7/31/2019 QF Telegraph: QF is the focus for Earth Day Events

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bringing togetHer organizations

and individuals working toward an

environmentally sustainable uture

was the ocus o the frst Qatar En-

vironmental Education Fair, held at

the Student Center on 22 April.

Held on Earth Day, the event

brought together more than 20

stakeholders rom the felds obusiness, research and sustainability

research and education in Qatar.

In developing this event,

we hope that it will contribute

toward setting up a network o

organizations that are truly working

to deliver projects, training and

technologies that support the

environment, Christopher Silva,

QFs Sustainability Education

Co-ordinator, said. Many o the

exhibitors are doing so because

they want to fnd out what studiesare being conducted and what

technologies are currently being

developed by other interested

parties, alongside helping to educate

Qatar Foundation students and

sta who are working toward asustainable uture were lauded dur-

ing an awards ceremony held in the

lead-up to Earth Day.

The second annual Education

City Sustainability Education

Awards highlighted best practice

in projects that promote

environmental sustainability in

GPS is aimed at high school

children. By asking them to question

their own electricity and water

consumption and monitor it in

their school, we are hoping to raise

awareness in the next generation,

said the initiatives Chaturka

Karandana.

visitors to Mathas stand were

encouraged to come up with alterna-

tive uses or some o Dohas most

iconic buildings. As Matha is based

in an existing building were trying

to promote the adaptive re-usage

o current properties as a way to

promote sustainable growth, Grace

Murray, Adult and Academic Pro-

gram Co-ordinator, said. Many o

Mathas exhibits also have environ-

mental themes.

Qatar Foundation International,in partnership with Qatar Shell,

Qatar National Research Fund,

Conservation International and

Secondary School Research

National Research Fund, Reach

Out To Asias Tout Le Mondecampaign and the Facilities

Department at Georgetown

University School o Foreign

Service in Qatar.

individual aWards were pre-

sented to Dr Naeem Odeh (Qatar

Faculty o Islamic Studies), Nadia

I think the event is a great way

to highlight Earth Day and

what we can all do to help the

environment. For us at HSSE

the green department we are

using the event to highlight what

environmental tests we are doing

on a daily basis or the health o

everyone at QF, or example test-

ing the water and air quality.

This is the frst event that we

have attended outside o uni-

versity where we have been ableto promote the biological and

environmental science courses

run at Qatar University. Its a

great opportunity to let people

know what were doing and how

they can be a part o promoting

green issues.

Experience Program, used the air

to launch the Youth Ambassadors or

Science & Environment. Four Qatari

high school students have already

been selected to become youth

ambassadors, joining the Rio+20

UN Conerence in sustainable

development in Brazil next month.

For other exhibitors the eventtackled some o the issues they are

directly concerned with.

Nadia Amar Aboul Hosn,

Outreach Consultant or Qatar

Environment & Energy Research

Institute (QEERI), said: The air

covers many o QEERIs key topics

or sustainability. Were looking to

raise awareness by getting everyone

to think about their daily habits and

how they aect the environment.

The activities on our stand seek

to give people an understandingo their carbon ootprint and

the impact this can have. This is

important not only or the uture o

Qatar, but or the world.

Amar Aboul Hosn (Qatar Environ-

ment & Energy Research Institute)and Dr Munir Tag (Qatar National

Research Fund).

The event was organized

by the Oice o Faculty and

Student Services in collaboration

with Qatar Foundation

International, with sponsorship

by QScience.com.

Follow us on: twitter.com/QFTelegraph, facebook.com/QFTelegraphThursday 3 May 2012

visitors on the importance o

tackling environmental issues.

We were surprised by the

number o organizations wanting

to exhibit and deserving o the

opportunity to take part in the air.

We would have been pleased to get

fve associations interested, so we

were delighted by the large numbersthat registered, especially such

diverse organizations as Matha Arab

Museum o Modern Art and the

Institute Engineers o India.

Exhibitors included Green

Program or Schools (GPS), an

initiative o Msheireb Properties,

in association with Qatar Today

Magazine and supported by the

Supreme Education Council.

The program seeks to educate

schoolchildren on water and energy

consumption through an annualcompetition to fnd Qatars most

ecoriendly school, with the winner

o the inaugural award being

announced on 5 June.

line with the Qatar National Vision

2030.Qatar Academy won the

Excellence in the Classroom

award or the second year, with

the schools Grade 4C class being

recognized or a project to research

the importance o conserving water

in Qatar.

Other winners included Qatar

envionmntl ection Fi povi lning n opn icionQF is th focus for earth day vnts

Ive ound the activities really

interesting as theyve helped

me understand the role we

all have to play in tackling

environmental issues. Asan individual its up to me

to conserve water, recycle

plastic and switch lights out

when I leave a room. Ive

also been able to fnd out

about university courses I can

undertake as I progress my

studies.

Hize Malhees,

16, student at Musab Bin Omari

Independent School

Community

Abdulla Al Hajjaj,

Environment Specialist, HSSE

Directorate

Mariam Safi,

President o Biological &

Environmental Science Student

Committee, Qatar University

Stalls at the Environmental Education Fair attracted a great deal o interest

QF w bt pctic in pojct tt pomot nvionmntl tinbilit