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Green speaking contest aims to raise awareness in Oman

The stage is set for Oman’s first ‘green’ speaking contest. The Environment Society of Oman (ESO) said the competition was meant to find students with a passion for the environment and public speaking in the country’s colleges and universities.

Run in coordination with the UAE’s Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), the event is the Omani round of a wider regional competition which EEG organises on an annual basis. This is the first time that the competition has been held on a local level, and students in Oman will battle it out for a place in the regional competition, to be held in Dubai.

Participating students must research a topic and prepare a presentation on one of the following subjects: ‘Every drop matters’, ‘My climate, My Responsibility’, ‘Consumerism and its Effects on the Environment’ and ‘Social Media and the Environment – How Far Could They Go to Protect the Environment?’.

“At ESO one of our main objectives is to raise the level of awareness in our Omani society about environmental issues,” Dima Radwan, Project Manager, ESO, said, adding: “From water conservation to anti-littering and turtle tagging to recycling, these are issues that affect each and every one of us and the more we all know about them, the more we can all do our bit to help.”

Underlining that young people were “the true voice of a nation”, she said through the competition ESO was hoping that the students would not only learn more on their chosen topics, but they would also encourage “positive action within their places of learning, all while building up their public speaking skills”.

Open to all undergraduate students enrolled in an Omani college or university and under 23 years of age, students who wish to participate must form a team from their college or university and register with ESO. Winners will receive a trophy and certificate and an ESO-funded place in the regional competition in Dubai.

The deadline for registration is September 26, and the competition will be held on November 3 and 4. All registration information is available on the ESO website: www.eso.org.om.

ravindranath@khaleejtimes.com