At the Jeddah Environmental Forum in April of this year, it was gratifying to see a growing interest by young Saudis in environmental issues and to see them take the initiative to address the issues. One such initiative is Nabta, an environmental awareness organization started two years ago by two young Saudi women who saw the need to raise awareness and educate children about environmental issues.
“We noticed a growing interest and attention to environmental issues in Saudi Arabia by some environmental institutions, charity organizations and private companies, but there was no organized volunteer work for taking care of the environment, especially in the area of raising awareness,” said Sawsan Alim, one of the co-founders of Nabta.
She and Anwar Abulkhair began thinking of how to approach this issue, and after much research and with the cooperation of many professionals in the field and concerned individuals who volunteered their time, effort and money, they produced an extra-curriculum entity consisting of books and workshops appropriate for different age groups and in attractive, creative presentations. This educational kit is for educating children and young adults about environmental issues and steering them to the right attitude and behavior toward the environment.
“We are targeting the young because that’s when you should begin raising awareness and have an impact in terms of making them smart consumers,” said Abulkhair to Arab News.
Their idea and product has received positive encouragement and support from the Ministry of Education and they have been allowed to introduce their curriculum and hold workshops in a few public and private schools. They have participated in Universal Children’s Day in 2006 at the International Medical Center, in Art Week at Basateen Shopping Center over the summer in 2007, and held a workshop on smart shopping at a public high-school for girls and at My Little Kingdom private school.
“Our vision is to save the environment for future generations and become the primary destination source or experts on environmental affairs,” said Alim. They are also very keen on volunteer work by the young and aim to train volunteer groups on the right consumption behavior for conscious and educated environmental choices, which is a reflection of the true Islamic character.
In addition to creating educational and awareness building materials, the two young women from Jeddah would like to establish a society concerned with environmental issues and to raise awareness of the concept of environmental education and contribute to mitigating the harmful effects of pollution. Their ultimate goal is to expand nationally and internationally in cooperation with international organizations concerned with health and protecting the environment and to benefit from their programs and expertise. And it seems that they are on their way toward achieving that as they have recently received the backing of Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal of Kingdom Holdings for their project. “It was very thrilling and encouraging to get this kind of support, and it makes us more determined to succeed,” said Alim.
