Albert Oppong-Ansah
Abu Dhabi (UAE) Jan. 19, GNA – Sakafia Islamic Senior High School’s aquaponics initiative has won this years’ Zayed Sustainability Prize Global High Schools award.
The prize money of of the award USD 150,000 will support the students to expand their aquaponics project – a unique farming method where fish and plants are cultivated together in a symbiotic environment where they mutually benefit from each other’s presence.
Master Alhassan Adam, one of the students involved in the implementation of the technology in the School based in the Ashanti Region, received the prize from Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology at the opening of United Arab Emirate’s Sustainability week in the United in Abu Dhabi.
The Prize fund comes from the Abu Dhabi Government to honour and continue the sustainability and humanitarian legacy of the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Other winners included Nafarm Foods, a Nigeria firm that develops scalable hybrid solar food dryers that preserve food, in the food category.
The rest are OpenMap Development Tanzania, a Tanzania based firm that deploys a flood management solution – Climate Action, Palki Motors, an organisation from Bangladesh that manufactures local, low-cost electric cars with solar – energy category and Presidential School in Tashkent, a public school in Uzbekistan with 165 students, which aims to install rainwater harvesting and filtration systems from 150 schools to provide clean water – water category.
The sustainability week serves as a vital platform in bringing together global leaders, pioneers, and experts to address pressing sustainability challenges, develop strategic frameworks, and craft innovative solutions to ensure a prosperous future for all.
Dr. Jaber commended all winners and urged them to enhance and upscale their projects.
He said sustainability was a cornerstone of the nation’s strategies, as the UAE continued its unwavering efforts to harness resources and capabilities to drive global sustainable economic and social development.
Dr. Jaber, who is the Chairman of Masdar, announced the development of the world’s largest single-site solar power plant and a globally pioneering desalination facility.
Master Adama told the Ghana News Agency that the innovation that won the award was developed from a regular group class project, which required them to practicalise a sustainability action with low carbon emission.
He said the class project, through brainstorming, research and consultation with technical officers, saw the cultivation of fish and vegetables, including carrots, lettuce and green pepper supplied to the school’s kitchen.
“We later heard there is an award scheme and applied. This is a fantastic milestone for our studies and future,” he added.
They would forge a collaboration with the community and expand the project by cultivating more crops and farming more fishes.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize’s Jury elected the 33 finalists from 5,980 entries received across six categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High Schools – a 15 per cent increase in submissions over last year.
The jury said this year’s cycle received an unprecedented number of submissions, with notable participation from the Global South and youth.
“In fact, this year’s submissions reflect the three megatrends shaping our future, namely the rise of the Global South, the pace of the energy transition and the growth of AI.”
GNA