In an effort to educate schoolchildren about water conservation, Global Water Sustainability Centre (GWSC) of ConocoPhillips hosted an environmental filmmaker competition - “Water, Camera, Action!” - for them.
The judging panel comprised key figures in the environment field, including Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation’s (Kahramaa) Somaya al-Mutawa, Qatar Foundation environment specialist Abdulla al-Hajjaj, Qatargas corporate citizenship officer Rand Agha, QP environmental assessment project head Sadiq  Gholoum Mohamed, Ministry of Environment’s environment adviser Abdulrahman al-Abduljabbar, GWSC managing director Dr Samer Adham, ConocoPhillips Government Affairs director Salem al-Halbadi, and ConocoPhillips Qatar president Gary Sykes.
Some 17 schools participated in the competition where they produced a short film on water sustainability, highlighting the importance of water and raising awareness about water
conservation.
The judging panel reviewed and evaluated the participating short films, scoring each film based on theme, creativity, originality, presentation, impact and strength of message, motivational and inspirational elements, production quality, overall delivery and effort.
The top three films will be screened at an awards ceremony with each member of the winning teams receiving a special gift and their respective schools a trophy.
The winning videos will also be featured at the 2014
Environment Fair.
Al-Mutawa said: “I really enjoyed watching the films produced by the students. They found unique and creative ways to raise awareness about water conservation and highlighted the extent of work and effort Qatar’s next generation are prepared to dedicate to worthwhile initiatives that address the country’s future. ConocoPhillips’ objectives are consistent with Kahramaa’s Tarsheed, the national campaign for conservation and efficient use of water and electricity and I hope we can collaborate in the future for the best interest of Qatar.”
Mohamed praised ConocoPhillips for launching the competition saying: “This is an excellent initiative by ConocoPhillips, not only does it address a very important issue for Qatar but it also engages the youth in a creative and fun way. Qatar is situated in one of the most water-stressed regions in the world this is why we should always find ways to preserve this precious endowment.”
Since its inception, GWSC has hosted over 3,000 students from schools in Qatar with the aim of promoting water conservation to students in a unique and compelling way.
In an effort to maintain and pursue this particular goal of promoting water conservation and raising awareness of GWSC on the community level, the junior environmental filmmaker awards competition was created as one of the several initiatives that have been launched and are still ongoing.