Thirteen volunteer projects dedicated to conservation and the environment in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Levant have been awarded a combined total of $90,000 by the judges of this year’s edition of the GCC/Levant Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants.
Members of the Ford Grants’ independent jury panel, comprising leading environmentalists and academics from across the region, also attended the awards along with representatives from the World Wildlife Federation (WWF)-UAE and senior officials from Ford Middle East & North Africa (MENA).
A total of 13 volunteer groups and individuals, representing all nine GCC and Levant countries, received financial assistance from the 2002 Ford Grants. The largest individual grant was $10,000.
First introduced in the Gulf in 2000, the Ford Grants expanded to include Lebanon, Jordan and Syria last year. Ford Motor Company has granted a total of $240,000 so far to conservation and environmental causes in the region since 2000.
Specialising in four main areas - the natural environment, environmental education, conservation engineering, and the preservation of historical and cultural heritage - the Ford Motor Company & Environmental Grants invite individuals, community groups and non-profit-making organizations to apply for Ford funds to assist small-scale, ongoing projects.
The Ford Grants evolved out of the Henry Ford European Conservation Awards, which have helped more than 15,000 projects since their inception in 1983. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
