Inter College Environmental Public Speaking Competition

The main objectives of the Inter College Environmental Public Speaking Competition are: • To motivate students on various environmental issues; • To develop their public speaking skills; • To serve as a platform for future generations to express their concern over the fragile environment; • To find ways to preserve and protect the environment; • To build the confidence and personality of the student community. • To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring and enabling young people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations; • To recognise the contribution made by young people and distinguish themselves in the field of environmental protection The Competition provides students from across the Arab world a platform to express themselves, while learning from their peers. EEG encourages them to think out of the box and develop innovative, yet practical solutions to issues such as climate change and global warming. Thus, these students are more environmentally conscious and strive to be forerunners in the fight against global warming and climate change. The 17th cycle of the Competition in 2017 witnessed the participation of 69 teams, comprising of 515 students, teachers and experts from across the UAE, GCC and MENA region. Compared to 2016, there has been a 33% increase in participation (there were 52 teams in 2016). The topics selected for the year were: • People and the Planet: Finding a Sustainable Balance • Quality Education: Roadmap to Sustainable Development • Sustainable Food Systems: Understanding Food Security • Future of Power Since its inception in 2001, the Inter College Environmental Public Speaking Competition has grown from strength to strength. In 2006, the platform was opened to the entire GCC region. In 2012, national competitions were rolled out and the Sultanate of Oman joined this momentous platform whereby colleges and universities from all over the Sultanate of Oman compete and the winning teams then join this Pan – Arab competition. Since 2014, the growth further expanded to include the whole Arab region, leading to the scaling up of this programme. The breakdown of participation in 2017 is as follows: • UAE: 46 participating teams • GCC: 18 participating teams • MENA: 5 participating teams The breakdown of teams participating from the MENA, GCC and UAE are as follows: • UAE: 67% • Oman: 19% • Saudi Arabia: 3% • Bahrain: 3% • Jordan: 3% • Kuwait: 2% • Lebanon: 1% • Palestine: 1% • Sudan: 1% EEG has several plans in the pipeline to increase impact of this programme. • Inviting experts in the field of sustainability and environmental conservation as judges. • Supporting several teams from some of the Arab Countries financially by covering travel and boarding costs. • Organising national-level competitions in partnership with NGOs in different Arab countries Thus, stakeholders looking to get involved can contact us to be a partner, sponsor or participant of the programme.