The Emirates Environmental Group is a non-governmental professional working group in Dubai, UAE. Educating and inspiring the future generation on environmental preservation and every year they host an Inter-College Environmental Public Speaking Competition. This year for their 20th annual competition Westford University College had the wonderful opportunity to participate, and as a participant myself, the competition was nothing short of amazing. Since the competition was being hosted during a pandemic, they were mindful about following all the standard precautionary measures and practiced social distancing that everyone greatly appreciated.

In this event, Westford’s incredible team took not one but two awards home, an award for the 1st runner ups in the designated topic – “Resource efficiency and Climate change – Actions Required” and 1st runner up of the overall competition.

To shed some light on my teammates and what they had to offer. Our first-year student at Westford, David Isaac stated that “Being a fresher and given the opportunity to join with my seniors on such a prestigious competition at first was intimidating but with time we really broke the ice. It was a feeling of comfort and ease which transcended to strong trust and companionship, resulting in a great learning experience”.

Along with this, Nida Sadique added “The EEG competition was an eye-opener for me with such a short time and a limited number of practices we were able to deliver in such distinguished manner. I will always be grateful for the recognition that we received.”

Another team member, Shamroz Ahmad gave his insight on the experience, “Westford provided the opportunity that I just couldn’t miss. Since I am a member of the Toastmasters and the competition was about Public speaking, it was an honor to represent my college. The EEG competition was focused on the solutions to reduce climate change and we had a solid plan to do it. I am grateful to Westford and my teammates who believed in me and supported me throughout the journey”.

Lastly, a statement from the leader of the team Banmeet Kaur, “The program organized by EEG helped us get insights into the issues regarding our environment and how we as the youth of the globe can protect it with potential solutions. We are very thankful to EEG and Westford University College for giving us the opportunity to enhance our speaking, presenting, communicating, and critical thinking skills. It was further interesting to see and listen to other universities about their ideas as well as how the event was managed virtually. Even in this situation of pandemic UAE has been putting efforts to make a sustainable future by joining hands with the youth. Our team presented our ideas and research with great interest. The excitement and gratitude are still carried on in our hearts. I don’t think I have been a part of a more collaborative and supportive team; they truly made this experience a thousand times better for me, I am genuinely thankful for all of them”.

Neha Rahman – HND Student