The second edition of the Green Programme for Schools (GPS) concluded last week in Doha with a closing and award ceremony held at Birla Public School.
The ceremony was attended by more than 300 students and teachers, in addition to representatives from the Supreme Education Council (SEC) and ExxonMobil Qatar.
Attending on behalf of Khalifa Saad al-Derham, director of the Independent Schools Office at the SEC, Ahmed Salman al-Sheeb, adviser at the SEC’s Education Institute, presented the Eco School of the Year award to Ali Bin Abi Taleb School for its active involvement in the GPS activities and for working on projects that are innovative and sustainable.
Dr Saif Ali al-Hajari, chairman of Friends of the Environment Centre (FEC), also attended the event and presented certificates to the participating schools.
Six other awards were presented by Khaled al-Suwaidi, planning analyst for ExxonMobil Qatar. These included the Most Innovative Eco Idea, presented to MES Indian School and Birla Public School, and the Most Active Eco Schools, awarded to Al Arqam Academy Girls, Doha Modern Indian School, Gulf English School and Cambridge School.
Sponsored by ExxonMobil Qatar and endorsed by the SEC, the GPS initiative is aimed at reaching, inspiring and rewarding students and schools launched by Qatar Today. It is designed to provide a basic understanding of green concepts in schools, with more than 25,000 students participating so far, through the involvement of 30 of Qatar’s schools.
A mix of government, independent and private schools were invited to be part of the programme. GPS co-ordinators from Mission 20 - a Qatari youth social group - visited the participating schools every month to inspect the water and electricity usage and interacted with students to instil values of sustainability. Each of the schools submitted its green activities towards the end of the programme, which were then compared and scrutinised by a team of experts to
determine the awardees.
“The Green Programme for Schools is a wonderful way to educate the public, especially the youth, on the necessity of managing our natural resources wisely,” said Saleh al-Mana, vice-president and director of government and public affairs for ExxonMobil Qatar.
“The GPS has the Supreme Education Council’s backing as a good programme for raising awareness among our students on the importance of conserving energy and water at their schools and within their communities,” said Ahmed Salman al-Sheeb from the SEC.
Qatar Today’s supporting partners for the GPS include Mission 20 volunteers, the Youth Company, Khalifa al-Haroon from IloveQatar; officials of FEC Qatar and Qatar
Green Building Council.