QNCECS wraps up Qatari Environment Ambassadors project

Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science (QNCECS) celebrated Monday the conclusion of the Qatari Environment Ambassadors project.Held in collaboration with the Alshabhanah Environmental Association, the project targeted students of schools of both the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (Alecso) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).Addressing the closing ceremony at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, QNCECS' Acting Secretary-General Ali Abdul Razzaq Marafie expressed his appreciation for claimants of the Qatari Environment Ambassador title.Marafie said that sustainable environmental development is one of the main pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030, stressing the need to find a balance between development needs and environmental protection, through programs, activities and projects undertaken by various state agencies.He added that Islam stresses the necessity of preserving the environment and cultural heritage with its intellectual and material components, based on its great role in shaping the national identity. He also highlighted the Holy Qur'an's explicit calls for reconstructing the earth, not devastating its natural elements.The QNCECS has been keen to develop a leading role in supporting environmental education within the framework of sustainable development, and preserving the national heritage in both its tangible and intangible parts, Marafie said.Secretary of the Alshabhanah Environmental Association Haya al-Madadi, who supervises the project, said the project had trained students, aged from 14 to 18, to preserve the environment, by holding awareness workshops and various environmental activities.The training workshops, in co-operation with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), covered a variety of topics like plantable pencils, e-waste and school tree planting, as well as visits to both the Qur'anic Botanic Garden, and visiting the Wadi Park Natural Reserve in Al Wajba East, al-Maadadi added.Launched on the occasion of the Qatar Environment Day, the Qatari Environment Ambassadors project aims to achieve environmental development, spread environmental culture among Qatari young people and prepare the child and youth environmental trainers and educators to achieve sustainability and consolidate the national identity.