The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, MBRGI, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, to spread the outreach of Madrasa (which means school in Arabic) e-learning platform to children in remote villages and refugee camps across the Arab world.

Through offline solutions, the platform provides 5,000 free Arabised videos in general science, math, biology, chemistry and physics to students from kindergarten to grade 12 without internet access.

According to the agreement, the Emirates Red Crescent will facilitate the offline high-tech educational content to students living in remote areas and support the distribution and follow-up process, as part of the broader goal to reach students in 1,000 villages.

The ERC will distribute the innovative offline solutions, ranging from Madrasa tablet, WiFi hotspot device, Madrasa flash memory drive and Madrasa Smart Bag, as part of its programmes and projects in areas it oversees and covers.

Saeed Al Eter, Assistant Secretary-General of MBRGI, said the e-learning platform aims to implement the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to spread education and knowledge and maximise the benefit to the less fortunate across the Arab world.

The partnership, Al Eter explained, meets the government’s vision to integrate efforts of local government entities to implement sustainable humanitarian, developmental and philanthropic projects that empower and equip people with necessary skills to improve their lives.

Hamoud Abdullah Mohammed Al Junaibi, ERC Deputy Secretary-General for Marketing and Donations Collection Sector, said the authority seeks to build impactful and effective partnerships with other local entities in humanitarian and developmental fields to facilitate quick response to critical challenges.

The ERC will immediately commence work to meet the agreement’s requirements to facilitate educational content effectively to marginalised students, he added.

Since its launch last October, the Madrasa e-learning platform attracted over 1.7 million registered users and generated about 32 million views across the world.

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives is a foundation that was inaugurated on 4 October 2015. It embodies the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to improve the Arab world through humanitarian, developmental and community work. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives comprises four sectors that are essential for improving human life: combating poverty and disease, spreading knowledge, empowering communities, and entrepreneurship and innovation for the future.

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives seeks to achieve integration and coordination among the humanitarian, developmental and social initiatives that His Highness has sponsored and launched over the past years. Its aim is to maximise their impact, increase their ambition, and unite their goals and visions to meet the growing challenges faced by the Middle East and the world.

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives marks a step change into a new phase of supporting human development. Humanitarian work is driven globally by huge organisations with the necessary scale to integrate their efforts, unite their energies, and mobilise resources to achieve their objectives.

Its programmes share a common drive to create hope in the region. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives supports more than 130 million people in 116 countries around the world, and encompasses 28 institutions and initiatives that operate more than 1,400 development programmes.

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives works in collaboration with more than 280 strategic partners ranging from governmental institutions and private sector companies to regional and international organisations

WAM