10,000 students benefit from Dubai Municipality waste management awareness programs … reports Asian Lite News.
Nearly 10,000 students benefitted from the awareness programs on sustainable waste management organized by the Waste Management Department of Dubai Municipality during the last academic year.
The awareness programs, organized in support of Dubai’s environmental culture, were in line with the strategic vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to ensure that Dubai is one of the most sustainable cities in the world.
Eng. Abdulmajeed Sifaie, Director of Waste Management Department and Head of the Awareness Team on Sustainable Waste Management in Dubai Municipality, stressed the importance of media as an essential element in building environmental awareness and spreading the concept of sustainable development.
He said the Municipality is keen to promote the dissemination of the message to create awareness among all categories of the public through all available media, both print and visual media or approved social media sites, in addition to embarking on initiatives and events for the academic year 2017-18.
Sifaie said the Waste Management Department organized a total of 43 activities in government and private schools last year, which included lectures and workshops to raise awareness about the importance of recycling, sorting and minimizing of waste, in addition to focusing on electronic awareness and organizing competitions about the importance of waste reduction and separation from the source.
The Department also organized a number of voluntary community initiatives that allowed the public to participate continuously throughout the year without being restricted to a specific campaign or event, he said.
Sifaie stressed that one of the notable community initiatives that targeted students, public and staff of government and private institutions was “An Hour with the Cleaning Worker.”
“This program, participated by more than 700 students, was organized to raise awareness on the importance of public cleanliness through the allocation of an hour from the time of the participants in the initiative to carry out the tasks of a Dubai Municipality cleaning worker, which fosters the social responsibility of the participants towards the city and increase their sense of importance on cleanliness,” he pointed out.
Sifaie added that a symbolic character, called “Nazoof,” has been created to express the profession of cleaning worker in Dubai Municipality, in order to raise awareness among all segments of the society, especially students and the category of the “People of Determination” on the issues related to the sustainable management of waste and the general environmental issues in the Emirate of Dubai.
He said the character attracts a large number of children, students and the public, because environmental awareness is an essential and important part of the sustainable strategies of modern cities.
“In order to instill environmental awareness among our students and introducing them to the public cleanliness rules and regulations of the Emirate of Dubai, it needs continuous awareness on environmental behaviors and knowledge, so that we can reap its benefits on the culture of the society and the level of compliance with environmental rules and regulations,” said Sifaie.
“In addition, a special program was organized for the People of Determination during the summer holidays in cooperation with the Dubai Club for the People of Determination under the title, “Sustainable Summer Activities,” which was benefitted by more than 500 students. Many awareness events and environmental programs were organized during the program, which started with the summer break, in cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council, the Modhesh World and the Children’s City in Dubai.