Sharjah - The closing ceremony of the 6th round of Sharjah Sustainability Award (SSA) organised by EPAA will take place today Thursday, 26 April. The winners of SSA for Green Schools and Green Colleges will be announced at Al Qasimia University Theater in the presence of HE Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, EPAA Chairperson. Also present will be members of the jury and participants of SSA, environmentalists, specialists and actors who closely work with issues of preservation and conservation of the environment, and school and university students.

Fifty-six schools that have participated in SSA are competing for 11 awards, in addition to a number of universities, namely: The American University of Sharjah, University of Sharjah, Al Qasimia University and Skyline University College (SUC). The Green School category has been introduced under the SSA school category. Under the university category, Green College has been introduced in the sixth round.

HE Hana Saif Al Suwaidi said, “Sharjah Sustainability Award aims to promote the concept of a sustainable green environment. It is derived from the vision of HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, on the importance of protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity in Sharjah. Therefore, the environmental programmes presented in schools are a part of an important programme of EPAA’s activities aimed at sustainability through the conservation of biodiversity. They are also a way of raising awareness in the process of expanding the targeted social groups, which enables EPAA to achieve its objectives that focus on the preservation of the environment and conservation of biodiversity.”

She added, “The importance of SSA is that it involves school and university students in developing their perceptions of independent projects, ideas and activities to enhance their environment and achieve a sustainable green environment. Students of schools and universities along with teachers and other staff members play an active role in raising environmental awareness. They have raised the bar by meeting global environment standards with their activities and involvement. We thank them for their participation and interaction”.

HE Hana Saif Al Suwaidi explained that the mission of SSA is to foster competition among different student sectors in schools and universities, encouraging them to create and implement sustainable environmental solutions to the most pressing environmental problems that contribute to the dissemination of environmental culture. SSA’s mission also promotes awareness on the importance of preserving the environment in order to acquire the elements of sustainable development through education.

The overall objective is to support Sharjah’s strategic project by acting as the key pillar in protecting environment resources and conserving biodiversity. This is done by involving schools, universities, institutions, officials and notable personalities who will contribute to creating a green environment within a sustainable framework.

SSA will be held throughout the academic year and will include two categories: one for students of basic education (second grade) and secondary education in Sharjah’s public and private schools; and the second for students of Sharjah universities. A special jury evaluates the participating projects. The evaluation mechanism includes two stages: the initial stage which includes the evaluation of the project descriptive file based on the terms and conditions of the descriptive file and the conditions and criteria of the area of participation. At this stage, the projects eligible for final arbitration are nominated. The second stage is the final arbitration which includes the arbitration of the projects nominated according to the criteria of the award for the field of the participating project.

The Sixth Round

The sixth round of SSA included opening the participation for all of the UAE, which presented opportunity to many participants from Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah. In addition to many schools in Sharjah, these schools have contributed to implementing outstanding projects in the fields of sustainable environmental application, electricity and water consumption rationalisation, green school and educational environmental models on protecting the environment and its biodiversity.

This year, Sharjah Sustainability Award has introduced the Green School category, with the aim of encouraging schools to compete in the application of sustainability on more than one aspect such as the conservation of electricity and water resources through implementing consumption rationalisation, increasing the green space in schools through self-sufficiency in the production of vegetables and fruits, and reducing pollution through the reuse of solids and recycling.

For the university category, the Green College has been introduced, which focuses on the application of sustainability in various aspects, focusing on conservation of energy and water resources, reducing all kinds of pollution and transport, as well as spreading the culture of environmental awareness among students.

56 Schools

This year, 56 schools participated in the fields of the Award compared to 55 schools last year. They participated in the various award categories, such as Outstanding School, Outstanding Coordinator and Outstanding Student. Most of the participations were in the category of Outstanding Student in the field of photography, and the category of Outstanding Team in the field of environmental project, the production of a short environmental film and rationalisation of electricity and water. For university participants, their participation was characterised by the quality of scientific research in terms of providing sustainable environmental solutions in various subjects serving the industries in terms of their applicability in the facilities of the society.

This year, 130 students participated in the award, compared to 143 students, last year, while the number of individuals who participated in the Outstanding Coordinator category and Outstanding School was 38 administration and teaching staff members, compared to 22 in the previous round. As for universities, there was an increase in the number of participants in this year’s round compared to last year, especially in the field of scientific research, in both applied scientific research and evaluation scientific research, in addition to participating in the production of the environmental film, smart application of information and the Green College. The total number of participating university students was 196 students, of which 133 participated in scientific research and 63 participated in other fields. The total number of participants in the fifth round, last year, was 115 students, including 86 in scientific research and 29 in other fields.

Sharjah Sustainability Award’s 12 co-sponsors are: Ministry of Education, Sharjah Education Council, Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA), Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, American University of Sharjah, University of Sharjah, Skyline University College (SUC), Al Qasimia University in Sharjah, Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah, Emirates Photography Society, Vision Film Production Company and Sharjah Media Foundation.

© Press Release 2018