DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 25th Apr, 2021) Emirates Environmental Group organised the 21st cycle of the annual Inter-School Environmental Public Speaking Competition on 21st & 22nd April 2021, to coincide with the global celebration of Earth Day.
The competition build on the success of transforming this competition to take place virtually since last year.
The two day programme registered over 431 participants, including the accompanying teachers, who all came together from various government and private schools across all the Emirates, united with in their passion for Environmental advocacy to achieve development that is sustainable.
The sub-senior students between the ages of 13 and 15 competed on two topics, "Sustainable Living: A path for a Greener Future?" and "Environment & Education: Need for Change". Gems Millennium School, Sharjah won in first topic and Dubai National School, Al Barsha (Boys) was the winner in the second topic.
The second day was for the senior category of students in the age bracket of 16-18. The Philippine School, Dubai was crowned the winner for the topic "Balancing the 3 Pillars of Sustainability in a Post Pandemic World" and Dubai National School, Al Barsha (Boys) was the winner for the last topic, "Integrating Environment & technology: A Solution to Sustainability?"
The overall winner for the 21st cycle of Inter school Environmental Public Speaking Competition is Dubai National School, Al Barsha (Boys).
The topics chosen for the competition were the result of a rigorous process taking into account the feedback received from last year’s participating teams that was mainly influenced by the Pandemic and designed to encompass several UN SDGs.
The topics aimed to encourage the students to consider sustainable lifestyles, the importance of greening the curriculum, to focus on building a more resilient global economy and the profound impact of technology in shaping societies, economies and the environment.
The discussions and presentations provided by the students reflected the immense efforts invested in research and the sense of environmental awareness and understanding of sustainability issues exhibited by the participating teams.
Habiba Al Marashi, Co-founder and Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group welcomed the participating teams; those who have joined for the 1st time and those who ensure to enroll their students in all the creative platforms that EEG rolls out annually. She further thanked OUNASS Company for coming on board as a support sponsor and went on to say: "We at EEG are eager this year to embark with positive attitude and strive towards environmental education for the youth. While the year 2020 will not be looked upon confidently by many, it was a learning curve for humanity, and it did in fact open up new avenues of opportunities. We need to look back with positivity and take stock of the many lessons learned".
She further added "Since the programmes’ inception in 2001, the ISEPSC has become an exceptional platform for students to showcase their innovation, creativity, cooperative team work and critical thinking skills all to advocate for environmental sustainability. Moreover, the programme has provided students with the opportunity to develop their oratory skills and harness their unique abilities to proactively contribute to the change that is necessary to conserve our environment."
