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Mamoura British Academy makes final 3 for the $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes 2023
September 12, 2023
Mamoura British Academy in Abu Dhabi, UAE, which is empowering its students and transforming communities through sustainability, has been named a Top 3 finalist for the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action as the nation prepares to host COP28. The $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, founded last year by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, Yayasan Hasanah, and the Lemann Foundation, are the world’s most prestigious education prizes.
The five World’s Best School Prizes – for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives – celebrate schools everywhere for the pivotal role they play in developing the next generation of learners and for their enormous contribution to society’s progress, especially in the wake of COVID. The Prizes were established to share the best practices of schools that are transforming the lives of their students and making a real difference to their communities.
The winners of the five Prizes will be chosen by an expert Judging Academy based on rigorous criteria. In addition, T4 Education has launched a new Community Choice Award this year – open to the 15 schools that make up the Top 3 finalists across all five World’s Best School Prizes – and given to the one school that inspires the most support in a Public Vote, which opened today. The winner of the Community Choice Award will receive membership to T4 Education’s new Best School to Work programme, an independent, evidence-based mechanism to certify schools for their culture and help them transform their working environment to attract and retain the best teachers.
Jill Huntley, Managing Director – Global Corporate Citizenship, at Accenture, said:
“I want to congratulate Mamoura British Academy on being named a Top 3 finalist for the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action 2023. This great honour recognises the Academy for the work it has done to safeguard our planet’s future and I hope educators everywhere will be inspired by the example of this outstanding school.”
“Accenture is proud to be a part of T4 Education’s initiative in empowering the next generation to tackle global sustainability challenges with new technologies and innovative practices.”
Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said:
“Congratulations to Mamoura British Academy in the UAE on making the final 3 for the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action 2023 just as the nation prepares to host COP28. You, and your fellow finalists, have inspired me with the leadership, vision and culture you have fostered and for the exceptional teaching and learning environment you have built.
As the world seeks to tackle a deepening education crisis, you light the path to a better future. It’s time for governments everywhere to listen to your voice and learn from your expertise.”
About the school:
Mamoura British Academy, an independent international school in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is leading the world on sustainable action for a better future just as the global spotlight falls on the UAE as the host of COP28 this year. Uniquely, its work is led almost entirely by a dedicated team of student ambassadors from ages 3 – 18, tirelessly pursuing the Global Goals and the outcomes of the One Young World Summit and helping the school achieve Eco Green flag status.
Mamoura British Academy’s environmental efforts began with simple recycling projects before growing organically over the years. From its ‘Pile It Up Challenge’ and ‘Simply Bottles’ to encourage responsible plastic use, it went on to weave sustainable practices through the curriculum and engage students through regular House competitions aimed at reducing individual and collective carbon footprints, further allowing students to showcase their creativity.
Next, the school began to incorporate sustainable food practices through aeroponic gardens – a method of growing plants without soil – where students take charge of crop cycles, with all the food grown either used in the school kitchen or shared with staff, students, and visitors to reduce food waste.
Strategic partnerships with Madar Farms and Grazia Farms have supported curriculum enhancement and given the school access to invaluable resources, such as expert knowledge, cutting-edge techniques, and hands-on experiences in sustainable food production and consumption.
It launched a school retrofit in which students prioritised energy reduction through the installation of light motion detectors in each classroom, while it has installed Eshara water fountains which take moisture from the air to convert into drinking water in order to limit water waste. Meanwhile, the school engages in community cleanups in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency and other collaborations with The Alliance for Sustainable Schools. During virtual learning, students created, developed and promoted various crafts using recycled materials, and the school’s decorations for Eid are created from recycled products.
If Mamoura British Academy wins the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action, its students are keen to create a desert/forest school. With the naturally stunning desert landscape of the UAE, and with the forest school principles in mind, a desert school can be set up to be calm and purposeful, using natural materials, and providing a hands-on learning experience encouraging children to explore, ask questions and investigate the harmony between people and nature.
Next steps:
The winner of each of the five World’s Best School Prizes will be announced in November. The winner of each Prize will be chosen based on rigorous criteria by a Judging Academy comprising distinguished leaders across the globe including academics, educators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society, and the private sector.
A prize of US$250,000 will be equally shared among the winners of the five Prizes, with each receiving an award of US$50,000.
The winner of the new Community Choice Award – chosen by a Public Vote – will be announced at the same time. The Community Choice Award may be given to any Top 3 finalist who receives the most public votes, irrespective of whether they win one of the five World’s Best School Prizes.
All the Top 3 finalists will share their best practices through School Transformation Toolkits and events on the T4 Communities app.
ABOUT T4 EDUCATION:
We believe every child everywhere deserves a good education. We are building the world’s largest community of teachers and schools to achieve this. Together. Our digital media platform provides opportunities for educators to network, collaborate, share good practices, and support each other’s efforts to improve learning and school culture. We work to amplify teachers’ voices because the world we want to see will only be built by listening to those at the heart of education.
Our global community of over 200,000 teachers and our digital media platform provides an engine for organisations to run education prizes that cut through in both the international media and the public consciousness.
