UPC’s ‘My Sustainable Abu Dhabi’ Facebook campaign concludes with contest winner announced

Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi student wins for pushing Estidama sustainability messages

Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), as part of its "UniverCity" Outreach Programme and through its community engagement plans, announced the successful completion of the 'My Sustainable Abu Dhabi' campaign. The campaign aimed to get students to pledge their support to UPC and Estidama's effort on increasing awareness on sustainability initiatives.

The Facebook university student contest, which was part of the 'My Sustainable Abu Dhabi' campaign, reached out to all university students in the UAE in an attempt to embrace and practice sustainability as a lifestyle.

Nikita Shroff, a post graduate student in French literature at the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, won the contest totaling 520 points by inviting 318 of her Facebook friends to take the sustainability pledge of which 86 signed up for the pledge. She took home an iPad for her efforts at promoting UPC's sustainability messages through the social media platform.

Two other students also gained overwhelming points of over 400, while four others got 100 points each.

"The My Sustainable Abu Dhabi Facebook contest was highly successful as it involved students from several universities in the UAE. Our drive to involve communities in a dialogue on the Emirate's urban sustainable development enabled this campaign to deliver our key messages to the next generation and exchange their views on the same. The results of the contest are very positive and an encouraging sign for the UPC as Estidama's success relies on the ongoing support and commitment of the youth," said Abdulla Al Sahi, Director of Corporate Services, UPC.

The Facebook campaign was also complemented by visits to universities such as HTC Men and Women, Zayed University, Al Hosn University, Khalifa University, Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi University. An overwhelming feedback and support from each university resulted in the campaign providing impetus to the contest.

The contest saw students pledging their support to the campaign by getting their Facebook friends to sign and pledge their support in turn. Some also wrote their own pledge to better their chances of winning the contest. The contest was designed for students to get at least 500 points by inviting a maximum of their friends to sign up and pledge their support to the campaign and become eligible to win.

Following its activation and communication efforts on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) is developing its own digital communication platform called "CityPulse" to initiate and maintain dialogue with citizens and residents. Through CityPulse, UPC intends to offer a wide range of community services from a digital platform that will encapsulate on-line applications development for websites, mobiles and tablets. Additionally, the UPC launched its "Shaping your City-Scape" advertising campaign as it strives to engage with citizens and residents and encourage them to be part of the planning process.

For more information on the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) please visit www.upc.gov.ae or follow UPC on Twitter at www.twitter.com/adupc or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/adupc or on Youtube www.youtube.com/videosadupc.