GEYC Dubai 2006 set for November

The GEYC Dubai 2006, which is being organized by Dubai Municipality in co-operation with the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University, Sweden and the Euro-Arab Cooperation Center with the theme, Peace and Sustainable Development, will be held during 12-16, November 2006 in Dubai.

The meeting discussed among other things, the vision statement of GEYC Dubai 2006, the current status of the Young Masters Programme (YMP), which is being held as part of the GEYC, the draft programme of the GEYC Dubai 2006, its theme, progress report and a review of the previous experiences.

Eng. Hamdan Al Shaer, Director of Environment Department, Khalid AbdelRahim Abdullah, Assistant Director of Municipality Centres Department, Yousuf Murad Salmeen, Head of Public Relations Section, Sameer AbdulRahman, Head of Organizations and Awards Unit and representatives of Finance Department also participated in the meeting.

The Lund University was represented in the meeting by Dr. Tareq Muthaira and Birgitta Nordén, while the Euro-Arab Cooperation Center was represented by Samy Al Jundy and Dr. Suzanne Al Kallini.

The GEYC Dubai 2006, the 4th global gathering of students 15-18 years of age and their teachers and mentors, is expected to be attended by more than 700 participants, including 100 from the UAE. The organizers are aiming for a representation of over 50 countries in the event, which will see presentation of 120 projects.

The programmes include project workshops, learning and interactive workshops for students and teachers, study visits, field works and special stage events. In addition to that, awards will be distributed to Best Conducted Projects, Most Active Teams in YMP, Best Presented Project and Ultimate Online Learner.

Dr. Tareq Muthaira, who gave a presentation in the preparatory committee meeting titled,"Road to GEYC Dubai 2006," said that more than 1,700 people have registered for the online course YMP on Preventive Environmental Strategies within the GEYC Dubai 2006.

The YMP course, which was started mid-September, 2005, will be running until May, 2006. The YMP, held with the GEYC, is a unique project, where youth are invited to participate in the Internet based course together with a group of up to 1,500 students from nations all around the world.
Talking about the current status of the YMP in the UAE, Muthaira said 81 people have registered from the country and there are 14 delegations from seven schools, adding that five more schools are expected to register in the coming days.

He said seven delegations have succeeded in Part 1 of the YMP and received certificates in a ceremony supported by the UAE Ministry of Education and Youth.

The GEYC Lund 2000 was opened by the Swedish King and was attended by 600 people from 60 countries. The second convention, GEYC 2002 participated by 350 people was held in Turin, Italy, with the theme, "Sustainable Mobility and ICT." The third, GEYC 2004, held in Alexandria, Egypt with the theme, "Environment-peace-culture," was jointly hosted by Bibliotheca Alexandria and Arab Academy for Science and Technology.