2.22 AM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

DP World’s Dh3m to 'Reading Nation'

Published
By Wam

Some of the largest companies in the UAE continue to actively participate in the Reading Nation Campaign, offering their support to print and distribute books to children in refugee camps and in underprivileged schools all over the world.

DP World recently contributed Dh3 million to the campaign to provide 300,000 books to be distributed to schools and needy children through special teams spread across the beneficiary countries.

This highlights the global trade enabler’s commitment to working sustainably and responsibly, which is essential to building a strong business for its customers, people and society.  Through DP World’s global sustainability programme, ‘Our World, Our Future’, the company is bringing sustainability into every aspect of its work, which includes commitments and action plans to protect the environment, invest in its people, ensure the highest safety standards and take steps towards building a vibrant, secure and resilient society. Education forms an integral part and is one of the four main pillars of this programme.

Speaking on the objective of this contribution, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, and Chairman of Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation said: "The Reading Nation campaign reinforces the UAE’s leading role in launching humanitarian and development initiatives that seek to meet people’s demands and make them happy in the UAE and abroad. It is another example of the country’s effective role in facilitating social and economic development and empowering people with education and knowledge.

"We are proud to support this campaign that reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. We also realise the importance of education in making a sustainable change to societies and building a brighter future for our young generations built on strong foundations. We aim to provide these generations to come with the best knowledge tools to lead sustainable development globally."

He added: "With our global portfolio of 77 marine and inland terminals across six continents, we realise the importance of building strong relationships with global economies. We invest for the long-run and work with our partners to meet societies’ needs. Our role is not exclusive to enabling trade and driving economic growth; it also includes bridging the knowledge gap since we believe that supporting education leads to advancing humanity."

He said, “We recently launched a Global Educational Programme for children aged between 8 and 14 years. The programme aims to increase awareness about the maritime sector, trade, logistics services and related career opportunities. This way we can help develop a qualified human resource pool that can drive the global trade movement into the future. The Reading Nation campaign is a true expression of the UAE’s keen interest in exercising its humanitarian role by spreading knowledge globally, thus enabling everyone to keep pace with the huge transformative developments in the smart trade and digital world."

"This noble initiative focuses on building sustainable bridges with other people and nations based on mutual collaboration. Our humble contribution reflects our belief in our role as a trade ambassador that represents the UAE and enhances its efforts to spread knowledge and sciences. The country has become a global role model for innovative initiatives that support development and collaboration among people on the basis of tolerant and open-minded mutual cultures," he concluded.

Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Cares, said: "We would like to thank DP World, its leadership and employees for the generous donation. This pioneering organisation contributes significantly to connecting us with the rest of the world, and through this gesture it has fittingly demonstrated its social responsibility as well. The Reading Nation campaign has validated the genuine values of our Emirati society, its corporations and institutions. It has not only achieved its target, but has also exceeded it, thanks to the wide-ranging social support extended to the visionary initiatives of Sheikh Mohammed. We are confident that the campaign will enable millions of underprivileged children to build a brighter future for themselves and their countries."

The Reading Nation Ramadan campaign has exceeded the set target of five million books, reaching more than 7.3 million books that will be distributed to children in refugee camps and underprivileged students in schools across the world. In addition, the campaign is also mandated to support the educational programs implemented by the UAE’s humanitarian organizations worldwide - with one million books