Today's Edition
The UAE is taking sustainability to classrooms with plans to convert 50% of schools to green institutions by COP28. The global environment conference being held from November 30 to October 12 in the country this year.
Under the programme, 2,800 teachers and 1,400 school principals will be trained in sustainability topics. The Green Education Partnership, announced by the Ministry of Education is based on: Green Education, Green Schools, Green Communities, and Green Capacity Building. To this end, the country has intensified community awareness campaigns, and organised programmes to instill sustainability concepts into the hearts of the new generation.
The UAE has also been keen to lead efforts in forging international cooperation in green education through partnerships. The Ministry of Education announced such a partnership with UNICEF to launch several programmes within the Green Education Partnership that aims to amplify the voices of youth, adolescents, and children regarding climate issues. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education launched the Voice of Teachers. Last July, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Emirates Foundation for School Education, and the Department of Education and Knowledge - Abu Dhabi, announced that all Abu Dhabi schools had committed to reduce their environmental footprint by joining the internationally recognised Sustainable Schools Initiative.
Today, over 152 schools participate in this initiative, and training has been provided to more than 4,646 teachers. The initiative also organised 2,081 community awareness projects, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 97,200 kg in sustainable schools. Last year, the EAD launched the Green e-Learning platform as the region's first free electronic educational tool dedicated to environmental topics.
Since its launch, the platform has welcomed 712 users, and 194 certificates have been issued to participants. The EAC also organises the annual Environmental Marathon. The event aims to build linguistic skills and increase awareness of local plant and animal species among Abu Dhabi students. Over 91% of Abu Dhabi schools have participated in the programme thus far.
