185 Nablus Teachers Complete U.S. Consulate General - Funded Environmental Awareness Program at An-Najah University

December 18, 2009

Jerusalem: U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem Public Affairs Officer Mr. Frank Finver joined Dr. Marwan Haddad, Director of the Water and Environmental Studies Institute (WESI) at An-Najah University, for the closing ceremony of an environmental awareness program at An-Najah University in Nablus. Over 185 teachers from the Nablus school district celebrated the completion of a training course to raise environmental awareness in the schools. The course was made possible through a grant from the U.S. Consulate General. As part of this training, Nablus teachers attended lectures on topics that included water sanitation and quality, wastewater disposal, school environmental-health and practices, environmental safety, air pollution, food hygiene, eco-tourism and cultural heritage-preservation, and climate change.

Mr. Finver praised Dr. Marwan and An-Najah University for their dedication to developing the skills and resources of Palestinian teachers, saying "Dr. Marwan is leading Nablus and nearby communities to build environmental awareness through an important program that is the first of its kind at An-Najah University. I hope this program will be one of many that support the partnership between the U.S. Consulate General and An-Najah University as we work towards educating our communities in environmental awareness." Dr. Haddad congratulated the teachers on their achievements. He thanked the U.S. Consulate General for its generous support, stating that he looks forward to continued opportunities for cooperation.

In addition to the training, American air pollution specialist Dr. Randal Martin from Utah State University conducted workshops with both teachers and students from the university's environmental engineering department and lectured on the causes and effects of climate change locally and globally. These workshops were part of an on-going U.S. Consulate General program to provide assistance to a number of Palestinian universities for programs that link Palestinian students, teachers, and local environmentalists with American experts in an effort to find innovative and creative ways to address climate change and other environmental issues.

For more information please contact the U.S. Consulate's Press Office at 02-622-6908.