Emaar Retail, a leading leisure and entertainment company in Dubai, has partnered with UAE-based philanthropic organisation Dubai Cares to support a recently launched education campaign.

The Girls’ Education Campaign 2011 aims to increase awareness of the importance of girls’ education, as well as raise funds to support Dubai Cares programmes that address the gender imbalances in primary education and empower girls within their communities in developing countries across the world.

As part of the memorandum of understanding with Dubai Cares, Emaar Retail will host a summer-long campaign which will run across all its leisure attractions in The Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall throughout Ramadan and conclude after Eid Al Adha.

“Education is the cornerstone of personal and community development, and providing educational opportunities for underprivileged children, especially girls, can make an epochal difference to an entire society,” said Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of Emaar Retail.

“Empowering women has proved to bring tangible benefits to societies by fostering financial independence, which in turn enables them to counter poverty and support the family for a better standard of living.”

“Dubai Cares has been at the forefront of driving a monumental change globally by providing children in developing countries with access to quality primary education. The campaign will be a perfect fit to celebrate the spirit of Ramadan marked by charity, compassion and solidarity,” he added.

Tariq Al Gurg, CEO of Dubai Cares, said: “The Dubai Cares Girls’ Education Campaign 2011 is part of our commitment to help achieve, by 2015, the United Nations Millennium Development Goal 3 of promoting gender equality by addressing the imbalance that exists with respect to the availability and accessibility of quality primary education to girls in developing countries.”

“Education is the most effective tool to break the cycle of poverty, a strong belief which motivated His Highness Sheikh Mohammed to launch Dubai Cares in 2007. This partnership with Emaar Retail will help us intensify our programme interventions and bring quality primary education to a larger number of girls globally,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service