Canon’s UAE School Environmental Sustainability Competition shortlists top five schools

Canon Middle East (CME), a leader in imaging solutions, in partnership with Emirates Wildlife Society – World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF) and The National newspaper, announced the top five shortlisted schools for ‘The UAE School Environmental SustainabilityCompetition’.   

The UAE School Environmental Sustainability Competition aims to engage with the UAE schools community in order to raise awareness about environmental issues among the youth, and to provide them an opportunity to be part of the solution. 

The top five schools were selected following the evaluation by a panel of experts from Canon ME, Emirates Wildlife Society and The National newspaper, from among 33 schools proposals across all emirates. The participating schools submitted a 1,500 word proposal via a tab on Canon Middle East Facebook page, addressing three important questions - how their school is sustainable, how they can improve their sustainability approach and why they should win the competition. 

The top five nominated schools are: Emirates English Speaking School, Ramah School, German International School, Dubai Modern Education School, and Al Bashair Private School. 

Mai Youssef, Corporate Communication Director, Canon Middle East, and one of the judges, said: “We are truly pleased with the number of submissions received across all Emirates. We saw some very strong proposals which reflected the UAE students’ knowledge and enthusiasm. This made it all the more exciting for us to nominate the top five finalists.” 

“Canon believes that sustainability must be at the core of our business. Through this competition, we will continue inspiring younger generations to live in a healthy environment,” Youssef added. 

The proposals centered on a range of ideas including educating one’s immediate community in sustainability methods, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and growing solar power projects. Many schools were able to demonstrate evidence of existing and past initiatives to be more environmentally responsible.

The shortlisted schools will receive a Canon LEGRIA HF R68 video camera to create and submit themed promo videos about their previous environmental sustainability proposal and why they should win, as well as earn a trip to Wadi Warayah National Park, provided by EWS-WWF. A mixed workshop on video production, environmental conservation and social media promotion ideas by Canon and EWS-WWF will be held on 11^TH 4th May. The deadline for the promo video submissions is 21 May, with voting via Facebook starting on 23rd May. 

Another judge, Ghada Nabil, Education officer of Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF, said: “We have seen creativity and passion from all participating schools, which was strong signal that the young generation is very keen to protect our planet. We look forward to learning about video production techniques, talking about environmental conservation and exploring social media promotion ideas with students from the top five schools during our upcoming workshop. We will be waiting for the final video with excitement and anticipation.”

Vesela Todorova, Environment Correspondent for The National, and the third person of the judging panel, said: "It was incredible to see the level of effort and commitment by schools and young people in the UAE. Preserving the environment is a responsibility for everybody and it can be made into a fun activity as well. There are many ways that we can all contribute and the schools in the competition are an inspiration for others." 

The winner will be announced on 31st May, and students from the school will be supported to plant a sustainable garden in the school, to connect with nature and learn about local plants and water issues.