Coca-Cola Foundation has partnered with Injaz Al-Arab, a junior achievement worldwide member which works with corporate and government in Mena region to transform youth into business leaders, for the second phase of 'Ripples of Happiness (ROH)' programme.

The ROH is a youth empowerment initiative that trains university students on identifying opportunities in their cities as well as inspiring them to implement projects that will have a positive impact within their communities.

Throughout Ripples of Happiness, students are provided the opportunity to learn a wide range of fundamental corporate social responsibility concepts and important principles for work readiness.

With training and mentoring from a team consisting of volunteers from Coca-Cola employees in the Middle East and volunteers from the Injaz Al-Arab network, the students will be engaging in sustainability focused activities aimed at making a positive impact within their communities.

In addition, they will be developing and executing a community development project during the program.

As part of this expanded outreach, Injaz Bahrain had recently introduced a new program called “Our Families” which caters specifically to primary schools under the leadership of its executive director Sheikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa.

“The Coca-Cola Foundation will support the pilot of the projects implemented by each university,” said Antoine Tayyar, the public affairs and communication director of Coca-Cola Middle East.

“With its great success during its first phase, we hope to enrich the minds of the youth for the second round where we have expanded to other universities in the region, further empowering the youth to make a difference in their communities,” he noted.

SorayaSalti, the regional director of Injaz Al-Arab and senior VP of Mena for Junior Achievement Worldwide said she was excited at entering the second phase of the campaign with Coca-Cola.

"We believe that the youth of today have endless potential and projects like ROH help showcase their talent whilst additionally opening students’ minds about the possibilities and benefits entrepreneurship provides to both individuals and communities in the region," she added.

 A judging panel combining representatives from the Coca-Cola and Injaz and various community leaders will then join forces to choose the top community project in each market keeping in mind the sustainability aspect.

The ROH program falls in line with both Coca-Cola and Injaz Al-Arab’s longstanding strategy to empower youth and foster social responsibility.

It will be launch at Bethlehem University and Al Quds Open University (Palestine), University of Bahrain and Royal University for Women (Bahrain), Um Al Qura University and Effat University (Saudi), American University of Beirut and Lebanese American University (Lebanon) and Princess Sumaya University for Technology & German Jordanian University (Jordan).-TradeArabia News Service