The British Embassy in Cairo announced, on Saturday, the winners of its “Sports for Climate” competition during an awards ceremony, in the presence of the British Ambassador and the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports.
The students of Modern Sciences and Art University (MSA) won the first place, followed by the British University in Egypt (2nd) and Coventry University (3rd).
The Sports for Climate competition is the first of its kind in Egypt, and aims to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on health, productivity, and economy.
The British Embassy partnered with the World Gym Dandy Mall to show how climatic change can affect everyday life of people, especially those who work outdoors and are directly exposed to high temperatures due to global warming.
The competition was divided into two parts: indoor and outdoor workout. Around 40 participants aged 20-35 took part in the first part of the competition during the last weekend. They included students from BUE, MSA, Hertfordshire, and Coventry Universities.
The indoor workout challenge included rowing, squats, and pushups. The participants conducted the activities at World Gym, and repeated them at the British Embassy’s garden on Saturday. Measurements of the participants’ heart rate were compared in both challenges to show the difference in performance.
During the awards ceremony, British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley said, “It is not too late to save our world. We can save our world with the help of such young students who came here today from various universities. Your generation can cooperate with mine to do this together. There is nothing more important than this.”
He added that the world is facing a catastrophe, but “we will stop it together.”
Bayley mentioned that in five weeks, the UK will host the climate summit COP26, expressing his hope that Egypt will host the next edition.
“Together, Egypt, Britain, and Italy are leading the world to fight climate change. We’re here today just to look at one way that climate change affects young people and anybody who works outside. It’s tough,” he said. “So, as President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said, we have a moral responsibility to fight climate change, and we will fight it together.”
Bayley concluded, “Congratulations to the winners.This competition demonstrated – in an exciting and engaging manner – how much and how fast climate change can affect our everyday life. It is one of many initiatives that the embassy is engaged in leading up to COP26, in cooperation with the Egyptian government to raise awareness, and also to encourage businesses, civil society, youth, and individuals to contribute and play their part. It is not enough to adapt to the effects of climate change. We need to take serious action to mitigate those effects, thereby creating a safe environment and a stronger economy for future generations.”
