Shell teams up with UAE environmental agencies to boost Sustainable Development

The UAE delegation was accompanied by representatives from the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies, namely Dr Mohamed Defrawi, Managing Director of Shell Abu Dhabi, Caroline Wehbeh, External Affairs Co-ordinator for Dubai-based Shell Markets [Middle East] Ltd and Monira Al-Kuttab, External Affairs Co-ordinator from Shell Abu Dhabi.

In the lead-up to the Johannesburg Summit, Shell companies in the UAE have worked closely with UAE Government departments and agencies involved with the conservation of natur
al resources and ecological diversity.

To mark the UAE's Fifth National Environment Day on 4th February, 2002, Shell companies in the UAE jointly sponsored and designed a competition titled 'Vision of the UAE Youth on Sustainable Development'. The event was run in close co-ordination with the FEA, the UAE Ministry of Education and Youth, ERWDA and the FECC from Abu Dhabi Municipality.

A technical committee, set up specially for the competition, selected 52 of the best entries which were in the form of drawings and essays, and had been submitted by students throughout the UAE. The most outstanding entries were compiled into a book made of recycled paper.This book was distributed among the 190 delegations representing world governments at the World Summit in Johannesburg.

In a joint statement issued by Dr Mohamed Defrawi, Managing Director of Shell Abu Dhabi, and Iain Everingham, Country Chairman for Shell in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, it was stated: "The participants and organisers of the 'Vision of the UAE Youth' competition should be proud of their efforts, illustrated in the pages of this book, and their achievement at having the book distributed at the World Summit. The book serves to demonstrate the degree of environmental awareness attained by the youth of the UAE, following the example of H. H. President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his initiatives toward the protection and preservation of the environment.

"Shell is playing its part in delivering the message of Sustainable Development, complementing the role of its former Group Chairman, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, in organising the World Summit. Shell representatives in many countries have continued to demonstrate the Group's commitment to help communities help themselves."

Dr Defrawi concludes, "In the UAE we have, for years, been active promoters of environmental education and awareness through a number of long-standing environmental projects. It is in this spirit that we unreservedly supported the themes of the project."

The three UAE winners of the competition were invited to join the UAE environmental delegation and Shell representatives at the Earth Summit. Hassan Ibrahim Al Jassmi, one of the winners, said, on his return from the Summit, "I am so proud to be one of the young nationals who represented the UAE at the World Summit in South Africa. I hope that my fellow countrymen, under the wise guidance of our President H. H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, will continue to play a significant role in protecting the environment. It is also my hope that Shell, as one of the world's leading energy companies, will continue its work in making a strong commitment to Sustainable Development for the future"

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