Background Environmental education is considered a key aspect of long-term environmental protection by Tunisian authorities. Since the early 1990s, a number of actions have been undertaken in this field. Efforts have particularly focused on schools, to increase the environmental awareness of the next generation. Specific environmental modules have been introduced into educational programmes through disciplines that already existed such as natural and physical sciences, civic and religious education, and literature. Tunisia is preparing a new stage in environmental policies and sustainable development in developing an ambitious project to create “schools for tomorrow " , putting in place a significant programme to reinforce environmental education and giving to the environment a higher profile in the national system of education and teaching. Objectives The overall objective of the project was to support the Ministry in the implementation of its environmental education strategy. The specific objectives of the project were to: Formulate a national strategy of environmental education; Elaborate an implementation action plan for the Environmental Education Strategy; Increase the participation of civil society organisations in the implementation of the strategy; Encourage pilot activities for improved teaching and pedagogic methods in the field of environmental education; and Establish mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and update the strategy. Results The PAIEE LIFE project managed to overcome significant delays:it successfully developed a national Environmental Education Strategy, and implementation and monitoring plans. These were agreed in a convention signed between the Education and Environment Ministries. The beneficiary established a permanent co-ordination group for the programme. This carried out an initial evaluation of current teaching in environmental education in Tunisia, leading to the development of the national strategy and implementation and monitoring plans. These were finalised and agreed in specific seminars. A significant achievement of the project was the creation of innovative environmental education tools. A teacher manual, factsheets on specific environmental topics (such as ecological guided tours, water treatment, combating desertification, the role of urban parks in preserving biodiversity and guidelines for educating on sustainability), posters, a website, a scientific CD, a teaching-tools CD and even five model water-purification systems for demonstration purposes were all developed and disseminated tools, made available in Arabic and French. The project implemented a ‘train the trainers’ programme, which led to the training of 45 environmental education experts to carry out the subsequent roll-out of the national strategy. Trainers helped develop 12 model actions in environmental education, covering all levels of the school system. These were demonstrated in schools during specific environment days. The programme was also diffused nationally through six regional seminars. Exchange of experience was an important element of the project’s success. The project benefited from significant guidance and encouragement from the Tuscan Regional Government in Italy. The experiences and tools developed by the Tunisian project were then shared with other Mediterranean countries through a dedicated regional seminar. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).