Doha: Qatar Sustainability Week (QSW) 2024 concluded its activities, with wide participation of the public, businesses, community groups, organizations, academic institutions and government in a diverse array of activities focused on promoting, inspiring, and raising awareness on how to live and work in an eco-friendly way as part of QSW.
Organized by the Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future (Earthna) a member of Qatar Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC), this years event saw over 150,000 people take part in around 500 activities, the highest participation rate in QSWs nine-year history.
Earthna and many other organizations undertook media and social media campaigns to promote QSW and its aims this year. Combined with the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs initiative to raise awareness of sustainability in the khutbah Al -juma on Friday Oct. 4, over 1 million people had the opportunity to hear or read about important environmental ideas du
ring QSW 2024.
This years QSW also featured a variety of activities run by over 300 organizations, including technical sessions, planting activations, beach clean-ups, film and art competitions, upcycling workshops, recycling and reuse initiatives, sports and healthy living events and awareness seminars.
Earthna facilitated a series of impactful sessions during QSW 2024, addressing critical topics that will help shape sustainability thinking and action in Qatar. These included The Circular Economy in Qatar: Towards Circular PET Plastics with KEO, Recharging Nature with Meaning: Reviving Islamic Environmental Values with QFs Hamad Bin Khalifa Universitys College of Islamic Studies and Creating a Sustainable Future for Water in Qatar with GHD.
For the first time, Earthna and MoECC held Qatar National Dialogue on Climate Change (QNDCC) 2024 as part of QSW which took place on Oct 1 to 2. QNDCC brought together local and international experts to examine the impacts of climate change, share ideas and best practi
ce and develop strategies related to climate change adaptation, carbon management, the path from COP28 to COP29, and eco-tourism.
The critical importance of international and cross-sector collaboration in addressing climate challenges was also highlighted at QNDCC through the partnership of German Embassy Doha, the German Industry and Commerce Office in Doha, the Al-Attiyah Foundation, QNB, and DHL Express Qatar.
Executive Director of Earthna Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata emphasized the importance of the annual event, noting that: “By bringing together government, schools and universities, the private sector, non-government organizations and the community, we aim to foster a unified commitment across Qatar to address sustainability challenges, and promote a healthier world for generations to come. We were overwhelmed with the enthusiasm shown towards this years edition and the support from our partners and contributors to whom we are incredibly grateful. We are very much looking forward to building on thi
s years success in 2025 for QSWs tenth anniversary.” The inaugural day of QSW 2024 was marked by the opening of Green Island, Qatar Foundation’s community-focused recycling hub that offers educational exhibits, workshops, and interactive displays to provide visitors with hands-on learning experiences. It also features a self-service recycling station that accommodates seven key recycling streams, including paper, plastic, glass, metals, batteries, cables, and electronics.
Source: Qatar News Agency