DUBAI // Emirates Environmental Group launched its 13th annual Clean Up UAE campaign and aims this year to involve more than 110,000 participants in nationwide environmental activities.
The campaign has garnered more support this year from Government sponsors, including municipalities and the main environmental agencies from all seven emirates, and private company sponsors including McDonald’s, Deutsche Bank and BP.
“One of the most important elements is our Government institutions taking our programmes and taking the liberty of translating it into what is really required in the different emirates,” said Habiba Al Marashi, chairwoman of Emirates Environmental Group (EEG).
Ms Al Marashi said that the decision taken by all the emirates to include the Clean Up UAE campaign as part of their own environmental strategy has given the programme momentum.
“The diversity of the celebration of this campaign in the different emirates is a clear indication of how it has been nicely grounded in environmental strategies,” she said.
Ahmed Al Hammadi, a representative of the Ras Al Khaimah Public Works and Services Department, said his agency is using Clean Up UAE to promote community involvement in RAK schools.
“We try to reach a bigger number of private companies and schools and every year that the department sponsors the campaign,” he said. “Every year we get more companies and more people to work with us.
“I think this is essential to bringing them together and this is the key to the success of the campaign.”
Organisers’ goal this year is to promote a greener culture of waste management with the support of government agencies, corporations, academic institutions and families.
The week-long clean-up efforts, which include beach and desert, will begin on December 6, a date set close to National Day to allow locals to show their pride through a clean-up event, Ms Al Marashi said.
“There is no difference in gender, position or status in life, we are all together because we care and this is a chance for people to work towards the betterment of society,” she said.
Organisers hope to promote a sense of localised involvement by connecting participants through community-organised clean-ups.
Clean Up UAE started in 2002 with only four emirates involved. This year, the campaign expands into the Western Region.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
