Ford awards $100,000 to MENA organizations for environment

Ford Motor Company has announced the latest recipients of its Conservation and Environmental Grants, with $100,000 being made available to 10 successful entries. Accepted from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen, the touted projects focused on three main areas: Environmental education, protection of the natural environment and conservation engineering.
Two further categories received financial support for the winning projects: Best in research — projects that show use of research in finding, and implementing, solutions to a specific environmental issue — and best in community engagement, for the project that best demonstrates community engagement during its undertaking.
The RSCN in Jordan has, over time, developed an innovative environmental education program for students called Nature Ranger. And with its first place finish and $15,000 bursary from Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants, the society plans to develop the project further. The program consists of five learning cycles to prepare students to be a specialized nature ranger.
In second place, worthy of a $10,000 grant, and also aimed at Jordan’s youth, is a Rural Family Society-designed project aiming to create a sense of responsibility of youth toward their local environments in an effort to protect their natural resources.
Rounding out the environmental education category, and Jordanian clean-sweep, was Green Generation Foundation, who will put its $7,000 windfall to good use in its community-based training in climate change, a pilot project intended to build capacity and awareness around climate change across the country
“Ford Motor Company is dedicated to preserving the environment for future generations and providing ingenious environmental solutions that contribute to a sustainable planet,” said Jacques Brent, president Ford Middle East and Africa. “Initiatives such as Ford’s Conservation and Environmental Grants program evidence a commitment to encourage, support and reward the actions of individuals, groups and non-profit organizations in achieving the same goal.”
Recipients are chosen by an independent panel of judges consisting of academics and leaders from regional environmental organizations. The judges are seasoned environmentalists or academicians from the region carefully selected based on geographical coverage, age and gender equality. They look for initiatives that demonstrate a well-defined sense of purpose, a commitment to maximizing available resources, and a reputation for meeting objectives and delivering planned programs and services.