Zabeel Park ceremony marks start of largest voluntary drive

The colourful opening ceremony was attended by Abdullah Bin ahmed Bin AbdulAziz, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment, Abdullah Rafia', Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for Environment and Public Health Affairs, Hassan Makki, Assistant Director of the Environment Department and Head of Waste Services Section, senior government officials and representatives of the sponsors. The event began with a theatrical display followed by an opera, specially prepared for the occasion and staged by students from various Dubai schools. Some 14 parachuters from the UAE's National Parachuting Team, carrying UAE national flags and the campaign logo landed in the venue driving home the message of environment conservation.

"Dubai Municipality is committed to improve public cleanliness in the emirate in cooperation with individuals, government establishments, private firms and non-governmental organisations through effective participation," said Mr. Rafia' delivering his opening speech on the occasion.

It is the 13th consecutive year that Dubai is organising the campaign which has such noble objectives as forging a sense of mutual cooperation among organisations and institutions concerned with environment in planning and executing environment action programmes, enhancing environment awareness of the community on waste reduction and recycling issues, ensuring participation of institutions and individuals in environment programmes, cleaning up the local environment, and encouraging team-work in finding lasting solutions for the growing waste problem.

This year's event is supported by Tadweer, Al Naboodah Group of Companies, Zenath Group of Companies (ETA-Ascon), Gulf Eternit Company Ltd, and Al Bustan Rotana Hotel.

During the first day of the campaign, professional divers helped clean up the creek-bed and Al Hamriya Port.

Over the next three days, thousands of volunteers from schools, government departments, NGOs, and voluntary organisations will participate in cleaning up different areas.

The second day's (Wednesday, 22 Nov) activities include clean up drive by volunteers from government schools at an area behind Mushrif Park (close to the Academic City Road Roundabout), distribution of waste bins in schools as well as new and large garbage bins in several locations and beaches of Dubai, distribution of awareness literature to the city residents, and felicitation of the participants.

On the third day (Thursday, 23 November), volunteers from private schools, colleges, and universities will collect debris from the site opposite Dubai Police Academy in Umm Sequim.

The last day of the campaign (Friday, 24 Nov) will include clean-up by volunteers (general public) in Al Qouz. On this day, winners of a photography contest, organised in a bid enhance environmental awareness, will be felicitated in a concluding ceremony.

An awareness programme, organised on the sidelines of the campaign, includes a unique public awareness campaign to encourage people to use jute shopping bags instead of plastic bags. As part of the campaign, selected supermarkets and cooperative societies will be provided with jute shopping bags and customers will be encouraged to carry their purchases in these bags.

Other awareness programmes include a drive to collect used toys which will later be distributed among needy children in Lebanon in cooperation with the UAE Red Crescent, waste recycling workshops in shopping malls, exhibition of children's paintings on waste, and several contests for children. There will be environment lectures in schools where children can also participate in an essay contest on waste reduction. Another unique contest is for the public who will be urged to collect maximum quantity of paper waste.

Some 15,000 high-quality T-shirts and more than 10,000 caps, printed with the campaign's logo, are being distributed among the volunteers.