du pledges AED1 million to Emirates Foundation for youth

du, the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, has pledged AED1 million over the next two years in support of the philanthropic initiatives of Emirates Foundation, the national foundation of the UAE established to facilitate public-private partnerships for empowering youth, as its Gold Partner.

The collaboration between the two entities will commence in January 2017, with an aim to invest in youth development initiatives in the UAE.

"In line with du’s overall sustainability and business objectives to support the UAE community and to empower its youth, we are proud to sponsor an organisation that believes in the importance of the next generation," said Osman Sultan, Chief Executive Officer, du. "Our support of Emirates Foundation through this partnership will help further their work and thus strengthen community development overall. By investing in the future of our country’s youth, we are helping to cultivate a sustainable knowledge economy that will yield the leaders and innovators of tomorrow."

"At Emirates Foundation, we acknowledge that philanthropy cannot operate in a vacuum. Engaging Business partners such as du is essential to addressing youth development systemically and sustainably," Clare Woodcraft-Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Foundation, said.

"Our broad spectrum of programmes – from leadership development, to volunteering, and promoting innovation and social enterprises in the UAE and GCC at large - are all invaluable ingredients for engaging the private sector to give back to the community and play an active role in youth development. We are looking forward to working with du and engaging their teams in our programmes and see a lot of benefits for both organizations, particularly in terms of introducing our youth to the telecommunications sector and providing them with essential relevant skills to explore careers on this front," she added.