Timeframe: Queen Rania's philanthropic 2004 visit to Dubai

During her trip to the emirate, the Jordanian queen visited the Dubai Ladies Club, Dubai Autism Centre and Children’s City

Queen Rania of Jordan arrives at the Dubai Ladies Club to open an exhibition organised by the Jordan River Establishment. AFP

In April 2004, Queen Rania of Jordan travelled to Dubai, where she made official visits to the Dubai Ladies Club and Dubai Autism Centre.

The philanthropically focused trip was organised by the Jordan River Foundation, a non-government organisation, chaired by Queen Rania, which was launched in 1995 with a focus on child safety and community empowerment.

During her stay, Queen Rania opened the JRF exhibition at the Dubai Ladies Club, which was opened by Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, president of the Dubai Women Establishment, the year before.

Queen Rania was joined by Sheikha Manal, where they spoke about "Arab women's issues" and empowerment.

"Her Majesty Queen Rania's visit to the club is of great importance as it puts the Dubai Ladies Club on the regional map," Sheikha Manal said after the visit.

"Her majesty's support to Arab women's issues and her continuous encouragement to women's activities complements the club's goals of empowering women in the country."

An engagement at the Dubai Autism Centre was also on her agenda. The Jordanian royal was shown around by Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, one of the centre's board members, and the centre's director, Mariam Al Hashimi, who briefed her on the programmes run by the centre.

At the time, Queen Rania was working on the development of the National Children’s Museum of Jordan, which was eventually launched in Amman in 2007. She also visited the Children’s City in Umm Hurair, Dubai, to learn more about the centre, which is devoted to children aged between 2 and 15.

"It is within this framework that Queen Rania is developing the National Children’s Museum of Jordan as a non-profit, independent establishment aiming to inspire children up to the age of 15 years to discover their immediate environment, as well as the world beyond, through interactive exhibits and other multimedia educational resources," a statement from Queen Rania read.

"The first interactive museum of its kind in the kingdom will be a breakthrough in early childhood education and learning complementing public and private school curricula, and helping address the diverse needs of students across Jordan including those with special needs. A national team has been appointed to work on the formulation of the mission statement and all aspects of the project with continuous and close collaboration with the Ministry of Education."

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