Doubtless, you already know the theory that dugongs, aka the Sea Cow, were probably the source of siren and mermaid myths (here at Time Out, we are highly sceptical of that theory, since we still believe mermaids exist). But, did you know that the second largest herd of dugong can be found right here in UAE waters? In fact, UAE waters, rich in coral reefs and sea-grass beds, are home to many diverse species of marine life – some of which, like the dugong and hawksbill turtle, are endangered. No prizes for guessing that humans play the villain in this scenario.
From destroying their feeding grounds with our fishing, to invading their beach nesting grounds with our hotel resorts, there is little we don’t do in terms of damage. It’s all a bit overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be so.
Here at Time Out we also believe the children are our future. No really. Snide humour aside, change often starts with education – that’s a given. And that’s why the people behind project Be’ati Watani (meaning ‘My Environment, My Country’) have been working to engage our kids with pressing environmental issues for over nine years. And now, they’ve just upped the game.
Said people are the Emirates Wildlife Society and the WWF, who have recently joined forces with Dolphin Energy. Together, they’ve turned a project which started off as a paperback, into a bilingual, online, interactive programme that took ten minutes to teach us at TOAD about dugongs. And they made it fun to boot.
But marine wildlife isn’t all your kids will learn about on Be’ati Watani. The programme offers eight interactive levels which cover everything from climate change to UAE wildlife. Levels are full of quizzes, games and activities galore, and though they’re aimed at six-14 year olds, we promise you’ll get a kick out of it if you’re prone to procrastinating at work (look out for the hermaphrodite hammour fish –will wonders never cease?)
But wait, it also gets serious. With each level treated as a course, children progress along them year after year in succession, taking tests, getting grades and even earning certificates and prizes along the way. Thoroughly impressed with all this, we caught up with Ida Tillish, acting director general of EWS-WWF, and had a little chat.
So you’ve certainly come a long way.
We have indeed. At its inception in 2002, Be’ati Watani was distributed via booklets packed with information for students. It has since transitioned with modern technology, from booklets to a CD format, to become interactive and fully online. The Be’ati Watani programme has evolved over the past nine years to incorporate modern tools in order to connect better with the current online generation.
How is the online version different from the CDs?
We’ve expanded the modules covered from four to eight, giving a more in-depth view of the growing environmental issues we face.
Be’ati Watani has been formally endorsed by the Ministry of Education, can you tell us how the programme will engage schools?
Sure. The programme is being promoted as an extra-curricular activity. When a school signs up, their students will not only be able to take part in the programme, but they will also have instant access to an internal student portal. Youth are very active online these days and are more motivated by two-way communication. So in a further effort to get students involved a blog has been incorporated into the student portal. This will allow students to interact with each other about environmental issues.
Meanwhile, teachers can access private school portals, enabling them to register their students for the final test. The system will automatically grade tests and provide results as well as certificates to the students.
Sounds great, so what’s next?
In the UAE, the programme has been widely successful, reaching over one million students over the past eight years. Now in its online format we’re expecting to reach a lot more, and we’ve already received a great deal of demand from other countries in the region. So starting with Qatar, we’re working with our partners to further roll the initiative out across the region in the coming two to three years.
Visit www.beatiwatani.com.
