Students are involved in several COP28 initiatives and student-led committees
PARTNER CONTENT There is no doubt that students from schools in Abu Dhabi are all working to create a better future for all.
Ahead of COP28, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi students are increasing their efforts in sustainability through a host of student-led community activations and initiative
Cranleigh Abu Dhabi is preparing its young people for an inclusive and sustainable world through a multi-faceted approach.
This is done through engaging students in projects and experiences that not only enables them to understand the importance of sustainability, but more importantly to engage and empower them to want to implement the changes that are needed.
Students have been and are involved in several COP28 initiatives and student-led committees, which are part of Cranleigh Abu Dhabi’s extensive extracurricular offering.
Those who join such committees do so on a voluntary basis.
“This is perfect because it means we have a really passionate, engaged, informed and enthusiastic group of young people that really want to drive change in our community,” says Catherine Gregory, Spanish and French teacher, who also facilitates the Senior Eco Committee, part of the Head, Heart, Hands initiative that runs throughout the whole school.
With 25 members ranging from Year 9 to 13, the Senior Eco Committee is involved in a variety of projects that include coordinating with the school’s catering team to see how the amount of plastic produced can be reduced.
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The students have also been instrumental in introducing more vegetarian and vegan options in the school’s canteen.
“These are just a couple of examples of the things that they’ve done,” says Catherine. “They like to make small, manageable, but very practical changes within our school community to reduce our impact.”
Catherine highlights how since the start of 2023, with the Year of Sustainability and in light of the forthcoming COP28 Conference, eco issues have become more embedded in the school’s curriculum.
“Although we’re doing more as a committee, it’s also something that the students are studying in English or geography, and all of their individual subjects,” she adds.
“The Eco Committee participated in the Climate Ambassadors Programme at Expo City in Dubai, which is one of the initiatives run by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. The students had an opportunity to take part in a sort of an immersive experience of what it would be like to be part of COP28,” says Catherine.
While staff play an important role in the Eco Club in terms of facilitation and support, the ideas are born and enacted from the students themselves.
“They may have an idea, but don’t know how to get it off the ground,” she says. “We’ll coordinate whatever needs to be done to get that going. Sometimes it’s about us facilitating it, slightly tweaking their ideas, because, perhaps, what they’ve got in mind isn’t feasible or isn’t possible. So, we ask, what part of an idea we could do.
“The committee members know what they are doing; they’re proactive and it’s important that they have stewardship and see their ideas into fruition.”
Catherine adds how leadership is an important element of Year 13 and that to be the Head of the Eco Committee is quite a prestigious role.
“We have quite a lot of applicants, and currently, there are two wonderful students at the helm who are extremely enthusiastic and mature. They’re brilliant at what they do.”
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The Prep school also has an Eco-committee and has recently joined The Alliance of Sustainable Schools (TASS).
The three ambassadors from Year 8 are excited to be a part of this global initiative and will be meeting students from the region on the 30 November to discuss the use of biodiesel in school buses as well as other innovative ideas to improve our carbon footprint.
Insights of Cranleigh Initiatives
Stephen Daly, who leads the COP28 Initiatives, explains how 10 students from Year 11 to Year 13 have been involved in several masterclass sessions for the Communities of the Future projects, which is an initiative being run by Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development.
“The masterclasses were conducted with policy experts, engineers and architects and the students learned about the moving parts that are involved in creating a sustainable community,” says Stephen.
For the project, the students have drawn up a 500-word policy document and presented it to policymakers as part of the Social Innovation Talks series.
“The policy document identifies challenges that the students believe Abu Dhabi as a city faces in terms of sustainability for its communities, as well as possible innovative solutions to tackle those challenges. The students also created a scale model that represents some of the ideas within the policy document,” he says.
Sustainability initiatives are also carried out on the Cranleigh campus as part of the school’s curriculum.
“The Sixth Form study a sustainability module whereby they are introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The students look at how the school community can be more sustainable and then pitch the ideas to the school’s senior leadership team,” says Stephen.
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Some of the ideas are then implemented, such as creating compost from food waste.
“Future initiatives include raising awareness through community events with parents and looking at reducing the school’s energy usage, and so on.”
The school also hosted Model COP28, an inter-school initiative that took place on 7 October, which according to Stephen, members of the Eco Committee helped to plan and marshal. Model COP28 witnessed three committee sessions, which saw the attendance of more than 100 students, including high profile guest speakers for the opening and closing ceremonies.
“It’s not just a one off because it is the Year of Sustainability.” says Stephen. “We want to try and build a legacy from one year to the next and make Model COP an annual event.”
Other initiatives run by the school include being involved in the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Masdar Sustainable City, Abu Dhabi, which hosts an assembly held annually as well as three council sessions.
“We are just one of three schools involved in this initiative, with 10 students who attended the assembly as interns.”
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A former Cranleigh student, who was part of the initiative, gave a keynote speech to a room of high-level delegates from over 160 countries and the sitting President of the General Assembly of the UN at the time.
Both the committees and initiatives are instrumental in creating career paths and opportunities for the students in a future beyond school.
“The concept of sustainability goes beyond climate; it touches on so many different areas such as innovation, urban planning, and education, for example.
“It provides a platform for us to talk about things that are important for them for their futures, in terms of soft skills,” says Stephen.
The focus is not just about looking to the future, but also what students can achieve for each other within the school year.
The student-led committees across all three sections of the school link throughout the academic year through decision making, events and even training. The committees then merge once a year to focus on the mantra #CranleighADbethechange and work on plans and activities to roll out across the school year.
“We are opening doors for students,” says Catherine. “How else would they gain access to these initiatives such as being involved in COP28.
“It is our role at Cranleigh Abu Dhabi to make sure that students have avenues open to them, but they are the ones who ultimately make change happen.”
What are the student-led initiatives
Model COP 28
An inter-school Model COP28 event at Cranleigh hosted high profile guest speakers for the opening ceremony. More than 200 students were involved from Years 7–13.
Climate Ambassadors Programme
27 students involved from Years 9-13 were involved and attended the Climate Ambassadors Programme (CAP28) event hosted by the UAE Ministry for Climate Change & Environment on 8 October at Dubai Expo.
Department of Community Development Initiative
Cranleigh is part of an initiative being led by the Abu Dhabi Government’s Department of Community Development. This high-level programme sees students being mentored by experts in a variety of fields connected to sustainable community development. Students will build a model of an urban development that features sustainability adaptations and will also create a policy document connected to this. This programme culminated with the students presenting at the Social Innovation Talks session to members of the UAE government.
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council and Assembly sessions
Cranleigh is just one of two schools in the UAE who are involved in the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council and Assembly sessions. A big emphasis is being placed on the COP28 initiatives this year in the agenda for both sessions. This is a high-level event with ministerial representation from over 150 nations.
Year 12 Core Curriculum Sustainability module
Cranleigh is running a sustainability module as part of its Core Curriculum with Year 12 students, which culminates with pitches from the students on how they can make the school more sustainable by having a localised impact on the achievement of one of the 17 UN SDGs.
Green Flag Award for Sustainability
The school is in the process of securing the Green Flag Award for sustainability. Other student-led recycling initiatives include a transport review, planting Ghaf trees in Pre-Prep, use of grey water for irrigation, Eco Co-Curricular Activity.
Community of the Future
Envisaging a sustainable future for the community of Abu Dhabi, the school is involved with the Department of Community Development in creating a miniature model of Community of the Future using sustainable recycled materials. And in developing environmental policy insights for policy maker consideration. The city model and policy insights will be showcased at the COP28 convention in November 2023.
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