Leading global philanthropic organisation Dubai Cares and United Arab Emirates University will bring their educational focus and expertise to Expo 2020 Dubai, after signing official participation contracts.

Dubai Cares becomes the first global organisation, and UAE University (UAEU) the first educational institution, to sign up to Expo 2020 Dubai. Both will be among the more than 200 expected participants – including 190 nations, corporations, organisations and educational institutions – that will contribute to the Expo’s exceptional visitor experience.

Both will explore Expo 2020’s key subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability through their own dedicated pavilions. The Dubai Cares Pavilion will be located in the Opportunity Thematic District, while the UAEU Pavilion will be in the Mobility Thematic District.

Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, signed the Dubai Cares participation contract with His Excellency Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares, and the UAEU participation contract with His Excellency Professor Mohamed Albaili, UAEU Vice Chancellor at the recent Expo 2020 Dubai International Participants Meeting.

The commitment from two of the UAE’s leading entities to participate in Expo 2020 reflects the level of local support for the largest event to ever be held in the country. The educational and philanthropic expertise they will share with millions of visitors and international participants at the Expo shows their commitment to Expo’s theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, said: “We are delighted and honoured to welcome Dubai Cares and UAEU to Expo 2020 Dubai. As the host of the first World Expo in the Middle East, the commitment and support of such renowned UAE entities as these offers us tremendous impetus.

“While Expo 2020 Dubai will be an Expo for the world, we are keen to showcase the best of the UAE and the region, to demonstrate our unique Emirati culture and achievements to the world. Both Dubai Cares and UAEU are respected in the UAE, the region and across the world, and are strong examples of our nation’s forward-thinking and action to address universal challenges and work towards a better future.”

Dubai Cares is already working to contribute to a more prosperous future by supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly goal number 4, which focuses on ensuring inclusive quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. This complements the work that Expo 2020 is doing to support the SDGs, with its Opportunity Pavilion set to enlighten visitors about how their individual choices and actions can make a positive, collective contribution to global causes.

His Excellency Tariq Al Gurg, said: “We at Dubai Cares are extremely proud and thrilled to be among the participants in Expo 2020 Dubai. Through our pavilion, we hope to present to the world the case for education, convert every visitor into a champion for children’s irrevocable right to education, and work together towards eliminating the obstacles that prevent children and young people from going to school and learning.

“As the Commissioner General of the Dubai Cares pavilion, I look forward to delivering an enthralling experience showcasing Dubai Cares’ knowledge, expertise and impact which represents the UAE’s many global humanitarian and development efforts around the world.”

Through its pavilion, Dubai Cares will allow visitors to understand and experience the challenges children and young people face every day in their pursuit of education, learn about solutions through the work of Dubai Cares and its partners, and come up with solutions of their own to combat these challenges. To date, Dubai Cares has successfully launched education programmes reaching more than 18 million people in 57 developing countries.

UAEU will showcase the strengths of the UAE and region’s educational institutions at Expo 2020, and the progress they are making in advancing education and research and development with the aim of contributing to the future of education and humanity, beginning with youth.

His Excellency Prof. Mohamed Albaili, said: “UAEU, through its participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, will provide a unique example of how the UAE’s model of innovation and entrepreneurship can be used to introduce world class academic initiatives and develop effective strategic partnerships with the youth at their heart, contributing to solving world issues and echoing Expo’s theme of ‘Connecting  Minds, Creating the Future’.

“UAEU, as the flagship higher education institution of the UAE, is contributing to the government’s efforts of building a competitive knowledge economy – one of the key priorities of the UAE Vision 2021.”

UAEU’s participation will also highlight new innovations it is planning to introduce into the country’s education system aimed at changing the way students learn in the future, and look at how youth are becoming active change-makers in tackling global challenges.

Expo 2020 Dubai will take place for six months between October 2020 and April 2021.

With 25 million expected visits, and 70 per cent of visitors projected to come from outside the UAE – the largest proportion of international visitors in the history of World Expos – Expo 2020 will bring the international community together for a celebration of human ingenuity and progress.