• The only non-government organization pavilion at the mega event attracted 246,720 visitors over a period of 6 months
  • Dubai Cares’ four key Expo initiatives including Dubai Cares Pavilion, RewirEd Summit, Dignified Storytelling Forum and RewirEd Global Declaration on Connectivity for Education together opened the world’s eyes to education, connectivity and storytelling challenges requiring urgent global action
  • Dubai Cares launched a guiding framework for a global education ecosystem that is set to transform education for a better and sustainable world

Dubai, UAE: Bringing education to the forefront of global engagement and action, Dubai Cares, a civil society organization formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications, concluded its participation at Expo 2020 Dubai with a clear path forward for global education transformation.

Hosted under the theme “The Future is Human”, the Dubai Cares Pavilion attracted 246,720 visitors of all ages and diverse nationalities over the 6-month period, and was the only non-government organization pavilion at the mega event. This includes 1,275 school visits with 21,131 children exploring its various zones that aimed to shed light on the importance of learning at various stages of development and offered a sneak peek into the future of education, skilling and work.

The pavilion also hosted 537 educational workshops that saw 10,570 children participate in interactive activities that provided them with an opportunity to become change makers and advocates for the importance of education to children’s empowerment. In addition, over 112 events were organized at the pavilion that welcomed nearly 2,974 attendees, while 130 delegations comprising high-level guests and technical experts were received by the pavilion during the course of the event.

The Dubai Cares Pavilion was also recognized by the EXHIBITOR Magazine's World Expo Awards that honored the most impressive work at the event. The pavilion was nominated within the “Top 40 Pavilions People’s Choice Awards” and securing its place as a finalist in a number of categories including “Best Small Pavilion”, “Best Activations (The Right Start Zone and Skills of the Future)” and “Editor’s Choice Award”.

Commenting on Dubai Cares’ participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, His Excellency Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of Dubai Cares, said: “The success of Expo 2020 Dubai in bringing the world together in the spirit of collaboration, innovation and ambition represents a new milestone achievement for the UAE, marked by a legacy that will be celebrated by generations to come. Drawing our inspiration from the event’s theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, Dubai Cares was proud to play a role in further enhancing the UAE and Dubai’s position as a global voice advocating for education transformation through purpose-driven initiatives. Welcoming the world to our doors and catalyzing and leading a movement that will go a long way in bringing much-needed transformation to our education ecosystem was a huge responsibility for Dubai Cares. We are proud to have fulfilled this responsibility successfully with impact through all our initiatives at Expo 2020 Dubai”.

“Our aim with each of these initiatives was clear from the outset – to start a journey and usher a new era of action that will deliver real global impact in education transformation and allow us to progress on our human development goals. There could not be a better platform than Expo 2020 Dubai, especially during these uncertain times of conflict and pandemic, to initiate this journey, which is now well underway with all the key outcomes of our initiatives feeding into action-oriented strategic plans that will allow humanity to move closer towards realizing its collective potential.”

Disrupting, rethinking and rewiring education

In an effort to catalyze the much-needed transformation of the global education ecosystem, Dubai Cares, in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai and in close coordination with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), hosted the RewirEd Summit in December 2021 to address the most critical issues facing the sector.

The 3-day-long summit featured 500 speakers including 7 heads of state and 33 ministers and brought together over 2,810 in-person and 1,492 virtual attendees joining the debates, discussions and networking. Attendees represented over 140 nationalities while speakers came from more than 256 organizations, resulting in a truly global and holistic dialogue that included a mix of high-level and technical conversations, with a strong focus on collaboration and partnership.

The takeaways of the RewirEd Summit are being captured in an outcomes report, led by the Education Commission, which will feed into the Transforming Education Summit, due to be convened in September 2022 by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres. The report will highlight the case for investment and a clear call to action in the countdown to 2030.

Drawing on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, the RewirEd Summit saw the launch of the RewirEd Global Declaration on Connectivity for Education that was developed by UNESCO in partnership with Dubai Cares to provide a framework aimed at ensuring that connected technology better supports the right to education. Fully aligned with both the “UN Secretary-General Roadmap for Digital Cooperation” and the recently announced “Our Common Agenda” report by the UN Secretary-General, the Declaration was endorsed by a number of multi-stakeholder groups and will be further adopted by more champions and supporters, including the private and public sectors, as well as the civil society.

