Dubai Cares, the UAE-based philanthropic organization working to improve children’s access to quality primary education in developing countries, has marked Universal Children’s Day by calling parents and adults the world over to protect the basic rights of children, including their right to education.
Commenting on the occasion, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Cares said: “The future of a nation is defined by the present of its youth. As parents and adults, it is our duty to reinforce the basic rights of children, especially those pertaining to education. An educated child becomes an educated adult and a major force of national development, helping countries break the cycle of poverty and chart a future of growth and development.”
The UN-backed Universal Children’s Day was instituted in 1954 to promote mutual exchange and understanding among children and to initiate action to benefit and promote the welfare of the world’s children.
Concluding his remarks on the occasion, Al Gurg added: “Education represents the difference between prosperity and poverty; empathy and apathy; global citizenship and insularity. To inculcate a strong sense of responsibility towards their countries and the global communities at large, children should be given access to quality education starting from primary schools.”
Dubai Cares is also a major voice in the global conversation surrounding children’s education. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon selected Dubai Cares to be a member in the Technical Advisory Group of the Global Education First Initiative, which seeks to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning in developing countries and foster global citizenship.
Launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Cares is dedicated to increasing access to quality primary education for children in developing countries. As part of its mandate to eliminate the underlying obstacles that prevent children from going to school and learning, Dubai Cares focuses on school feeding, deworming activities, early childhood education, curriculum development, literacy and numeracy through teacher training, school infrastructure as well as water, sanitation and hygiene in schools.