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A group of eco-activists in the kingdom are virtually meeting every Saturday to discuss and debate environmentally-ethical issues occurring locally and globally in a bid to make change.
The Council of Environment Improvement (CEI), set up and founded by Shaikh Rashid bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, consists of 13 environmentalists of all ages and nationalities, including deputy speaker and secretary-general Leen Ahmed, working together for a better tomorrow.
“The Council of Environment Improvement consists of members who are teenagers and adults, from those who are still school students to those who have a PhD degree, with the members having different qualities of life,” said 17-year-old British School of Bahrain student, founder and speaker, who also founded and was the president of The Fatima Bint Resq (FR) Project in honour of his late grandmother Shaikha Fatima bint Resq bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa. “We are currently planning projects with organisations and institutions to help improve the environment in some way.”
The structure of the environmental campaigning body is being adapted similarly to that of the United Nations and Parliament. It includes some members of the FR Project and representatives of Teenagers for Autism - Bahrain, a non-profit initiative.
Projects and procedures will be carried out to help overcome environmentally-ethical issues such as water and air pollution, the depletion of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, destruction of ecosystems and global climate change.
Since it was established last month, the group has held three meetings. The first session was based on people presenting an environmentally-ethical issue that the entirety of the council could focus on in their point of view.
“We held a vote, where members had to pick one of two environmentally-ethical issues that we should focus on,” explained Shaikh Rashid. “Everyone voted on pollution. In the second meeting, we held a session on pollution, where members were given a chance to present their opinions.”
All sessions are posted as episodes on the group’s Instagram page. They also recently dedicated a session to the people of Bahrain on the occasion of the Bahrain National Sports Day. He added: “Members presented topics such as sports and the environment, the history of sports in Bahrain and how a sport positively affects our mental health.
“The main message that I want to send out to the people of Bahrain is that no matter who the person is, their background, religion, race or age, they should always be treated fairly like every other human and should be respected for their good intentions.”
For updates, follow @cei.bh on Instagram or WhatsApp 32313116.
