Emirates Foundation launches '100 Youth Club' to create financial awareness among Emirati youth

Emirates Foundation, in collaboration with Operation HOPE, the US-based organisation focused on financial literacy and empowerment, announced today the launch of its latest project, "The 100 Youth Club", which aims to instruct 100 Emirati youths to become trainers and mentors in the field of personal financial management.

The launch of ‘The 100 Youth Club’ builds on the successful initiatives managed by the Emirates Foundation’s ‘Esref Sah’ programme, which is intended to raise and strengthen awareness for better financial management among the Emirati youth by providing them guidance to a better means of spending and to encouraging them to save and avoid accumulating financial burdens in the future.

Attending the launch were Emirates Foundation CEO, Clair Woodcraft and Operation HOPE, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, John Hope Bryant.

The Emirates Foundation organised three training workshops to coincide with the launch in Zayed University, Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai, and UAE University in Al Ain. Over 100 participants representing academia, banking institutions, and business sectors attended the workshops.

According to the organisers, the training workshops exceeded all expectations, with the Emirati youths representing a 60% rate of the overall participants of the programme . The participants were highly engaged during the sessions, and showed commitment to share their knowledge to their peers in the sectors they represent.

Emirates Foundation launched ‘The 100 Youth Club’ this year as a pilot project, but aims to build on its implementation the following year to include a wider reach across the entire country.

Maytha Al Habsi, Chief programmes Officer, Emirates Foundation, said, "The 100 Youth Club programme aims strengthening the networks of the foundation, by taking financial literacy activities to youth academic and community centres across the country. We are constantly looking for opportunities to collaborate with key stakeholders, experts, banks, private sector, existing financial programmes and interested parties to build a long-term nation-wide platform that is sustainable for the benefit of our youth".

"70% of young Emiratis are reported to be in debt because they lack effective financial planning and an increasing desire to acquire luxuries. This is an alarming number, so we felt it was essential to conduct a programme which will make youths conscious of their spending habits. With the help of our supportive partners and Operation HOPE we are not only able to increase financial literacy and contribute to the reduction of debts among Emirati youth, but also inspire, empower and guide the youth of the U.A.E. to secure the nation’s sustainable future."

Speaking during the programme, Mary Hagerty Ehrsam, President of the Global Youth Empowerment Group, Operation HOPE, and CEO, HOPE New York, said, "Many young people around the world, and in the U.A.E., often struggle to manage and eliminate their debt and the ability to make sound financial decisions. The key component of the Esref Sah programme  is that it is designed to empower youths with both the tools and the inspiration to take control of their own financial future.

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