GSA Schools Win Zayed Prize

2013 Zayed Future Energy Prize Global High School Winners and Finalists.

 

From January 13-18, 2013, the Green Schools Alliance was the esteemed guest of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the Zayed Future Energy Prize for the launch of the inaugural Global High Schools Prize.

 

School finalists were able to meet with global Heads of State and world-renown environmentalists including: HH  Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates; President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson of Iceland;  President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina; President Francois Hollande of France; Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan; Jose Goldemberg, 2013 Zayed Lifetime Achievement Award Winner; and others.

 

Among the Winners and Finalists were GSA Member Schools including: Fujimigaoka Educational Institution, Japan; Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, India; Kirya Secondary School, Tanzania; Waterford Kamhlaba, Swaziland; Bronx Design & Construction Academy, United States;and Okehampton College, United Kingdom.

 

The Zayed Future Energy Prize was established in 2009 the name of the late Founding Father and President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, who championed environmental stewardship. This annual award celebrates sustainability achievements in categories that address the impact, innovation, and long-term vision and leadership in renewable energy and sustainability. The Award is given to small and large corporations, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and for Lifetime Achievement."

 

This year, the Zayed Future Energy Prize's new category, Global High Schools, recognizes the importance of nurturing a spirit of innovation in future generations. The Prize recognized nine finalists. Four of the nine high school finalists, representing Asia, Africa, The Americas and Europe, received the Prize. All the finalists and some of their achievements are listed below:

 

(L-R) Fujiigaoka Educational Institution, with compost from school waste; Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya School, India

 

Fujimigaoka Educational Institution, Japan

Fujimigaoka Educational Institute is a private girls’ school, located in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. The school was founded in 1940.  A new school building, completed in the year 2000, gives students various opportunities to understand environmentally considerate ways of living. One of many examples includes their use of filtered rainwater used in the washrooms and all the toilet rolls they use come from recycled waste paper collected in the school. The photo above shows the Zayed delegates holding their school's recycled compost and tissues, made from post consumer school waste. 

 

Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, India

Kalkeri-Sangeet-Vidyalaya (Kalkeri-Music-School) empowers children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to realize their full potential for a better life. This is done through a comprehensive academic and music program undertaken in a peaceful rural residential setting in Karnataka, India. Sustainable solutions are a way of life at Kalkeri where water is scarce, and dishes are washed with ash, a natural disinfectant.

 

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bangladesh Islamia School, Abu Dhabi

Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bangladesh Islamia School, Abu Dhabi, was established in 1980 and caters to classes between KG and Grade XII. Abu Dhabi is building 100 new schools which will all integrate sustainability into their school campus and curriculum.

 

 

Kirya Secondary School, Tanzania

Kirya is a secondary school in Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania, one of three schools all practicing deep green solutions. This Green School Network includes sister schools, Makomu and Kileo. Kirya integrates sustainability in all that they do from curriculum to their environmental footprint. Sustainable reforestation and renewable energy make Kirya and its sister school unique. 

 

Waterford Kamhlaba, Swaziland

Waterford Kamhlaba is a United World College school situated in Swaziland. It was created in 1962 as a multi-racial school which would offer equal opportunities of good education to students of all races, in protest to the neighboring regime of apartheid (South Africa). It now comprises 600 students from more than 50 countries, including many African countries.

 

 

GSA Member, Bronx Design & Construction Academy with Jury Chairman, He Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President, Republic of Iceland

 

Bronx Design & Construction Academy, United States

Bronx Design & Construction Academy (BDCA) is home to the first approved public school green roof in New York City.  The ninth grade Ecology class and after-school Green Science Club use the green roof as well as other school features to investigate and develop environmentally sustainable practices. The green roof has a rainwater harvesting system and solar panel, which allows students to harness energy from the sun and store rain from the clouds. Students collaborate with Columbia University's Green Roof Consortium to study water quality, and are also working with professors and graduate students from to quantify the benefits of green roofs through the monitoring of ambient temperature, ambient relative humidity, and solar insolation.

 

Secundaria Tecnica 120 (Technical High school 120), Mexico

Technical High school 120 is located in a 10,000 m2 terrain at the Mexico  Cuernavaca high road, sited at the Guarda Parres community; the school has seven buildings with 10 classrooms (a multipurpose and a TICs) and two workshops.

 

 

GSA school, Oakhampton College (L), with Queen Elizabeth II High School (R)

 

Okehampton College, United Kingdom

Okehampton College is a large comprehensive school with 1,350 pupils drawn from one of the largest UK catchment areas.. As well as providing a solid academic grounding for its pupils, offers 80 extra-curricular activities for students and place great emphasis on sustainability and the need to become responsible global citizens.

 

Queen Elizabeth II High School, Isle of Man

Students at Queen Elizabeth II High School on the Isle of Man are involved in a pioneering project to combine their Biomass heating system with a Wind Turbine. Inspired by a trip to Gambia and seeing the impact of climate change, the students returned wanting to educate people about how to, and why they should reduce their carbon footprint.

 

 

The winners of the innaugural 2013 Global High School Prize were: Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (India), Kirya Secondary School (Tanzania), Secundaria Tecnica 120 (Mexico), and Okehampton College (United Kingdom).  Congratulations to all the Finalists.  You are ALL winners!!!