SUBANG JAYA, 26 MARCH 2021 – In conjunction with World Water Day 2021, Salcon Berhad together with Water Watch Penang organised an online forum and competition involving more than 120 students and teachers from 5 secondary schools namely SMK Damansara Damai 1, SMK Puchong Utama (1), SMK Bandar Sri Damansara 1, SMK Engku Husain, SMK Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah. Students showcased their creative talent by creating short videos and oral presentations based on this year’s World Water Day theme “Valuing Water”.
The online forum & competition is part of the Salcon Water Genius Challenge (“WGC”) Campaign which includes a 6-month water audit project implementation in the respective schools when they re-open in April. The WGC Campaign, which is supported by Cap-Net, a UNDP’s global network for capacity development in sustainable water management, is organized with the objective of advocating water stewardship amongst students, teachers and other communities in schools. This campaign seeks to empower school communities with knowledge and skills to promote innovative and creative ways to reduce water consumption in their respective schools and is in line with the Sustainability Development Goal 6 – Clean Water & Sanitation.
The champion of the competition was SMK Engku Husian whilst first and second runner-up was SMK Damansara Damai 1 and SMK Puchong Utama (1).
Pn. Arma binti Mohd Yusof, teacher at SMK Damansara Damai 1 said, “The WGC virtual learning forum and competition not only exposes the students to the importance of water in life but also develops students’ talents in video production as well as honing their communication skills in front of the public. I hope this program can continue and involve more schools and students in the future.”
“The unprecedented challenges we face this year are a strong reminder for us to step up on our efforts to engage with the community. Through this virtual learning approach, we have managed to reach out to secondary school teachers and students in the Klang valley. We are indeed amazed and inspired by the student’s performances and the time and effort they have put in for this presentation,” said Ms Chern Meng Gaik, General Manager of Salcon Berhad.
The forum was made more informative with the coaching session by WWP trainer, Dr. Hong Chern Wern, on water audit to calculate water use and identify ways to increase water efficiency. Students and teachers were trained on conducting their household water assessment by reading their water meter, calculating the water bill, average daily consumption and measuring the flow rate at their home and schools.
The first phase of WGC Campaign was successfully conducted via remote coaching and learning from the months of September to November 2020. Teachers from the registered schools were coached via a series of four Train-of Trainer (ToT) sessions. The ToT sessions involve training on Theoretical and Practical Water Audit Implementation, Proposal Development, Water Footprint for schools and global, national and local water issues. The WGC Campaign is expected to produce sustainable long term outcomes in developing water stewardship practices
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