DEWA and KHDA honour winners of the 2014 Conservation Award

DUBAI- Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), honoured the winners of the 9th Conservation Award 2013-2014, held under the theme, ‘For a Better Tomorrow,’ at an award ceremony at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Dubai. DEWA organizes the Award as part of its strategy to promote environmental awareness and encourage organisations and individuals to adopt best practices for conservation.

The event was attended by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, HE Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Knowledge and Human Development Authority, HE Dr. Ahmad Eid Al Mansouri, Director of Dubai Educational Zone,Major General Mohammed Saeed Bakheet, Director-General of Supplies & Services Department at Dubai Police, Fatma Al Marri, CEO OF Dubai Schools Agency at KHDA, Sami Al Reyami, Editor in Chief of Al Emarat Al Youm Newspaper, Ali Shahdoor, Deputy Chief Editor of Al Bayan Newspaper, and Editor in Chief of Ara Magazine, Waleed Salman, EVP of Strategy and Business Development at DEWA, Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, EVP of Business Support Human Resources at DEWA, Khawla Al Mehairi, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at DEWA, representatives from governmental departments, senior managers, and department heads of DEWA and KHDA, as well as faculty members, teachers, and students from educational institutions in Dubai.

The Conservation Award honours the efforts of institutions and individuals in the educational sector to reduce electricity and water consumption. It also recognises the best practices of individual students, faculty members, teachers, and administrators.

“DEWA organises the Conservation Award annually in line with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote sustainable development in Dubai and raise the profile of the Emirate as a global hub for trade, finance, tourism, green economy and sustainability,” said Al Tayer.

“In line with the forward-looking directives of our wise leadership to create a sustainable future both for us and for generations to come, we constantly seek to encourage all segments of society to conserve energy, preserve our natural resources, and protect the environment through numerous events, initiatives, awards, and awareness campaigns through the year. In this context, DEWA has conducted intensive research and multiple studies related to the best possible practices in the field of energy conservation. In addition, DEWA’s experts continue to communicate with national and international institutions to introduce these best practices, as well as the latest technologies and innovative solutions to provide individuals and entities with simple, effective means to enhance the levels of conserving water and electricity, preserve natural resources, and ensure their sustainability for future generations. DEWA’s efforts have resulted in the organisation winning the British Safety Council’s Globe of Honour award twice, which makes DEWA the first organisation to win this prestigious award in the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa,” added Al Tayer.

“Our collaboration with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority and the Dubai Educational Zone has witnessed immense success in the field of energy conservation, which is embodied in the results of the Conservation Award every year. The ninth Award achieved high saving rates in the rationalised use of electricity and water.”

“The Award enables students, faculty, and educational institutions to collectively reduce electricity and water consumption by 10% and 21% respectively. The Residential Consumer category achieved 11% and 19% in electricity and water consumption respectively. Together, the Award’s categories were able to save 23 million kilowatts of electricity and 128 million gallons of water, which contributed to downsizing carbon dioxide emissions by 11 thousand tonnes with savings of AED 16 million.”

“These remarkable results truly reflect the significant positive yield of joint work with the different individuals and social institutions. They also prove the high levels of environmental awareness the residents of Dubai have, particularly educational institutions and students who are the focus of our attention, being the leaders of tomorrow and the makers of the nation’s future,” concluded Al Tayer.

“The Conservation Award once again brought the education community together to raise awareness on the environment and the importance of saving energy. Early learning centres, schools, and universities see a decreased cost in their energy use, while students, teachers, and parents can revel in the added joy of making a difference to the community they live in,” said Dr. Al Karam.

“Students in Dubai today will be the leaders of Dubai tomorrow. By educating and empowering students to conserve water and energy, we are securing a sustainable future for all of us,” added Al Karam.

“The results achieved by the students and educational institutions participating in the Conservation Award underlines the commitment of our community to encourage rationale consumption of electricity and water. Opening the competition to children and institutions across various categories, from younger institutions to adult education centres, will enable us to increase awareness among the community,” said Dr. Al Mansouri.

“I am proud to be part of the educational community that is contributing to our nation’s efforts to provide a sustainable environment for future generations. By encouraging younger students to be part of this cause, we are truly shaping our leaders of tomorrow. I will continue to support initiatives such as the Conversation Award, which enables our children to support our ambitions,” said Dr. Al Mansouri.

The Director of Dubai Educational District thanked all of the supporters for the Conservation Award, headed by DEWA, the KHDA, Dubai Educational District, and educational institutions in Dubai.

“Keep our resources and our wealth for the future, because tomorrow you and future generations will need to maintain these goals to keep our country at the forefront,” said Al Mansouri.

“The future is your decision, and the fruit of what you sow will come to fruition in the long run,” added Al Mansouri.

“The Conservation Award is a great platform to applaud the efforts of educational institutions, government organisations, and every teacher and student for the role played in encouraging the implementation of best environmental practices. Each entry was more prolific than the last – and it is rewarding to see how many children are keen on making a difference in conserving our resources,” said Amal Koshak, Senior Marketing Communication Manager at DEWA.

“The essence of the Conservation Award is to cultivate ideas that result in new innovations, where the efforts of young students and educational institutions become tangible results that directly impact the protection of our environment. As we enter the tenth year of the award, we look forward to further cooperation in working together to achieve such successes,” added Koshak.

The conservation award winners group included 20 Educational Institutions from both the public and private sectors, including Nursery, Kindergarten, Primary, Elementary, Intermediate, and Secondary schools, Colleges/Universities and Specialised Educational Institutions: Special Needs Centres and Adult Education, 20 coordinators within the winning institutions. Six teams for rationalisation of education were honoured spanning the Nursery, Kindergarten, Primary, Elementary, Intermediate, and Secondary schools and Colleges/Universities and Specialised Educational Institutions. Special Needs Centres, in addition to the best six coordinators representing the winning teams and eight candidates for the best workers from all levels of education, five candidates of the best parents of grades, and three winners from The Residential Consumer category.

Al Tayer, Dr. Al Karam and Dr. Al Mansouri honoured the winners, presenting the award in the Special Need Centres category to Dubai Centre for Special Needs. The award for the Adult Educational Centre category was presented to Deira Centre for Adult Education.

The winners honoured from universities were Manipal University in first place, Zayed University and Canadian University of Dubai in second place and Dubai Men’s College – HCT in third place.

The winners honoured from Secondary schools were Al Raya School for Secondary Education in first place, Al Waha primary and Secondary School in second place and Religious Institute school for primary and secondary education in third place.

The winners honoured from primary schools were AL Lisaili Primary and Secondary School in first place and Philadelphia Private School in second place.

The winners honoured from elementary schools were Al Nokhba Model School in first place, Al Ittihad Private School and Al Mamzar in joint second place and The Indian High School (Oud Metha) in third place.

The winners honoured from Kindergarten were Dubai Modern Education School in first place, The Central School Dubai in second place and The Oxford School in third place.

For the nurseries category, Little Wonders Nursery took first place, The Blossom Nursery Dubai took second place and the Little Star Nursery came third.

Al Tayer thanked the winners for their efforts and urged the various community members to adopt eco-friendly practices in their daily life by conserving electricity and water, to sustain natural resources for generations to come.