Emirates Environmental Group conducted the 22ndcycle of the annual Inter School Environmental Public Speaking Competition from 18thto 21stApril 2022with the participation of 424 students from 89 teams. EEG aims through this programme that it initiated in 2001, to motivate the student community in the UAE to reset their visions and present possible solutions to the most prominent environmental problems and issues. Therefore, it accordingly extended this previously 2 day event to 4 days, to enable more student participation and enable more schools to benefit from this wonderful educational platform.
This bilingual (Arabic/English) competition is held every year to bring together students from different curricular across the 7 Emirates, to voice their views on 4 different environmental topics that are important to be discussed and deliberated upon to be able to come up with constructive solutions to help achieve sustainable development.
The 22nd cycle of the competition was co-sponsored by OUNASS and the4 days programme recorded the 2ndhighest participation since the inception of this competition in 2001.
EEG as an accredited NGO of the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations Convention for Combating Desertification and as members of the United Nations Global Compact, conducted this important event to directly address and on work on the deliverables of several UN SDG Goals. i.e.
#2: Zero Hunger, #3: Good Health and Well-Being, #6: Clean Water and Sanitation, #7: Affordable and Clean Energy, #9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, #12: Responsible Consumption and Production, #13: Climate Action, #14: Life Below Water, #15: Life on Land and #17: Partnership for the Goals.
EEG Co-Founder and Chairperson, Mrs. Habiba Al Mar’ashi, raising the curtain on the 22nd cycle quoted “Global climate change is one of the most serious threats that humanity is facing today. Since this problem is intertwined with the global patterns of production and consumption, besides technical and political progress, it is vital to get the society involved in the efforts to achieve an ecologically sustainable society. Because young people are those most likely to suffer the negative consequences of climate change, and since they are the future leaders of society, one could argue that this group is especially important to include in societal deliberations about this issue.”
Adding further she mentioned “Today’s youth will become tomorrow’s leaders and as a form of guidance it is our responsibility to provide them with educational experiences, for them to make knowledgeable decisions regarding the environment and sustainable development. EEG takes pride in playing an effective and important role in building the capacity of the future generations through this intellectual platform and sensitizes the coming generations and encourages them to find innovative solutions and methods for the way ahead”
The Sub Senior Category competition was directed towards students belonging to the age group 13 – 15 years who competed on two topics:
- Water Security and Food Security – Correlated?
- Conserving the True Lungs of the Planet: Key to Preventing Climate Change
The Senior Category competition was for students between 16 – 18 years of age, and that was held on 20th April and 21st April. The topics for the senior category were
- Growing Cities: Redesigning Infrastructure Towards Net Zero
- Industrial Animal Agriculture – A Compelling Contributor to Climate Change?
To score the students fairly, EEG assembled together an impressive line of 9 bilingual jury members, who are experts in the fields of the chosen topics.
The winners of the 22ndcycle of Inter School Environmental Public Speaking competition are:
| Topics | Winners |
| Topic 1: Water Security and Food Security – Correlated | Dubai National School Al Barsha Girls| Dubai |
| Topic 2: Conserving the True Lungs of the Planet : Key to Preventing Climate Change | Global Indian International School | Dubai |
| Topic 3: Growing Cities : Redesigning Infrastructure Towards Net Zero | Our Own English High School | Fujairah |
| Topic 4: Industrial Animal Agriculture – A Compelling Contributor to Climate Change? | Dubai National School Al Barsha Girls | Dubai |
The coveted rolling trophy went to Dubai National School Al Barsha Girls, Dubai who managed to score the highest points in this year’s competition.