ESO contest gains thrust

Sept 8: The Environmental Society of Oman’s (ESO) Fourth Annual InterCollege Environmental Public Speaking Competition in collaboration with Emirates Environmental Group is to be held on November 3, 4. The registration to the competition is open till the September 12.

“We have already received registrations from 48 to 50 groups of college students,” said Lamis Abdullah Daar, Executive Director of Environment Society of Oman. Majority of the students are from Muscat, followed by Sharqiyah and then all other parts of Oman.

“The students have to remember about their public speaking skills, analytical skills, and amount of research they have done to demonstrate that they have worked together as a team. The topic can be presented in any form they would like varying from poetry, theatre, presentation or video,” explained Lamis.

The competition will be held early November with the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Rawya bint Saud al Busaidi, presiding over the opening ceremony.

ESO has recruited 14 volunteer ambassadors within the colleges and universities around Oman to encourage students to participate. Each team can have three to five members.

The four environmental themes for the Public Speaking Competition are ‘Sustainability our Responsibility: it’s no longer an option,’ ‘ From Global to Local: Environmental Regulation and Economic Integration,’ ‘Overpopulation Vs Over consumption: where should we focus?’ and ‘Environment and Development: Conflict or Harmony?’

Four winning finalists teams will then be chosen to represent Oman in the regional finals in Dubai, UAE on November 25, 26.

Raja Al Hammadi, Regulatory Compliance and Environmental Manager BP, said this is an opportunity for students not only to develop their public speaking skills but also to increase their knowledge on the environmental challenges we face today. “They will develop their leadership skills at the same time spreading awareness on how to protect the environment. These students are going to have two advantages — improve their capability in speaking and give something back to the society,” said Raja.

At the press conference Nuhaila al Sulaimani, ESO Education Coordinator said, “It is absolutely vital that we support the development of our nation’s youth and initiatives and this competition presents us with the perfect platform and opportunity to do so. Our contestants will one day be the backbone of Oman’s conservation efforts and national workforce.

“This is our chance to not only challenge the youth of today to be the leaders of sustainability tomorrow, but to motivate and inspire others to make vital contribution of their own.” The registration process and guidelines for the competition are available at the dedicated website www.omanspeaking. org

Last year’s winners were teams from Oman Dental College, Ibri Higher College of Technology, Dhofar University and International College of Engineering and Management. The year saw 200 college students participating in the competition from various regions of the Sultanate.