Drawing and Essay Competitions

Another activity which contributes in promoting environmental awareness in the Region is 'Drawing Competition', held back to back with ‘Essay Competition’ on the occasion of the Environmental Day of the Region, for the school children. The first drawing competition for children for the Region was organized by ROPME in 1986 and since then, there has been a continuity in this activity. In addition, post cards of the 24 drawings were printed in 1988 and distributed to all Member States. Member States are requested to send 10-15 Drawings as well as 10 Essays to ROPME Secretariat. Every year the Theme for both the competitions are provided well in advance. In addition, a brief explanation in Arabic on the theme is provided. Three winners from each Member States are awarded with prizes at the National level, and the best three drawings are selected at the Regional level. An essay competition for secondary school children is also organized annually and three winners from each Member State are awarded with prizes. The best entries are printed in a booklet form for distribution to schools and the general public.

The winning Drawings, Articles and Stories were displayed at the Exhibition during the celebration of the Environment Day of the Region.

The Exhibitions were held on the occasion of the Environment Day of the Region commemorating the signing of the Kuwait Regional Convention for Cooperation on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Pollution (1978).

The First Environmental Technology Exhibition was organized during 20-23 April 1998 under the patronage of H.E. The First Deputy Premier, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Higher Council of the Environment Public Authority (EPA), Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Exhibition was held in Regency Plaza Hotel, Kuwait. Six Government agencies and private companies, co-sponsored the Exhibition, that included the EPA, Kuwait Oil Company, Petrochemical Industries Company, Mobile Telecommunications Company, Golden Shahin Group, and National Environmental Services Company. Three Member States, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar along with Kuwait participated by exhibiting their activities in the areas of environmental protection. 34 companies also participated in the Exhibition.

Later, two Environmental Exhibitions were organized during 24-27 April 2000 and 22 – 25 April 2002 under the patronage of H.E. The First Deputy Premier, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Higher Council of the Environment Public Authority (EPA), Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Kuwait International Fair arranged the Exhibitions for ROPME in cooperation with the EPA-Kuwait. The theme of the April 2000 Exhibition was “Save Our Marine Environment” 26 Ministries, Government Authorities and Private Companies , as well as two Member States (Kuwait and Oman) participated by exhibiting their activities in the fields of environmental protection. The theme of April 2002 Exhibition was “Waste Recycling” and the environmental institutes and companies that participated was around 35. These Exhibitions were, but a search in the vast field of environmental technology and its application to meet the heavy burden of our responsibilities towards the environment.

Commemorative Stamps
Member States were contacted to issue commemorative stamps depicting important environmental subjects, including flora and fauna, and ROPME Emblem denoting the Tenth Anniversary of signing the Kuwait Regional Convention. Two Member States - Iraq and Kuwait - have issued stamps of different denominations.

Environmental Films
Taking into account the fact that films are considered an important means for enhancement of environmental awareness, since 1985 ROPME has produced several documentary films, such as, “Treasures of the ROPME Sea Area”, “ROPME Girl”, “The Pearl”, and a short film “Ripples of Life”. A short film on “Pollution and Coral Reefs” was produced by ROPME in early 1990s and a video cassette on “Burning Oil Wells”’, just around the same time. Recently, a documentary film on the ROPME Winter 2006 Oceanographic cruise has been made with title “The Sea of Challenge”.

ROPME Website
On April 2004, ROPME launched a website (www.ropme.org) to disseminate the current information on its activities. Major programme activities, publications, summaries of reports and list of Regional scientists are also included and published on this website and the information is periodically updated. In addition to this, MEMAC has developed a dedicated website (www.memac-rsa.org) to disseminate information on its activities. During 2007, ROPME established another website (www.ropmesomer.org) to cater to the increasing data needs for the preparation of the periodic State of the Marine Environment Report. In 2010, the ROPME website was re-designed and updated.