empowerment, and volunteering work following the September 8th, 2023 earthquake, to mention a few of HAF’s sustainable projects and efforts that develop students’ potentials and make them indispensable volunteers and facilitators. 

At this point, Dr. Ben-Meir began asking questions which sparked a rich debate among students who talked about their volunteering experiences, expressing their opinions, visions, and future expectations towards sustainable development in Morocco and how they could be effective facilitators in field work. 

Dr. Ben-Meir was successful in inspiring students by his ideas and his field work experience, which both are based on the participatory approach to achieve sustainability in Morocco. According to him, the role of universities is always essential to scaling sustainable development, as discussed in his article and in this Master Class. Students are crucial human resources that should be involved to achieve Moroccan national sustainability.