Dubai Ladies Club and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project (ITEP) sign a strategic partnership agreement

This step was taken to strengthen the UAE national women's proficiency in the IT field, by collaborating to organize a series of training courses for ladies in the different IT applications.

A computer laboratory has been set up at the Dubai Ladies Club in order to the start Phase One of the training program, to be launched on the 12th of November 2005, which will focus on the basics of Information Technology.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project's Manager Dr Abdullah Al Karam stated: "This strategic partnership was created due to HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed's generous initiative to strengthen national women's skills in all fields, which is in line with our project's ambitious vision aiming to spread and increase IT education in society, and expand its reach beyond the usually targeted segments."

He added, "Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project puts a considerable amount of effort into increasing IT understanding in the UAE, and improving the understanding of computers as one of the most important tools in modern life. We look forward to widening our scope of beneficiaries to include national women, and we will work hard in collaborating with DLC to generate new programs developed to suit the needs of this particular segment of society."

Dr Al Karam confirmed that ITEP gives great significance to this partnership and is looking forward to implement the bilateral plan to include women - in the UAE and also women of the GCC countries - in their scope.

On her part, Vice President at DLC Mona Al Marri stated that, "This initative is being executed under the patronage and direct support of HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, as she has called on the management here at DLC to put maximum time and effort into expanding the project and enabling the largest number of women possibe to participate and benefit from it."

Al Marri added, "It is a pleasure for us to sign such an agreement which is entirely in line with DLC's objectives to enhance women's skills in diverse fields. There is no doubt that information technology represents an important field and a fundamentally integral part of every-day life whether at home, school or work. We give considerable attention to developing women's abilities - especially of housewives' - to deal with and use the computer efficiently and to expand their understanding in the various fields of IT."

Al Marri also confirmed that: "This project is one of the most important events on the Dubai Ladies Club's agenda for this year. Taking into consideration the great benefits this program will generate for national women, we will be working with ITEP on converting this project into an annual event to enable the maximum number of women to benefit from its training programs and courses."

Phase one of the project will include training courses to certify women with international IT qualifications, while the more comprehensive phase two will comprise training in all the fields and specializations within the study of information technology.

The Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project (ITEP) was initiated in the year 2000 by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence as part of his vision of developing the UAE into a knowledge economy. The vision of ITEP is "To Enhance Education by using IT".

Following its launch ITEP began teaching in 40 schools in the UAE ((20 Dubai and 20 Abu Dhabi) then ITEP expanded its focus to government departments, higher education institutions, teachers and people with special needs. The project is ultimately an endeavor and a means to realize HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's vision to create new training and learning opportunities for all the segments of society.