Students from Hira School, a private school in Addu City, have won the prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize under the Global High School – South Asia category at ADSW 2022. the presentation and the awards for the Zayed Sustainability Price were given after the opening ceremony of the Abu Dubai Sustainability Week (ADSW). This event was attended by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and a few students from Hira School who joined to accept the prize.
Hira School students are dependent on well water for their general use at school and are requested to bring their own drinking water from home. The students, during their interview, mentioned how the water they used had a bad odor and this made their restrooms smell bad as well. Then they came up with the sustainable solution of harvesting rainwater for treatment, storage, and reuse of water. The teachers proudly stated this was all the students’ idea.
The outcomes of the project are estimated at two liters of consumable water being available per person per day for the school, which totals 30,720 liters per month, and 368,640 liters saved per year.
President Solih says, “I am certain that these students will pave the way for their generation to become future sustainability leaders.”
The ADSW is one of the world's significant sustainability events and aims to improve awareness of social, economic, and technical developments. This year, the ADSW is based on the conclusions of COP26, reassessing the roadmaps needed to achieve the binding objectives required to combat climate change.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize, launched in 2008, is the UAE’s pioneering global award in sustainability and a tribute to the legacy of the founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.