Education

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 30 January 2019: Standard Chartered Bank announced today the launch of Goal programme in the UAE in collaboration with non-profit business education centre Rawafed. Together, both entities will implement sports and life skills to empower and equip young girls with the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to be integral economic leaders in their families, communities and societies.

Goal is Standard Chartereds leading education programme that provides financial literacy, life skills and employability training to young girls across its footprint.

The programme aims at overall development of the girl child so as to nurture great personalities out of them. Goals training curriculum covers four modules: Be Money Savvy focuses on financial education (how to save, invest and open a bank account); Be Yourself imparts effective communication skills; Be Healthy builds knowledge on health and hygiene and Be Empowered teaches girls how to be confident, authentic and stand up for their rights.

Launched in 2006, the programme now presents in over 20 markets and has reached out to, and inspired, over 381,000 girls to date, with a target to reach 600,000 girls by 2020. The programme has also been successfully implemented in other AME markets including Pakistan and Jordan with a reach of over 2000 girls annually.

Several studies have shown that investment in girls positively affects GDP growth rates. A World Bank study in 1999 demonstrates that increasing the secondary education of girls by 1 per cent results in an annual income increase of 0.3 per cent per capita.

Educating girls and giving them the tools to shape their own future has an incredible multiplier effect on economic growth. It leads to increased prosperity not just for individuals but for their communities and their societies. It provides returns for decades.

Rola Abu Manneh, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank UAE said: There is a massive hidden potential waiting to be unlocked for girls in the UAE. By expanding the reach of our Goal programme to even more girls and young women, we hope to provide them with the right tools and knowledge to make informed choices as they move into adulthood, and to empower them to be more active economic participants in their communities.

What makes Goal unique is its play rather than a classroom-based methodology to get the curriculum messages across. It is also, leveraging sports as a dynamic and healthy platform. The physical activities generate fun and help girls remember what they have learnt while giving them a break from the stresses of home life.

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