Sharjah 24: The Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah (EPAA) organised the closing ceremony of the Sharjah Sustainability Award in its tenth cycle, "Green Schools and Universities", held, on Wednesday, May 25th, at Al Qasimia University Theatre.

The ceremony opened with the national anthem, followed by The Holy Quran, then the opening video, and speeches by Her Excellency Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, Chairperson of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority, followed by Professor Abdallah Shanableh, Director of Research Institute of Science & Engineering in University of Sharjah, Member of the Judging Panel before collaborators, judges, winners in the Green Schools category, and the Universities category were honoured.

Promoting the concept of a sustainable green environment
Her Excellency Hana Saif Al Suwaidi said: "We congratulate the winners of the tenth cycle of the Sharjah Sustainability Award, but in our view, all the participants are winners. This significant event lasted an academic year. After completing the evaluation procedures and approving the results, we are pleased to confirm the winners nominated for distinguished and innovative projects that provide environmental solutions and ideas in sustainable development."

Al Suwaidi indicated that the Sharjah Sustainability Award aims to promote the concept of a sustainable green environment. The importance of launching the award lies in engaging and inviting school and university students to develop their perceptions of independent projects, ideas and activities, to improve and achieve a sustainable green environment with globally applied environmental specifications derived from the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, on the importance of protecting the environment, preserving biodiversity and sustainability in the emirate.

150 public and private schools
From all emirates, 150 public and private schools and educational centres participated in the award in various domains, including creative writing of a short story in Arabic and English, short green movie, environmental innovator, sustainable environmental application project, the best environmental initiative in artificial intelligence, rationalization of electric energy & water consumption and the category of green school.

180 male and female college students
Over 180 male and female students participated from various disciplines and faculties in public and private universities in the Emirate of Sharjah. The participation varied to include all the different domains of the award designated for the university category, namely Scientific research for both under graduate and post graduate students, designing a model for sustainable environmental solutions that can be applied, Sustainable architectural design, Sustainable manufacturing and Smart application of information.

Aspects of development in the tenth edition of the award
The tenth edition witnessed several aspects of development, including the innovative redesign of the logo. The award’s domains are visible in the form of icons symbolizing sustainability in the natural environment sources of water, energy, wind and biodiversity. Creative writing in English and Arabic on 'The importance of the Arabian leopard in the Arabian Peninsula' consolidated the concept of sustainability among school students to conserve and protect endangered animals. In addition, it highlighted the importance of the Geological Park in Al Buhais, the topic for the production of a short environmental film. 

For universities category, the door has been opened to encourage students to participate in and conduct scientific research for postgraduate, master's and doctoral degrees. In addition to scientific research for undergraduate students, a new category of the award has been created for the universities category in sustainable manufacturing. The main focus is for individual students or teams to manufacture a sustainable product or material through the method of its production in terms of choosing sustainable raw materials in its manufacture. In addition, new members of the judging panel have been enlisted to cover new categories created by the University of Sharjah and the American University of Sharjah.