Dubai Airports signs MoU with Dubai Cares to collaborate on fundraising and community engagement initiatives

Dubai, UAE – June 11, 2017 – In the spirit of Ramadan and the Year of Giving, Dubai Airports and Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, today extended their long-standing collaboration by signing a three-year Memorandum of Understanding designed to enhance cooperation, increase awareness among the travelling public and boost funding in support of providing education to underprivileged children and young people in developing countries.

The agreement, which was signed by Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, and His Excellency Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares, provides Dubai Cares with the exclusive ability to collect funds in the public areas* of both Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC). Dubai Airports has also committed to increase the number of collection boxes, improve their visibility and locations to maximise contributions and increase awareness around the importance of providing underprivileged children and young people access to quality education, both physically within the airport and digitally across its leading social media platforms.

To further maximise awareness about the cause and boost fundraising, Dubai Airports has also launched a donation webpage accessible from www.dubaiairports.ae and the Wi-Fi landing page at Dubai International.

As a reflection of its commitment towards alleviating the suffering of people affected by crises, Dubai Airports has requested from Dubai Cares to utilize the funds raised in the first year of the partnership to fund Dubai Cares’ Education in Emergencies programs to help children that have been affected by conflict and natural disasters catch up with their education in countries like Lebanon, Iraq and Nepal.

Commenting on this partnership, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports said: “We are thrilled about the agreement and excited about the opportunity to amplify our contributions to this worthy cause. With over 90 million customers visiting our airports this year, we are confident that we can make an even bigger impact. Last year we collected over 640,000 AED in support of Dubai Cares. Our goal in year one of this agreement is to work with Dubai Cares to double that contribution and support thousands of children and young people who currently don’t have access to quality education.”

Dubai Airports has been supporting Dubai Cares since 2010. Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, is a UAE-based global philanthropic organisation working towards providing children and young people in developing countries with access to quality education through the design and funding of programs that aim to be integrated, impactful, sustainable and scalable.

His Excellency Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares said: “It is a true privilege for us at Dubai Cares to partner with Dubai Airports, the world's busiest airport in terms of international passengers and one of the UAE’s most prominent success stories. Being Dubai Airports’ exclusive charity partner offers us a fantastic opportunity to promote our cause and raise awareness about our work among a truly diverse audience; from businesspeople to families as well as international travellers. It will also help us raise vital funds that enable us to provide quality education to underprivileged children and young adults in developing countries. As part of this agreement, the funds raised on the first year will be directed to support efforts to provide education to children in emergencies, like Syrian refugee children in Lebanon and children affected by the Nepal earthquake in 2015."

Dubai International, which offers services on some 90 airlines to 240 destinations in more than 90 countries, expects to welcome 89 million passengers in 2017. Dubai Cares operates in about 25 percent of the countries that are connected by Dubai International.