Objectives:

In December 2015, the United Nations issued the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org) which announced 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. It is aimed to be “a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.” The intent of this large-scale ambitious global project is “to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path”.

From the list of SDGs, the following are linked closely to the work that the Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute (QEERI) is doing, and to the themes of the International Conference for Sustainable Energy-Water-Environment Nexus in the Desert Climate 2019 (IC-SEWEN’19), which the institute is organizing in December 2019:

• SDG6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
• SDG7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
• SDG11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

QEERI sees the promotion of science and research among young people as a core component of our mission and believes that the youth have a crucial role to play in bringing about a sustainable significant positive change. As part of the IC-SEWEN’19 conference, QEERI is organizing a competition for students, aged six and above from national and international schools in Qatar. The competition aims to raise awareness and understanding about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their importance for our future. It is organized in collaboration with Ministry of Education and Kahramaa- Tarsheed.

Details about the Young Innovator Competition:

1- What is it: 

A competition open to all school students in Qatar where they are required to produce short videos highlighting any solutions to the challenges included in SDG6,7,11, and 13. Schools will be required to submit the videos and the Organizing Committee will choose up to five videos to showcase at the finals.

2- Who can participate?

• Students groups of all Qatar based schools (national and international schools). The school should be recognized by the Ministry of Education
• Students should have a valid Qatar ID 
• Each group must have a minimum of four and maximum of six students
• Every group should have a faculty mentor and supervisor who will be the liaison point for QEERI
• Each school can only nominate a maximum of three groups per category
   

3- Categories:

Students will be categorized according to their age:

• Junior Level: 6-9 years
• Intermediate Level: 10-13 years
• Senior Level: 14-17 years
   

4- What is needed to register? 

• The registration form needs to filled and submitted on the website.
• Copies of QIDs and schools IDs of all the team members will need to be submitted
• After the registration form is received, the Organizing Committee will contact the faculty representative to provide reference number and guidelines for the next steps.
   

5- Video Specifications:

• Topic of the videos: The video should showcase innovative and original ideas to tackle the challenges of the nexus energy-water-environment to address the selected SDGs for a sustainable future. (For example: promote/encourage a sustainable transport, urban/neighborhood sustainable farms, optimization of natural resources, a world without plastics, energy and water saving and conservation, sustainable consumption. Please note that these are just some suggestions. The team does not have to pick these, but can develop their own theme based on the selected SDGs)
• The video must be original and previously unpublished. Participants should guarantee that this has been created by the team, based on the rules and regulations of the competition.
• The video must highlight how the students aim to address the challenges pertaining to nexus between the selected SDGs (6, 7, 11 and 13) with the objective of proposing innovative ideas for a sustainable future. It needs to address one of the main issues related to energy access, efficiency and consumption, water access and management, food security, air quality, climate change, or related themes. 
• The video should be 3-5minutes long
• The videos can be recorded with any video recorder including mobile device, tablets, reflex, or professional camera. The videos should be of high-enough quality to be exhibited for the public at the finals of the conference.
• The resolution of the video should be at least full HD (1920 X 1080 pixels) and in mp4 format. 
• There is freedom for technical, artistic and narrative languages. Both English and Arabic are accepted. To facilitate the role of the public and the jury, videos in Arabic should be subtitled in English.

6- Finals:

• Finals will be held on 2 December 2019 at the Qatar National Convention Center
• Up to five teams in each category will be selected to showcase their video to the public and the jury, live on stage.
• The judges’ panel will include scientists from QEERI, representatives from Kahramaa-Tarsheed and other leading entities in Qatar.
• The students will need to present their entry including an oral explanation of their vision and playing the video, followed by a Q&A session with the jury
• Following the event, all the finalists will be taken to the Kahramaa Awareness Park for a visit and dinner

7- Prizes:

• Each category will have first, second and third prize winners
• Each category will also have a Best Liked Video award
• Apart from the prizes received during the conference, the winners from each category will be given the opportunity to present their project during the Earth Day annual event organized by Kahramaa-Tarsheed.
• The jury can declare no winner if any of the proposals corresponds to the objectives and/or have not the adequate quality.

8- Judgement Criteria: 

The jury will aim to select a variety of themes for the final on-stage live presentations.
The jury will assess the video of various aspects including (but not limited to) the following:

• Direct relation of the video topic with the nexus of the four selected SDG.
• Obtained results and potential real impact
• Innovation, imagination and creativity of the proposal
• Clarity of the message in the video
• Level of participation of the educative community

9- Rights to the video:

The organizing entity – Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute/ Hamad bin Khalifa University/Qatar Foundation - will own the exclusive right of the videos once they are submitted to the competition. 

Important dates:

• Registration Deadline: 15 October 2019
• Video Submission Deadline: 20 November 2019
• Finalists Communication: 25 November 2019
• Finals: 2 December 2019
• Link for video submission: Please click here
• Judgement Rubric: Please click here

For any queries or questions, please contact:
QEERI IC-SEWEN’19 website: www.hbku.edu.qa/en/qeeri-ICSEWEN19
 

Application form