Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: A total of 16 and three Regional Directorates of Education were awarded for identifying and implementing innovative ways to raise awareness on road safety at the 13th annual Shell Road Safety Awards held at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) Traffic Safety Institute on Sunday.
Shell Oman together with the Ministry of Education hosted the annual ceremony under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Kamil bin Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Assistant Secretary General for the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers. The event was also attended by Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shibaniyah, Minister of Education, and officials from the ministry, as well as public and private sector partners.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sultan Qaboos University and the ROP, this year’s nationwide road safety competition attracted more than 500 schools, making up 30 per cent of schools in the Sultanate. The initiative reflects Shell’s commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of school students across the country.
“Our responsibility as educators goes beyond the textbook. We have an obligation to educate future generations on a variety of life skills including road safety. By incorporating ‘Shell Road Safety Awards’ as a staple programme into our schools, we are shaping our youth to become responsible citizens, and eventually, responsible drivers and passengers. As we guide them to understand the importance of road safety, we are creating a social impact that, I am confident, will continue to be passed on to future generations,” said Amna Al Balushi, Assistant Secretary General, Oman National Commission for Education, Culture and Science and Chairperson of the Shell Road Safety Awards Committee.
Students from over 500 schools from across the Sultanate joined their peers to demonstrate various ways to be safe on the road. Teams went on to exhibit their work through a number of mediums including plays, art, and videos. Winning schools were assessed based on two main criteria – how sustainable and impactful their projects were on the community and how integrated their teamwork was.
Muna Al Shukaili, General Manager of External Relations and Social Investment Lead at Shell Development Oman, said that this edition of the Shell Road Safety Awards did not only build on the momentum of previous editions, but was also enhanced in various ways.
“This year’s competition was in line with the digital transformation we are witnessing around us. Registration and evaluation were done online, the competition went viral on social media where hashtags were trending with more than 260,000 engagements from different schools. The road safety messages developed by the students sent shock waves on social media platforms, raising even more awareness,” added Al Shukaili.
In addition, the 2018-2019 Shell Road Safety Awards were announced, focusing on safety around the school campus with a particular emphasis on the safety of children on school buses. This year’s winning schools will also be eligible to compete for the newly introduced “Sustainability Award” in the 2019 edition with OMR3,000 at stake.
