The United Arab Emirates continues to launch education initiatives that reach across borders and continents, reflecting a humanitarian approach that places the right of future generations to education among its core priorities.
These initiatives aim to improve education in underserved communities, support countries facing wars, conflicts, and disasters, and assist regions hosting large numbers of refugees and displaced people.
This approach is rooted in the UAE’s belief that education is not only a fundamental human right, but also a key means of investing in human potential and enabling communities to build a better future through the capabilities of their own people.
As part of its latest efforts in this field, the UAE pledged $5 million to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, reaffirming its continued support for international initiatives designed to create a more prosperous future for coming generations.
The announcement came nearly two weeks after the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation launched a new digital education initiative, implemented by the Digital School, targeting more than 500,000 beneficiaries in six African countries.
Over the past several years, the UAE’s support for education has reached a number of countries and regions, including Chad, Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine, and Palestine. This support forms part of a broader humanitarian assistance system that goes beyond food, medicine, and basic necessities to include enabling students to continue their education and strengthening educational infrastructure.
$5 Million for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund
The United Arab Emirates pledged $5 million to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, in a move that reflects its long-standing commitment to supporting international initiatives focused on education and human development.
The contribution is expected to support the fund’s efforts to improve access to education through initiatives that help children gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.
It will also support international cooperation aimed at addressing the challenges that prevent children and students from accessing suitable educational opportunities, particularly in communities facing limited resources or the consequences of ongoing crises.
The UAE’s pledge reflects its commitment to investing in people and strengthening international partnerships capable of providing sustainable and inclusive educational opportunities for future generations.
Global Citizen is an international organization that works to advance global efforts to end extreme poverty by encouraging governments, companies, charitable institutions, artists, and individuals to take concrete action in areas including education, health, climate action, food security, and gender equality.
Supporting Digital Education in Six African Countries
The announcement followed the launch, nearly two weeks earlier, of a new educational and knowledge-based initiative by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation. The program is being implemented by the Digital School and is expected to benefit more than 500,000 people in six African countries.
The participating countries are the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Zambia, the Republic of Namibia, and the Republic of Angola.
The initiative includes several programs and projects, such as supporting school education, establishing digital learning spaces, building teachers’ capabilities, and training young people to meet labor market needs.
Preparations for implementation have already begun, with the Digital School signing memoranda of cooperation with relevant authorities in the participating countries. These agreements are intended to pave the way for programs tailored to the needs of each country and community.
His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications and Chairman of the Digital School’s Board of Directors, confirmed that the initiative comes as part of the Digital School’s efforts to expand its programs and reach larger numbers of students, teachers, and young people in underserved communities around the world.
He said that the Digital School believes digital education is a key driver of positive change for the future of communities, and that, in pursuit of this vision, it continues to expand its positive partnerships with institutions and organizations in the UAE and around the world. These partnerships contribute to advancing educational and cultural systems and opening new scientific and technological opportunities that can create positive change in the lives of individuals and communities. He also noted that using advanced digital solutions in education helps members of underserved groups overcome the challenges affecting their educational journeys.
The initiative aims to create broad educational and developmental impact over three years by offering flexible, technology-supported learning and training pathways and enabling students to access high-quality digital education.
It also plans to train tens of thousands of teachers in modern teaching methods and digital skills, while providing tens of thousands of young people with practical skills that improve their readiness to enter the workforce.
The initiative also includes the establishment of 100 digital learning spaces in the participating countries, helping expand access to educational content and provide suitable learning environments in areas with the greatest need.
The educational programs will be delivered in seven languages to promote inclusion, broaden access, and make it easier for learners to benefit from globally recognized educational resources and academic references.
The initiative is based on the belief that investment in education is one of the most sustainable and influential forms of giving because of its long-term role in developing individual capabilities and improving opportunities for entire communities.
The Digital School, launched in November 2020 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to provide digital learning options for students in regions and communities where suitable conditions or basic resources for continuing education are not available.
It also offers a high-quality model for blended and distance learning, with a primary focus on underserved communities, refugees, and displaced people.
Humanitarian Diplomacy
The UAE has made support for education a central part of its humanitarian diplomacy. Enabling students to gain access to knowledge is one of the main areas of its humanitarian assistance, alongside the provision of food, medicine, essential goods, and infrastructure support.
This approach can be seen in initiatives implemented by the UAE across a wide range of countries and regions, from Ukraine to Chad, as well as Syria, Palestine, Yemen, and Sudan.
These efforts are designed to protect the right of future generations to education in countries affected by wars, conflicts, and disasters, as well as in countries hosting refugees and displaced populations.
Over the years, the UAE has provided different forms of support to the education sector in Chad, Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine, and Palestine, adapting its assistance to the specific needs of each location.
In the Gaza Strip, students and their families continue to remember the UAE humanitarian initiatives launched after the outbreak of war in October 2023. These efforts helped support education despite the severe conditions and widespread destruction that affected many schools and educational facilities.
The initiatives gave many families hope that their children could continue learning at a time when education was facing unprecedented challenges due to school closures and the difficulty students had in returning to classrooms.
Operation Gallant Knight 3 worked to support education in shelters across the Gaza Strip by distributing stationery and essential study materials, helping children and students continue learning despite the disruption of formal schooling.
From Palestine to Yemen, UAE support has been visible across several stages of the education process in Yemen’s liberated governorates, as part of wider efforts to help the country recover and strengthen the capabilities of future generations.
This support has not been limited to building, restoring, or maintaining schools. It has also included furnishing classrooms and providing educational tools, equipment, computers, and school uniforms.
In October 2023, the UAE carried out a project to rehabilitate and maintain several schools in the Chadian city of Amdjarass, which had received Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict in their country.
Before that, in September 2022, field teams from the Emirates Red Crescent distributed school bags and stationery to students from low-income and highly vulnerable Sudanese families affected by heavy rains and flooding in several states.
The UAE’s education initiatives also extended to Ukraine. In August 2023, the country sent an aid plane carrying 2,500 laptops and 10,000 school bags to help support the education of Ukrainian students.
The initiative was implemented in cooperation with the foundation of Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, as part of efforts to help students continue their education despite the difficult circumstances facing their country.
Taken together, these initiatives reflect a UAE vision that sees education as a long-term investment in people, a vital means of protecting the future of children and young people, and an essential tool for helping affected communities rebuild and move forward.
