The British Council Qatar celebrated on Tuesday the closing of its Environment Champions Programme and its participants, the young activists who successfully created and implemented projects in their communities to create a greener, more sustainable country.
The programme, which started in October 2021 on the back of COP26 in the UK, saw more than 50 educators and undergraduates from across Qatar create six social action plans to address the challenges of climate and environment in the country during a one-week workshop that also helped strengthen their leadership and teamworking skills.
These plans, set up to create impact on the local level, have been tested in their communities over the last four months.
At the ceremony event, the six groups came together to showcase the outcomes of their plans in practice in front of the judging panel.
The event was opened by the British Council’s Gulf Strategy Fund Programme director Waseem Kotoub, who highlighted the importance of climate action among Qatar’s youths and the country’s commitment to address environmental challenges, including through the education of students.
British Council Qatar country director Sam Ayton said: "The Environment Champions Programme has been about empowering youths to take action on climate, and I want to congratulate all the students for their inspiring ideas and hard work on implementing these ideas over the last few months.”
“Qatar is home to beautiful nature, and depends on its nature in many ways … it has been so inspiring to see how the action plans have had great impact on the way people view climate and made actual difference when it comes to tackling environmental challenges in their communities,” he said.
"I want to thank the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), the Arab Youth Climate Movement, the Qatar Green Building Council and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in Qatar for partnering with us on this important programme, which is pinnacle to our work on sustainability in Qatar in support of the country's National Vision 2030,” Ayton said.
Hissa al-Aali, director of the Training and Educational Development Centre at the MoEHE, said: “Qatar’s National Vision 2030 aims to transform Qatar into an advanced country capable of achieving sustainable development and environmental development, which falls under one of the four pillars of this vision developed through the establishment of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.”
“The MoEHE is considered one of the tributaries of realising this vision,” she said. “The Training and Educational Development Centre at the MoEHE is keen to promote local and global citizenship, in partnership and co-operation with the British Council and look forward to implementing the Qatar Environment Champions Programme with the aim of consolidating a culture of sustainability in educational institutions and tackling challenges in the field of education.”
"The programme is considered the starting point for social work and change,” al-Aali continued. “Led by a group of teachers to make a difference by combining passion and work for a better tomorrow, they will work towards encouraging innovative solutions in the field of sustainability, especially in regards to climate change through the projects that will be presented.”
“Moreover, one of the expected outputs of the programme we look forward to, is the establishment of a network of national trainers equipped with the skills, knowledge and motivation to tackle climate action,” she added.
The event saw environmental enthusiasts, as well as leaders from the business and engineering sectors, and heads of the academic world come together.
The Environment Champions Programme has been funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK government.
Find out more on British Council’s work on climate at https://www.britishcouncil.qa/en/programmes/qatar-environment-champions
The participants with officials at the ceremony.
