Over 106 schools in the UAE shortlisted for Shell Better Environment Awards for the scholastic year 2005/2006

The Judging Committee for the Shell Better Environment Awards (BEA) 2006, comprising representatives from the UAE Interschool Sports Association in the UAE Ministry of Education, Environmental Agency in Abu Dhabi, UAE municipalities, Zayed International Prize for the Environment, UAE Cultural Heritage Club and Shell met recently to shortlist schools for the 2006 BEA Awards.

Hundreds of entries for the 2006 Shell Better Environment Awards (BEA) from schools across the UAE are scrutinised and evaluated in the process of selecting a shortlist that will be receiving cash grants from Shell to enable their proposals to be put into action.

The annual BEA is sponsored and run by Shell in the UAE as part of its commitment to sustainable development and organized with the co-operation and assistance of the UAE Ministry of Education and. It is supported by the Federal Environmental Agency (FEA), the Environmental Department of the Dubai Municipality and the Environmental Agency in Abu Dhabi.

"The Shell BEA is a scheme designed to promote environmental awareness amongst students by encouraging active theoretical and practical participation in projects aimed at increasing local environmental awareness,"
said Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Head of External Affairs and HSSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment), Shell. "The commitment shown by the students, teachers and the schools to actively involve themselves in creating a better environment has underlined the significance of these awards, and has justified the cash grants we give away each year. The increasing participation from schools in the BEA awards highlights the success and popularity of the awards in the UAE."

Abdullah Bilal Al Shamsi, Financial Manager, UAE Interschool Sports Association, UAE, said, "School children can play an important role in spreading awareness about environment conservation. The Better Environment Awards will motivate the children to come up with creative ideas that will lead to a cleaner and greener environment. With the required guidance and support of parents and school authorities, the participants in this edition of BEA will be able to showcase a range of innovative projects."

Entries were submitted in three categories - Environmental Awareness Campaigns, Environmental Field Studies and Towards Sustainable Less Polluting Forms of Transportation.

Briefing sessions in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi were also conducted for schools that submitted shortlisted entries for the Field Studies category, where they were given packages of reference books, equipment and materials that will help them complete their projects on time.

The final winners of the Awards will be announced at a ceremony in April where all the projects submitted in each of the three categories will be on display.