In addition, the RewirEd Summit also served as an important platform for the launch of other meaningful initiatives that will play a key role in helping transform education. 

Placing human dignity at the heart of storytelling

Dignified Storytelling is a platform for global advocacy and outreach, resource sharing, and connections, working towards fostering a shared understanding and practice of storytelling that upholds and celebrates the dignity of all persons. The initiative - a collaboration between Dubai Cares, Expo 2020 Dubai and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) - was prominently featured across Expo 2020’s rich calendar of specialist programming, which reflects and celebrates the spirit of Dignified Storytelling throughout the 6-month event. The Dignified Storytelling Forum brought more than 700 in-person and virtual attendees who heard from more than 20 speakers on the topic of adopting dignified storytelling approaches across policy and practice to help reshape the way stories are told in humanitarian and development contexts. A total of 13 events were organized under the Dignified Storytelling initiative with more than 3,000 attendees and 85 speakers and performers. Moreover, 925 individuals and organizations have taken the Dignified Storytelling pledge to date, affirming their commitment to the 10 Dignified Storytelling Principles. 

Propelling education's critical role in achieving human development

As part of its engagement at the World Government Summit at Expo 2020 Dubai, Dubai Cares also launched a comprehensive and action-oriented guiding framework for a future-focused and human-centric education ecosystem that is set to transform education globally by placing children and youth at the center of human development.

The framework stems from extensive discussions and engagements that Dubai Cares led with key stakeholders from the global education ecosystem 5 years ago and continued through the organization’s Expo 2020 Dubai initiatives including the Dubai Cares Pavilion as well as the RewirEd Summit. A comprehensive dialogue on the future of education with country partners, educational institutions, multilateral organizations, UN agencies, global mechanisms and networks as well as the private sector, therefore, guided the development of the framework.

The new education ecosystem, which is set to be unveiled on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2022 during the Transforming Education Summit to be convened by the UN Secretary-General, H.E. António Guterres, aims to place humanity back at the heart of education as it shifts the emphasis towards transforming global education and building humans ready for the future in terms of opportunities, by instilling core competencies that will enable them to fulfill their utmost potential. It also focuses on out-of-school children by facilitating their access to formal learning opportunities through multiple pathways culminating in certification and accreditation that enable them to access similar opportunities as their peers who went through formal schooling.

Built on a new system of partnerships and stakeholder engagement among new education actors, the framework will enable every community, city or country to adopt, adapt, customize and transform their educational systems in a way that responds to their aspirations – allowing human potential to thrive and create a more resilient and sustainable world for all.

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About Dubai Cares:

Since its inception in 2007, Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has been working towards providing children and youth in developing countries with access to quality education through the design and funding of programs that aim to be impactful, sustainable and scalable. To date, the UAE-based global philanthropic organization has successfully launched education programs reaching over 21 million beneficiaries in 60 developing countries.

Dubai Cares plays a key role in helping achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and quality education for all, and promote lifelong learning by 2030, by supporting programs in early childhood development, enabling access to quality primary and secondary education, and creating opportunities for technical

and vocational education and training for youth in addition to a particular focus on education in emergencies and protracted crises. Moreover, Dubai Cares adopts a strategic approach to improve student enrollment and learning outcomes through an integrated school health and nutrition model comprising school-based deworming activities, school feeding, and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in schools.

Dubai Cares is a member of the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC), as well as a registered non-government organization under IACAD, the charitable activities regulator in Dubai. The UAE-based global philanthropic organization is authorized to raise funds through direct donations and fundraising campaigns, as well as process all permit approvals with IACAD.

Volunteerism is a powerful tool to Dubai Cares in order to engage people in tackling development challenges. Dubai Cares rallies the UAE wider community through a large spectrum of volunteering and awareness initiatives that are linked to its global mandate.

To learn more, please visit www.dubaicares.ae.