It is the sort of idea that both inspires and warms the heart, using the most up-to-date thinking and technology to help people who are in desperate straits through no fault of their own.
Hope for Opportunity an online platform to provide quality education opportunities for Syrian refugees in camps.It is the brainchild of the UAE's Suaad Mohammed Yousef Al Hammadi and she presented it to the Global Youth Forum in Dubai.
In its first phase, the project will allow 500 refugees in camps in Lebanon to access skill training as well as bringing them to the attention of potential employers "while simultaneously changing how the world views the refugees,” said Suaad.
It's the sort of project the conference is all about, with eager young entrepreneurs and students from around the world, listening to and learning from some of the most innovative minds in the modern business world, and proving once again that when it comes to entrepreneurship, the UAE is up there with the best.
Yousef Khalili, one of the architects of Dubai’s smart city project was just one of the many business experts from around the world who gathered in Dubai to share the wisdom of their experiences with an equally diverse and enthusiastic group of 96 young entrepreneurs and students from 26 countries. He held his eager audience captive, posing questions like: “What makes a city smart? What can it do for businesses?"
. He wanted to talk about other "smart" places too. “We often talk about smart cities, let’s talk about smart villages today. Why not build services and systems that improve the lives in rural parts where the urban migrations often originate from,” he suggested. “For instance, it is possible to employ technology to connect the rural farmers with global exchange for selling their crops at the best price and the best time. This is just one of the ideas of how a rural community can benefit from smart technology.”
Mr Khalili’s engaging discourse on the potential created by smart communities for social businesses left many the room thinking of how they could build services that offer their own communities a slice of the “smart” initiative.
The platform, an annual conference facilitated by Czech-based organisation Youth Time, was conceived with this very idea in mind— to establish "meaningful exchange and learning between the enterprising youth and the industry experts,”said Youth Time founder Julia Kinash. The conference theme this year was ethical entrepreneurship in a knowledge-based economy. “Our vision is to encourage new businesses to not just focus on building profits but also communities, by creating a positive social impact,” she told The National.
Among the contributors were Roman Vishnevskiy, expert on cryptocurrency and Dr Allam Ahmed, founder of World Association for Sustainable Development, among several others, offering their expertise on fund-raising, the use of technology and the social impact of business.
The UAE was the obvious partner, said Ms Kanish. Fatma Abdulla Al Rustamani, who is co-ordinator at the UAE's General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare and the country's representative at the forum, agreed. “The UAE is now among the leading countries that not only encourage young entrepreneurs, but extend our support to such [social] businesses,” she told The National.
For the participants though, there was more at stake. Thirteen of them presented plans and ideas for social and sustainable businesses and community programmes, competing for a full grant to fulfil their dream project. Among other prizes up for grabs were full and partial scholarships to some of the best business schools in Europe.
Networking is a key part of any business and the platform allowed entrepreneurs to build relationships that could turn into future collaborations. Joi Sears, founder of The Green Store, a sustainable fashion brand from the United States, told The National, “We have received so much support for our business idea by just being here and interacting with other participants.“Whether or not we win the grant, we have already won opportunities in form of valuable relationships,” she added.
Company%20Profile
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Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
If%20you%20go
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
SPECS
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5