Hobbies Club announces sponsors and supporters of Rashid Summer Camp 2011

The press conference was held at the Le Meridien hotel at Dubai Airport, and was attended by Mr Arif bin Ali Al Abbar, Chairman of the Hobbies Club and organiser of the 15th Rashid Summer Camp, as well as representatives from sponsoring and supporting government and private institutions, cultural and sporting communities, and the media.

Camp officials gave a brief overview of Hobbies Club's history of organising summer camps, including the well-known Rashid Summer Camp, which it has done since 1996. They also outlined the Club's objectives, which it seeks to achieve through a host of sporting, entertainment and cultural activities, as well as social and national awareness campaigns.

Said Al Abbar, "Each year Rashid Summer Camp continues its activities, in line with the UAE leadership's wise directives to take care of future generations and focus on investing their free time in activities that will benefit them and help them hone their talents. The Camp aims to fill up some of the free time that youth have in abundance during the summer holidays, and to manage this time positively through mutual understanding and friendship between participants, who interact with each other for a set period of time, forming new friendships and strengthening social relations. The Camp not only helps the youth to learn new physical skills, but also traditional Arabic and Islamic values when dealing with others."

In addition to horse riding and shooting, scheduled sporting activities include swimming and self-defence, while cultural activities include Qur'an recitation, computer and Internet courses, public morals, ethics and behaviour, as well as entertainment activities such as expeditions, video game competitions, sporting competitions (football, volleyball and basketball), and games (bikes, table tennis and table football, or foosball). The Camp also offers social service activities and social awareness campaigns, as well as external camps in a number of emirates.

This year's Rashid Summer Camp is sponsored and supported by a number of public and private institutions, including the Community Development Authority, the Dubai Sports Council, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the Dubai Department of Economic Development, DP World, Dubai Customs, Dubai Aluminium Company (DUBAL), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Baddad Tents, National Paints, Al Islami Foods, and Sahara Communications, media sponsor of the Camp for the third consecutive year.

At the end of the conference, Al Abbar extended heartfelt thanks to all sponsors and supporters of the 2011 Rashid Summer Camp, praising their active involvement in serving the UAE community, particularly the youth, both nationals and expatriates. He thanked all those present for their role in making this meaningful youth event a success.

Established in 1996, the Hobbies Club is the region's oldest educational and sporting club, and aims to support national youth and encourage young men and women to explore their hobbies by getting involved in sporting, recreational and educational activities through a range of educational courses, youth camps, awareness campaigns and joint programmes organized in collaboration with various ministries and government departments.