In a workshop organized by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), environment coordinators of Abu Dhabi government and private schools met today at the Inter-Continental Hotel where the new interactive module option of the popular Enviro-spellathon programme developed by Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) was unveiled. Similar workshops will be held in Al Ain City tomorrow (August 28th) and in the Western Region in the next week, for both the private and government schools.

Enviro-spellathon, is a sustained educational activity for Primary and the Intermediate students and has been running in Abu Dhabi schools since 2001. This activity targets student in all schools and it grows with the child. With each passing year the child learns relevant environmental information pertaining to the age group.

The new interactive module will help increase the outreach of this resource material and also help save paper and carbon emissions. This electronic module has been especially designed to attract young kids to a more updated, exciting version of Spellathon. It also hosts a teacher’s resource corner where they can know more about UAE’s environment. In addition to all this, it is expected also to facilitate a convenient exchange of resource materials between schools, EWS and the Agency the co-organizers for this programme in the Emirate.

Last year EAD and EWS signed an MOU on partnering for Environment Education and Awareness in Abu Dhabi Emirate. According to the agreement EWS is now the main organizer for this program.

The Shell Abu Dhabi has been the main sponsor for this programme so far in the Emirate since its inception. The programme has been also organized in cooperation and support of the Ministry of Education and the three Educational Zones in the Emirate.

In the words of Mr. Majid Al Mansouri, EAD Secretary General “There is now a new generation which is growing up in the Emirate which is more environmentally savvy with the firm foundation laid by Enviro-spellathon for the past 8 years . When the program first started in the year 2001, not many students in the Emirate were aware of UAE’s flora and fauna and its environmental issues”.

The Agency, which has been in the forefront to disseminate a structured and a systematic environmental awareness among the UAE’s younger generation since 1998, will also reveal other educational projects lined up for schools during this workshop. This will included programmes such as Annual Environmental Competition, which will be held this year under the theme “CO2- Kick the Habit”, the ecology field trips schedule for schools, Solar Learning and Education Programme, UNESCO’s Water Education for the Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) in the Arab World for which EAD is the main organizer, Teacher Training workshops and also the Sustainable Schools Initiative which will be kicking off in schools from January 2009 onwards.

EAD is also in the process of looking into enhancing their educational and awareness efforts in the light of results revealed by the assessment survey conducted by EAD to assess the extent of awareness among the Abu Dhabi Emirate’s population. The survey revealed that teachers along with Media and preachers emerged as the main influencers in shaping up the younger generation’s environmental values and ethics.

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