MUSCAT: The Environment Society of Oman’s (ESO) local Inter-College Environmental Public Speaking Competition (ICEPSC) held in October, saw four winning teams, in addition to 6 others against 69 teams from colleges and universities across the Middle East and North Africa held a podium finish in the 17th regional ICEPSC competition.
Hosted by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) in Dubai, the teams did the Sultanate proud in the event’s four categories.
The presenting teams exhibited competitive speaking skills and knowledge on the topics and the team from Higher College of Technology won second place for the theme “People and the Planet: Finding a Sustainable Balance”, and the team from Ibri College of Technology secured third place for the theme: “Quality Education: Roadmap to Sustainable Development”.
The competition themes for this year were ‘Sustainable Food Systems-Understanding Food Security,’, “The Future of Power’, ‘People and the Planet: Finding a Sustainable Balance’ and ‘Quality Education: Roadmap to Sustainable Development’,
Lamees Daar, Executive Director of ESO said, “The participation of our students in this regional event will serve as inspiration as they put their ideas into action and support Oman’s drive towards sustainability. This invaluable opportunity highlights the immense talent available in the Sultanate as well as the hard work, determination and passion of our future environmental leaders. We are grateful to all our sponsors for supporting the national competition as well as helping the students to be mentored and trained prior to the regional event. We are very proud the winners were able to meet personally before their departure with Mohammed al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs, who gave them a wonderful send off.”
EEG’s Regional Inter-College Environmental Public Speaking Competition is a bilingual two-day event that serves as a platform for young minds to introspect, analyse, debate and question environmental issues. Held annually, the contest gathers students from universities and colleges across the region.
Habiba al Marashi, Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group said, “Each year, the ICEPSC, held under the auspices of the Minister of Higher Education in the UAE has provided the youth of the Middle East and North Africa with a platform to discuss a wide range of important environmental issues as well as an opportunity to improve their public speaking skills.
“With each event we have held, we have seen a substantial increase in the wealth of talent and experience on display, offering us a snapshot into the unique perspectives that are shaping our youth. We were delighted this year to receive teams from Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan in addition to teams from the GCC representing both government and private universities. We look forward to welcoming more of our young champions next year and witnessing the continued evolution of environmentalism in the region.”
Oman’s national competition held in October, as well as the winning teams’ recent trip to Dubai, was sponsored by Nama Group and Occidental of Oman, (Oxy Oman), in collaboration with Mitsui E&P Middle East BV (MEPME) as Gold Sponsors; Ominvest, CGG and BP Oman as Silver Sponsors; in addition to Bronze Sponsors Daleel Petroleum and Vale. In-kind support was also received from Crowne Plaza Muscat, TRACCS Oman, Al Rassasi Perfumes, Eshraqa-the social development arm of Khimji Ramdas, Slider Station and Pinky Bell.
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