The Psychological Counseling Division, in cooperation with the Continuing Education’s Centre at the University of Information Technology and Communications (UoITC) organized an online symposium entitled “Pollution in Urban Cities: Between Environmental Crises and Their Health Impacts and Ways of Mitigation.”

The symposium, presented by Assistant Professor Dr. Yasser Majid Derjal, Head of the University’s Psychological Counseling Division, and Assistant Professor Dr. Ali Nuh Mahmood from the Educational Directorate of Nineveh, aimed to raise awareness about the importance of studying environmental pollution, define its types and causes in urban areas, and shed light on the resulting environmental crises as well as the methods and tools that can help reduce its severity.

The symposium also explained the concept of environmental pollution, its significance, and its various types, while analyzing the factors
that cause pollution in urban areas. It addressed the environmental crises resulting from pollution, such as the decline in air quality and the associated mortality rates, the deterioration of water quality and its
health consequences, as well as the extreme temperature increases in cities caused by pollution and the health impacts of each type of pollution.

In the end, the symposium concluded with a set of practical recommendations to reduce pollution, most notably the use of modern technologies to limit polluting emissions, the importance of environmental awareness and education, and the effective use of social media to spread a culture of environmental preservation and to encourage the transition toward sustainable and eco-friendly cities.