Sharjah Launches ’Sharjah Environment Awareness Award’

New award programme aims to increase students’ environmental awareness and encourage them to actively participate in environmental activities at school

Bee’ah, through the Bee’ah School of Environment, an innovative education initiative designed to help school teachers coach pupils on environmental responsibility, along with the Sharjah Education Zone (SEZ) and Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) launched the Sharjah Environment Awareness Award.

The award is an ongoing competition created under the direction of H.H Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Sharjah.

With over AED100,000 in total prize money to be given away in different categories, the award programme aims to increase environmental awareness among students from kindergarten through to Grade 12, and encourage the youth to actively participate in environmental activities within their school systems and promote self initiative.

The Sharjah Environment Award initiative, which will see 145 public and private schools and around 150,000 students taking part, will focus in its first year on the topic of the three R’s: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.

The deadline for students’ submissions is the first week of May, whereafter adjudication will take place during the same month. The awards ceremony will be held in June.

Explaining the idea behind the Sharjah Environment Awareness Award, The Director of Sharjah Education Zone, Fawzia Bin Gharib said: “This latest initiative was designed to motivate the youth to become more actively involved in the preservation of the environment. We are asking students to create and implement a sustainable, innovative and creative environmental programme that reduces waste within their schools, and then document their environmental activities.”

She added: “While we hope to promote student participation and social networking at the same time as raising awareness around the environment, we would like students’ parents to know that they are also more than welcome to get involved with this initiative. After all, we are all on this earth together.”

According to Managing Director of Bee’ah, Khaled Al Huraimel “Bee’ah places strong emphasis on the importance of the environmental principle of the three Rs – Reduce, Re-use, Recycle. By promoting the three Rs, Bee’ah strives to teach people how to live sustainably, making them aware of the conservation issues that affect them and helping individuals develop the lifelong habits and commitments that will protect the emirate and ultimately the planet.”

He added: “Using this award as a catalyst, we seriously hope to educate the next generation of leaders on the importance of practical and sustainable environmental solutions and eco-friendly practises. We all have a role to play when it comes to Earth’s destiny and we hope that this initiative will inspire students all over Sharjah to take responsibility for the fate of their home planet.”

Also sponsoring the award is the Desert Group, a leading provider of high quality landscape leisure and lifestyle solutions in the Middle East. Ali Badi, Executive Manager Administration Department and a Member of the Board of Directors, said: “It is integral for any company to give back to the community, and it is an honour to give back to the community of Sharjah through this award.”
 

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