du enables discussion for change at Social Impact Hub at the Global Women’s Forum

Sunday 21 February 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: Ahead of the first day of the Global Women’s Forum in Dubai – the first ever Women’s Forum meeting in the MENA region – du announces the details of its Social Impact Hub on 23 and 24 February at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel. The Social Impact Hub will explore the importance of social projects in yielding new approaches to social impact and serving up new models for driving lasting change. du will offer delegates the unique opportunity to listen, watch and engage through a number of interactive activities held throughout the two day event.

The panel discussions will highlight initiatives for social responsibility and strengthening the role of women in the technology and communications sector. Included in these sessions will be an enlightening view of the positive impact of the Babnoor app – the first application in the Arabic language for effective communication for children with autism – told from the point of view of a mother whose world has been positively affected by the app. In addition, the Social Impact Hub will look at the empowerment of women professionally and how business can measure the social return on investment. Finally, delegates have the opportunity to meet with Dr Hong Shang Chiong, founder of “OpthalmicDocs” eyecare in New Zealand – the leader in providing innovative solutions to inspect and detect eye disease – discussing the importance of driving social inclusion through affordable alternatives to expensive healthcare.

“Innovation and sustainability are two fundamental pillars at du, and we strive to support women both within the company and outside of the business. We aim to use information and communication technology to address fundamental social issues to ensure the sustainable development of our communities.” said Hala Badri, Executive Vice President Brand and Communications, du. “Our sessions at the Social Impact Hub will showcase some of the creative ways women are harnessing technology to innovative social responsibility initiatives.”

Listen – Experts will offer exclusive insights into giving through a number of sessions discussing various social projects at the Social Impact hub. The following sessions will take place:
February 23 from 10:30 to 11:15: In a session entitled Mothers, The Ultimate Shadow Teachers, Shadi Al-Hassan, the Managing Director of Flagship Projects and Founder of BabNoor app, will present BabNoor, the first Arabic cloud-based app enabling easy and effective communication for children with autism. This session highlights BabNoor’s positive impact on families.
February 23 from 16:15 – 17:00: Specialising in eye regenerative medicine and bioengineering, Dr. Hong Sheng Chiong will speak about his pioneering low-cost solution to diagnosing and monitor eye diseases – replacing the need for expensive traditional equipment with an open-source solution for checking vision and examining both the front and inside of the eye.
February 24 from 11:45 to 12:30: In Empowering Women Through SROI (Social Return on Investment), Hana Al Awai, the Senior Social Investment Advisor at Sustainable Square will discuss SROI as a principles-based method for measuring extra-financial value relative to resources invested.
February 24 from 14:15 to 15:00: Martine Pinville, Minster of State, France, will lead the session entitled Equality Means for Business. In 2004, the United Nations Global Compact in collaboration with the UN Women launched the first global corporate code of conduct focused exclusively on empowering, advancing and investing in women worldwide—the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP). UAE based companies are now launching a local WEPs network to underscore the importance that all business stand to benefit from greater equality for women. Nicole Malick, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at NRS International will be a part of the session as well.
Watch – du will showcase its social responsibility initiatives through a range of engaging videos at its stand. These videos will showcase their work to empower Women in ICT, SROI, Youth Empowerment, Volunteerism and BabNoor.
Engage – du will offer delegates the opportunity to engage by having their day on what social impact means to them by expressing it in writing or through sharing their opinion through a poll.
Global Women's Forum Dubai, the first international Women's Forum meeting in the MENA region, gathers together leaders from the public and private sector – women as well as men – to encourage and enable women's contribution to business and society in the region and beyond. Building on the theme Let's Innovate!, Global Women's Forum Dubai is an unprecedented platform for developing workable strategies and lasting networks, and for inspiring women across all generations and geographies.

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