Abu Dhabi leads efforts to promote water education regionally

The teachers come from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Associated Project Network (ASP) schools. The training is part of a flagship regional project that was launched in 2006 of which EAD is the international coordinator.

The 2-day workshop, November 16-17, will be attended by 75 participants from 10 countries including experts from India's Center for Environment Education, Share Net Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), and the US's Earth Force's GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network) as well as UNESCO representatives from Paris, Doha and Kingdom of Jordan. The workshop will be inaugurated by H.E Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD and will be attended by H.E Dr. Awad Ali Saleh, Secretary General of the UAE National UNESCO Commission, as well as a number of UNESCO water experts.

During the workshop, the teachers will be trained on the Arab Water Education Pack, consisting of water education curriculum booklet for teachers as a classroom resource aid and student recognition gift. The Pack was developed by EAD and targets primary, intermediary and secondary levels. This pack will be used in classrooms around the Arab world starting from the next academic session.

This project is a part of UNESCO initiative for the decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2015) for the Middle East. The idea for this project came from a recommendation made back in 2003, during an UNESCO ASPnet schools meeting here in Abu Dhabi.

The project's aim is get Arab youth more interested and more active when it comes to water issues in their part of the world. By providing them with the right tools, training and awareness, the project will help generate a new generation of pro-active and knowledgeable youth working towards conserving the precious resource of water.

The project will also bring students of different Arab countries together by providing them with youth exchange programmes and an online forum where they can share results of their activities. Once students have gained awareness, they are more likely to incorporate water conservation into their lifestyle and then develop positive changes in water conservation behavior. This awareness project is part of UNESCO's World Heritage Project and works toward achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for Sustainable Development.