DP World is launching a unique global education programme for 8 to 14 year olds across its international network, and aims to engage 34,000 children by 2020.

Working with a specialist agency and consulting with teachers, the content covers a wide range of topics to engage young people in ports, trade and logistics, a little-known and often overlooked part of the world economy, said a statement from DP World.

The global trade and logistics enabler’s employees will deliver a range of modules in local schools as part of their volunteering leave, it added.

The modules will come with guidance and delivery notes, lesson plans, student activities and worksheets when the programme is implemented later this year in seven languages – from Arabic and English to Hindi, Mandarin, French and Spanish, it said.

The first lessons have been piloted in the UAE, India, Pakistan, Senegal, the UK, Argentina and the Philippines and will be rolled out from June across the rest of DP World’s network in over six continents, it stated.

Announcing the programme at the Arab Media Forum in Dubai this week, DP World Group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “Education is one of the four focus areas of our community investment strategy - part of the Our World, Our Future global sustainability programme. As a leader in global trade and logistics, we want to ensure that our people and our resources support education.”

“Raising awareness about the maritime sector, trade and logistics, and related career options is important for us as a business and also the communities in which we operate around the world. We expect this programme to make a genuine impact, creating lasting change and an understanding of how the modern world works for the benefit of future generations,” he added.

The key topics in the programme include port management, sustainability and careers in trade and logistics and the maritime sector. Curriculum subjects covered also include geography, mathematics, design and technology, said the statement.

The launch of the programme follows the publication of a DP World/You Gov survey of parents of 6 to 14 year olds in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) which shows that less than 30 per cent of parents of school children in the region understand what trade and logistics means, it added.

As part of its educational effort to increase understanding of the importance of trade and logistics, DP World is also joining forces with the UK creators of an innovative supply chain board game. ‘Business on the Move’ has been designed to teach young people of all ages about the importance and complexity of global supply chains. The aim of the game is for players to move goods from one side of the world to customers on the other side of the world by land, sea and air, as quickly, as profitably and as responsibly as they can, it said.  

Bin Sulayem added: “We share a passion for educating young people about how business works and the exciting opportunities it can present, particularly in the world of supply chains and logistics.”

“The game aims to inspire, excite and educate young people by challenging them with difficult decisions similar to those they will be faced with in employment,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service