- More than 250,000 students, 6,000 teachers and 400 schools expected to compete

- Cash prizes worth over AED 90,000 to be awarded to winners

- Duracell to partner for a third year on a key student award category

Sharjah, September 28, 2020: Bee’ah has announced the launch of its annual Environmental Excellence School Award (EESA). Now in its eleventh cycle, the flagship competition of the Bee’ah School of Environment (BSOE) encourages students to find creative and innovative solutions to the environmental challenges of today.

The EESA competition aims to increase environmental awareness amongst students and teachers, through active engagement and participation in award project submissions. EESA has grown extensively over the past decade, with more than 250,000 students, 6,000 teachers and 400 schools expected to compete.

The 2020/2021 EESA competition theme is ‘The Future of Sustainability in the UAE’, which draws inspiration from the country’s Vision 2021 goal to encourage sustainable development. Objectives include protecting the environment, improving air quality, preserving water resources, and increasing the contribution of clean energy. The implementation of these green economic growth plans is considered to be one of the nation’s key achievements, which Bee’ah, as a sustainability pioneer, contributes to. Students and teachers will be encouraged to anticipate the future of sustainability in the UAE and suggest ways that the community can play a part in this transformation.

Commenting on the latest iteration of the Environmental Excellence School Awards, HE Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah, said, “The EESA competitions are a vital part of our mission at Bee’ah to promote a sustainable quality of life for our world today, and for generations to come. And as we work toward this goal, the youth of our nation are the cornerstone of this bright future. We know from experience that the submissions we will see this academic year are the beginning of a lifelong journey to creating a positive impact for our community and the world. We thank everyone who has been involved in the competition for more than a decade, and to our partners at Duracell, and the UAE Ministry of Education for their ongoing support and shared vision.”

In keeping with the current guidelines for social distancing, participation for the awards this year will be on an individual basis. Categories range from grades 3 to 12 for students, along with teachers’ individual participation. The Grade 3–5 category is ‘Best environmental e-storybook and song’ under the theme ‘The life cycle of a battery’, in partnership with global battery leader, Duracell.

From Grades 6 to 9, the category is for the Best Environmental E-magazine. Students from grades 10-12 will compete for the Best Environmental Mobile App. The teacher category will feature a prize for the best environmental podcast. The total prize money to be won is AED 90,000 across the categories.

To respect social distancing guidelines, the Inter-School Recycling Competition and the Great Battery Challenge will be only be relaunched in the 2021/2022 cycle.

Speaking of the decision to renew its partnership with BSOE, Amer Afifi, General Manager for Duracell Middle East & India, said, “Duracell is supporting Bee’ah’s efforts to educate and encourage our youth to contribute to a better, more sustainable future. We are proud to work with the Bee’ah School of Environment and encourage creativity in solving environmental challenges among the UAE’s youth. We look forward to yet another successful year of this competition and submissions from the students.”

Sharing her thoughts on the evolution of the competition, Hind Al Huwaidi, Outreach Manager at Bee’ah commented: “As we enter the second decade of BSOE we have consistently updated our online and offline learning platforms to engage with students and create environmental awareness on multiple fronts.

“We recognise that the BOSE must continually evolve to connect effectively with students. Our young generations are digital natives and tech-savvy, so competitions like EESA give these talented students a platform to demonstrate their creativity, energy and unique individual outlook towards best practices in sustainability.”

Founded in 2010 as a long-term educational initiative, BSEO creates environmental awareness and helps instill values, knowledge and skills that lead to positive behavioural changes. A range of online and offline learning platforms are used to engage with students from kindergarten to grade 12. This includes e-learning offerings, featuring games, videos and quizzes. Other key components include interactive learning experiences by subject-matter experts through school visits, presentations and workshops across the UAE.

The EESA judging committee will comprise of environmental experts and Bee’ah representatives. Registration opens from September 28 until October 15. Teachers and students can register for the competitions on the BSOE’s online portal, www.bsoe.ae.