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THE kingdom's youngsters are getting into the spirit of next week's World Environment Day with an art competition which will see their work on display at one of the island's five star hotels and the winner announced exclusively in GulfWeekly.
The contest has been launched by Recycling for Charity, a Bahrain-based organisation which provides special containers to communities and organisations where recyclable resources can be deposited and later processed and sold on to local and world markets.
The art competition is being run through the island's schools and youngsters have been asked to produce a picture, using paints, pencils or even crayons, to show their thoughts on the environment and issues such as how what we do affects the world around us.
"Recycling has to be made a part of our daily lifestyle, as whatever we do today will impact our future tomorrow. At Recycling for Charity, we want to help promote ways of saving the environment which not only educate the children but also encourage them to spread the importance of recycling to their families at home," said Boris Uhlig, CEO of Recycling for Charity.
"The initiative will help to bring awareness that we all can do something to help the environment by focussing on the three Rs - Reduce, Re-use and Recycle."
The competition will be judged by a panel including Recycling for Charity, the Crowne Plaza Hotel and British Ambassador Jamie Bowden with the embassy also stepping in to provide prizes which include gift vouchers and BD500 for the winning school.
Winners will be announced exclusively in next week's GulfWeekly and a selection of the pictures will go on display in the Crowne Plaza which is launching its own green initiative just in time for Environment Day on June 5.
Ivor E Prestwood, the hotel's general manager, said: "Crowne Plaza Bahrain is absolutely delighted to be able to exhibit the artwork of the children for the competition, and to assist in the judging panel for the prize winners.
"The artwork is a really great way to spread the word about going green and our recycling initiatives and really encourages children to take part in caring for the local environment whilst also enhancing their understanding of environmental issues."
See next week's GulfWeekly for details of the winners and when the pictures go on show.
THE environment was the focus of an awareness festival aimed at engaging youngsters in the battle to keep the kingdom free of rubbish.
The event organised by 'Love Bahrain Litter Free' took place at Al Ghous Corniche to raise awareness and inspire youngsters to support the campaign.
The key message for the national campaign 'Love Bahrain Litter Free' campaign, which was launched in February, is to put your rubbish in the bin and not on the streets, in the desert or out of your car window.
The campaign is run by Gulf City Cleaning Company (GCCC) and Sphinx Cleaning Company (SCC working in co-operation with Muharaq Municipality and public relations agency, MICE Management.
The festival involved a group walk around the corniche, an environmental awareness competition, entertainment from Al Mahabba Kids' Band, a bouncy castle, free T-shirts, popcorn and water for the children.
Adrian Cockrem, general manager of GCCC, said: "We are starting with very simple messages like getting people to throw their rubbish in the bin and not on the floor. This is the first of what we hope will be many initiatives to get people involved."
Mother-of-two Fawzia Moosa Ebrahim Al Bana, 30, from Arad, was very encouraged by the event. She said: "The organisers created a great programme and the children really enjoyed it. The carnival, music and the concept of cleaning up our beloved kingdom is a brilliant idea."
