Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 21st April 2010: Encouraging UAE students to take up the battle against climate change, Emirates Wildlife Society – WWF, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Ministry of Education and HSBC Bank Middle East yesterday hosted the final round of the Heroes of the UAE Campaign's Inter-School Climate Change Quiz.
Composed of three rounds; UAE Girls, UAE Boys and a Private Schools group, the competition was fierce, with each student well armed with environmental knowledge and know-how.
In the UAE Girls round, the Umm Al Quwain school girls stole the show while Ibn Al Haitham School, Ajman saw off stiff competition in the UAE Boys round. Our Own English High School, Sharjah was also named Heroes of the UAE Campaign winner in the Private Schools round.
“Knowledge is fundamental to understanding the issues surrounding climate change,” said Kaltham Al Koheji, Regional Head of Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd. “The children's performance in the quiz programme has been to the amazement of many adults, who have marvelled at the level of knowledge displayed. This is a positive result indicating that our jointly partnered advocacy programme is on the right path. The programme was also a great opportunity for HSBC volunteers to join with the children in improving their own climate knowledge and giving back to the community, as well as seeing the impact they're making right where we work and live.”
Established as part of the ‘Heroes School' programme, generously sponsored by HSBC Bank Middle East, and backed by the UAE Ministry of Education, the final round of the Quiz saw school children aged 13-14 compete on various topics related to Climate Change.
Over 200 students and 100 schools participated in the preliminary rounds, which started in February 2010. For the final rounds, 38 students from 19 schools battled it out in front a panel of organisers vying for the top prize – a AED100,000 energy and water make-over for their school.
“The ‘Heroes of the UAE Inter-School Climate Change Quiz' brought out the best in all participating students. The level of enthusiasm and healthy competition was extremely inspiring. I was highly impressed by the student's environmental knowledge which was constantly demonstrated through the various rounds of the competition,” stated Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of EWS-WWF.
The schools that participated from across the UAE included:
Group 1 Government school (Girls): Atiqa Bint Abdul Mutaleb, Abu Dhabi; Al Shaimaa, Sharjah; Sumaia Bint Al Khayat, Ajman; Awhalah, Fujairah; Suhailah, Ras Al Khaimah; Umm Al Quwain, UAQ; Al Khansaa, Dubai.
Group 2 Government schools (Boys): Al Tamayoz, Abu Dhabi; Al Majd Model School, Sharjah; Ibn Al Haitham, Ajman; Al Estiqlal School, Fujairah; Saeed Bin Jubair, Ras Al Khaimah; Othman Bin Affan, UAQ
Group 3 Private Schools: Al Nahda Girls School, Abu Dhabi; Our Own English High School, Sharjah; Indian School, Ajman; Our Own English High School, Fujairah; Indian Public High School, Ras Al Khaimah; St. Mary's Catholic High School, Dubai