Creating awareness on sustainability in Abu Dhabi schools

Abu Dhabi:  Thousands of students are up for an exciting 10 days as activities for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in Schools (ADSWS) commence.

The initiative, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Education Council, is an emirate-wide educational programme that increases awareness about sustainable development and inspires youth towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and careers.

Designed to help students understand the importance of sustainable development and how they can play a role in promoting it, ADSWS began on Monday across 30 public and private schools including British School Al Khubairat, Al Bateen Secondary Schools, Glenelg Schools of Abu Dhabi, Al Ebtikar and Al Khazna.

“Sustainability has been an integral part of our country’s development goals. With a variety of globally significant events happening as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week this year, it is important to extend these discussions to young people and to help them understand what sustainability is and how it can positively impact society,” aid Dr Nawal Al Hosany, director of Sustainability at Masdar and director of Zayed Future Energy Prize.

“We are hoping that, through hands-on learning experiences, ADSWS will increase youth awareness of sustainability and their curiosity to innovate for a sustainable future.”

 

Key projects

The programme’s engaging activities include two key projects, Junior Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge and A Sustainable Home Model, in addition to life-size sustainability board games in school yards. Teachers received manuals that include information on sustainability and conservation in addition to tips and guidelines for in-school projects.

The Junior Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge (JADSC) is for students aged 12 to 15 to design, build and drive solar-powered cars. As part of the programme, schools were provided with solar car kits, teaching the basics of energy conversion, energy efficiency and the sustainable use of energy. After going through each phase, one qualifying team from each school will enter a 25-metre race.

With the Sustainable Home Model, 10 teams from each school will build a sustainable house for a family of five addressing issues like energy and water consumption, waste water management and sustainable building materials. The final project will be a two-minute presentation to the class and guest evaluators.

Commenting on the programme, Nadine Hassan, Head of Social Development and Partnerships, Mubadala, said: “We try to strike a balance between relevance, education and fun with our youth initiatives, and we designed ADSWS activities to be engaging and cater to young people’s curiosity. The projects seek to advance students’ critical thinking and provide practical learning opportunities in mathematics and scientific investigation while increasing their awareness of a critical issue like sustainability.”

Model races and competitions following the different initiatives will take place at various stages of ADSWS and an overall winner for each project, namely JADSC and A Sustainable Model Home will be announced on January 24 at Masdar Festival.

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