The Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Sasol, and the Friends of the Environment Centre (FEC) announced the launch of the fifth edition of the Qatar e-Nature Schools Contest for all primary schools across Qatar. The contest encourages students to discover Qatar’s rich nature and learn more about the environmental diversity in the country through the Qatar e-Nature application and website www.enature.qa.
The 2018 edition will be an interactive competition where students answer live questions to gain points and win. It will consist of several elimination rounds, concluding with four winning teams that will be honored in an award ceremony. The first, second, third, and fourth winning teams of 3 students each will receive vouchers for 9000, 6000, 4500, and 3000 Qatari Riyals respectively. And all winning schools will receive special trophies.
Questions to students will cover various topics such as flora, birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, fishes, and nature reserves in Qatar based on information in the Qatar e-Nature application.
Fatima Al Obaidli, head of programs and activities at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, said: “Qatar 2030 Vision aims to continue developing Qataris and advocates modernization while safeguarding traditions. The Qatar e-Nature initiative is in line with this vision as it uses modern technology, represented by smartphones and the internet, to provide information that increases students’ knowledge about Qatar’s nature and strengthens their connection with their environment. One of our main objectives at the Ministry is to build a knowledge-based economy, and we are therefore pleased to continue our cooperation with Sasol and FEC in the Qatar e-Nature schools contest.”
Frahood Al Hajiri, FEC Director, added: “We contribute to the development of the Qatar e-Nature application out of our belief in the importance of protecting the environment in Qatar. We want to raise environmental awareness among the new generation that will lead the country to a better and healthier future. The results of the school contests have been encouraging, and we reiterate our commitment to supporting this initiative, which was launched by Sasol. We also thank the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for its continuous support for the initiative.”
For his part, Jack Saba, General Manager of Public Affairs at Sasol Qatar commented: “Qatar has a rich and integrated environment, deserving to be known better by students. We have been enriching our Qatar e-Nature initiative for a number of years, raising environmental awareness in the community in line with the goal of achieving an environmentally aware population. We wish all schools and students participating in this year’s contest good luck. We also thank the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the FEC for their contributions and efforts to promote the beauty of Qatar’s nature.”
Qatar e-Nature, a Sasol initiative, is the first smartphone application of its kind, highlighting Qatar’s flora, birds, insects, mammals, reptiles, marine life and nature reserves in the country. Sasol cooperated with FEC to develop this application in Arabic and English with a view to promoting sustainable development through contribution to raising the community’s environmental awareness.
Over the past five years, the Qatar e-Nature schools contest was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. More than 80 schools and 250 students participated in the 2017 contest.
The user-friendly Qatar e-Nature app is available for download free of charge on Apple Store, Google Play store, and Windows Phone Store.