Santiago Fraser, CSR Coordinator at Emirates NBD, has been chosen to be part of the UAE Tennis Team at the Special Olympics World Games 2019 being hosted in Abu Dhabi from March 14–21, 2019.

24-year old Santiago developed a passion for sports early on in his life, inspired by his sports-loving parents. His mother, a professional tennis coach was his first instructor, and his skills developed further since arriving in Dubai with dedicated coaching sessions while at school. Following a call from well-known tennis Coach Paul Espie, Santiago began training in earnest for the Special Olympics in September 2018.

Santiago has been working within Emirates NBD’s Marketing team for 18 months and was hired under the bank’s Careers Network programme, an initiative to to connect work-ready individuals with disabilities to employers interested in bringing diversity into their workforces. Under its flagship #TogetherLimitless advocacy platform, Emirates NBD seeks to help people with disabilities find private or public sector employment and further their full inclusion into society.

The Special Olympics World Games 2019 will be hosted in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa since the movement’s founding over 50 years ago.