Tag Archives: dubai

Youngsters gearing up for Earth Week Dhanusha Gokulan / 21 April 2013 In recent times, youngsters in the country have been taking conservation of the environment very seriously, leaving behind a trail of inspiration for the older generation. Students participating in a tree planting ceremony at a landfill in Jebel Ali on Saturday. — Supplied photos UAE youth have geared themselves up to celebrate the start of Earth Week in the UAE leading up to Monday’s Earth Day 2013, and youngsters as young as 12-years-old are becoming increasingly environmentally-conscious. Take 12-year-old Kehkashan Basu for example. A student at the Deira International School, Basu won a UN award and was the youngest delegate in Rio+20 — a United Nations conference on Sustainable Development — and is engaged for Plant-for-the-Planet. “Being born on World Environment Day, I feel that I am pre-ordained to be an eco-warrior. My objective is to take a leadership role in spreading awareness about conservation in my school and community and also be a role model by practicing the tenets of conservation,” Basu said. After being chosen as the Climate Justice Ambassador during the Rio+20, she, in turn, initiated 64 students as Climate Justice Ambassadors in UAE academy. Some of these climate justice ambassadors — who are also members of Basu’s youth organisation, Green Hope UAE — were instrumental in conducting a recent tree-planting event in the UAE. The turnout of the event exceeded expectations: “Green Hope UAE has now inducted over 150 climate justice ambassadors in the UAE and vows to carry on its mission of creating awareness about climate justice by spreading its message with the…slogan ‘Stop Talking and Start Planting’,” she said. Another student-run organisation actively partaking in raising environmental consciousness is SynergY. On Saturday, April 20, SynergY also organised a ‘Plant-for-the-Planet Academy’ in a Landfill in Jebel Ali, Dubai. Plant-for-the-Planet is a global children’s initiative through which children generate awareness among other children by enlightening them about climate crisis and environmental protection, urging them to take action by planting more and more trees. The event was supported by Dubai Municipality Waste Management Department director Abdul Majeed Saifaie, who encouraged SynergY to plant trees at the Landfill with Purpose — a site in Jebel Ali. Whilse on the visit, the youths learnt about the need for landfills. Youth and children spanning a dozen schools and institutions conducted the day-long event giving the young generation a chance to plant trees, learn about climate change, and discuss shaping the Green Economy initiative of Dubai. Referring to the careful consideration needed when planning such an event, SynergY member and student Sayyeda Zahra said: “Events like this cannot happen overnight. The wheels start rolling weeks ago. It requires planning and a bird’s eye for detail.” SynergY spokesperson Muskaan Sharma said the support along the way made the planting initiative a success: “(We had) support from Super Galvanising Dubai and Green Creations who arranged and assisted in digging the pits two days in advance to facilitate effective planting at the site. The encouragement and support was further strengthened, as the organisation shared responsibility of arranging a special watering pipeline to the site so as to ensure the survival rate of these trees.” Speaking passionately about the work of SynergY, Founder and Chairperson Simran Vedvyas said: “In a Plant-for-the-Planet Academy, children and youth demonstrate that we will not accept the climate crisis, and that we wish to take responsibility, at a global level, to effect change and improve the future of our country and the world. As part of a world network of global citizens, we, the children and youth, are able to achieve great things in the battle for climate justice.” dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading →

Women-only days on Dubai beach parks Sajila Saseendran / 21 April 2013 From today Dubai will offer two days each a week at two prime beach parks exclusively for women — with female tourists and local residents separated to accommodate religious and cultural differences in swimwear. People enjoy swimming at Jumeirah open beach with the city skyline in background. AP file photo No males aged above four will be allowed entry in either the Jumeirah Beach Park or Al Mamzar Beach Park on the ladies-only days. Sunday and Tuesday have been designated as ladies-only in Al Mamzar, while Jumeirah Beach Park will observe the same on Monday and Wednesday, Dubai Municipality Parks and Horticulture Department director Ahmed Abdul Kareem told Khaleej Times. The civic body announced its plan to allocate more exclusive days for women in these parks earlier this month, after the feedback they received on the current ladies-only day in Jumeirah Beach Park on Monday. The move is part of the civic body’s plan to make the leisure destinations more women-friendly to encourage them into more physical activities and keep fit. “Now, instead of one ladies-only day in one Beach Park, our women customers have a total of four such days to choose from in two beach parks. We hope this will satisfy their needs,” said Abdul Kareem. Considering the privacy request from the female customers, the municipality had decided to keep all-female staff and guards at these beach parks on ladies-only days. However, that did not mean female visitors have the freedom to walk around the parks in bikinis, Abdul Kareem said, with swimwear remaining strictly restricted to the beach areas in accordance with the existing dress code. The department has also decided to allocate separate beach areas for tourists and local residents, apparently due to religious and cultural differences in using the swim wear. “We had got complaints, mainly from school teachers that their young students were swimming in areas were female tourists swim in their style of clothing. I hope this (move) will reduce complaints,” said Abdul Kareem. He pointed out that not all women come to the beach parks for swimming. “There are women who just come to spend some time in the park. Some school kids come to use the play ground and some come for using the barbecue areas.” In Al Mamzar, Beach Numbers 1, 2 and 5 have been allocated for tourists while Beach Number 3 and 4 have been designated for local residents, students, elderly women and women with special needs. The Jumeirah Beach Park has also been bisected for this purpose. “If you are facing the sea, the left side of the beach will be for tourist women and the right side, beside the Ladies Club, for the rest,” the official said. The entry fee and opening hours at the beach parks remain the same, closing at 10pm but swimming to stop at sunset. sajila@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading →