Jeddah plans several events JEDDAH – The 40th annual Earth Day is being celebrated worldwide on April 22 to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment, and a number of events are being organized here over the next week in cooperation with the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME). A three-day conference and exhibition will be held at the Jeddah Hilton from April 25 under the patronage of Prince Turki Bin Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz, PME president and head of the Saudi Environmental Society. The conference will be organized in coordination with the US Consulate General, Jeddah Municipality and several public and private companies. Abed Al-Shalabi, Director Business Development TMA, the organizers of the event, said: “On April 25 the exhibition will be inaugurated by Prince Turki, and on April 26 workshops and seminars will be held in which speakers will focus on the importance of protecting the environment and on ways to raise public awareness of the issue.” He added that there will be calls for the public and the municipality to clean the city, plant more trees, create more green spaces, and remove plastic and other environmental hazards from public areas. He also explained that the exhibition will cover a number of topics related to the environment and that sponsoring companies will display the latest technology for ensuring the safety and cleanliness of the environment. “On the third day there will be an Earth Day field activity in which students from different public and private schools, volunteers from organizations, and groups of youth will work together to clean a section of the south Jeddah coast and an area in Al-Rawdah district. This field activity is open for everyone who would like to participate,” Al-Shalabi said. Last year on the 39th Earth Day, a cleaning day was held in Jeddah with the cooperation of the US Consulate under the slogan “Protect the environment to protect yourself”. On that day, students and volunteers from the Saudi Environmental Society, American School Jeddah, Help Center, Special Needs Children's School, Al-Akha School, Friends of Jeddah, Jeddah Municipality, Tanweer Center, and Aqsa School cleaned a 175-meter by 400-meter open field. Donny Yoo, the US Consulate information officer, said that the consulate is participating in this year's event in cooperation with the PME and the municipality. He said that students from the American School and from various colleges and organizations in Jeddah are participating along with US Consulate staff. “If volunteers would like to participate they should email Munir Madyun at [email protected],” he said . “The exhibition is open to the public all day from April 25 to April 27,” he added. Other Earth Day events are also being planned. The Ahya organization in Jeddah's Al-Rawdah District is planning a “Clean the streets” campaign for the general public on the morning of April 29. “We are planning to do light cleaning of four streets in Al-Rawdah District, namely, Hamad Al-Jasser Street, Hussein Matter Street, Ibrahim Foda Street, and Ahmed Al-Turki Street,” said Turki Adas, a volunteer helping to organize the event. “This is an open event and anybody can join us on the day, from children to adults. Just send your name and mobile number for registration and come and clean the city and celebrate Earth Day,” he said. People who want to participate should gather at Panda shopping center parking lot on Hamed Al-Jasser Street in Al-Rawdah District at 7:30 A.M. on April 29. Adas said that gloves, lab coats and other materials for cleaning will be provided. “We will start cleaning from Sari Street in the north and go southwards,” he explained. “Panda shopping center is cooperating with us and will provide us with a tent in their parking lot and is sponsoring us in other things as well,” he added.Adas said that he hoped that such activities could be continued even after April 29. People who wish to participate can register on the Ahya organization Facebook page or can send an email to [email protected].
