The Arab American University won at the level of the Arab world the competition to combat desertification and mitigate drought in the Arab region. The competition was organized by the United Nations Esco Organization. The university was represented by the students, “Saed Hanani, Laith Nazzal, Anwar Ghannam, Ahmed Asaad, and Yazan Hamad”, who are from the Faculties of Engineering and Arts.

The competition, in which the Arab American University team participated, has several goals, most notably, raising youth awareness and enhancing their role in combating desertification.

Regarding the mechanism for participating in the competition, each team was asked to present an idea to reduce the problem of desertification and mitigate the severity of drought. The idea is evaluated by a committee consisting of experts, academics, and representatives of youth institutions interested in desertification and drought issues. Then, the team makes a video interpreting the idea that was presented to the committee. The video is shown at a special conference to be held in Beirut.

The Arab American University team went through several rounds, in which 8 teams competed in the Arab world. The Arab American University team passed it successfully and wan the first place as the best idea that combats desertification and drought.

The idea of the university team focused on converting orange peels into clothes by extracting cellulose from the peels instead of extracting it from trees in the clothing industry. Thus, 120 million trees are protected annually from extracting this substance. The team proved, through the university laboratories, that the cellulose extracted from Orange peel is identical to the same material extracted from the trees.

The results were announced on the United Nations website, with the Arab American University team winning the first place in the competition. They were invited to attend the United Nations Conference to Combat Desertification and Drought on the twenty-third of June of this year in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Certificates of appreciation will be distributed to the winning team members. The idea of the team will be presented during the conference.