Dubai student’s platform aims to improve accessibility to quality education for all

Inaaya Salim, a high-school senior at Dubai College, aims to pursue a career in the field of public policy, integrating her interests in economics, environmental law and policy-making to achieve this.

A strong advocate for educational equity world-wide, she represents the rights of underprivileged children through acting as ambassador for The Citizens Foundation and United World Schools. Over the summer, she participated in the Yale Young Global Scholars program where she founded ‘Swag Attaque,’ a platform that aims to improve accessibility to quality education for all communities, especially in developing countries. The platform allows students to communicate fluctuations in their mental wellbeing. Swag Attaque won the YYGS simulation project.

An avid speaker and writer for the Dubai Keynes Society at school, she has written articles on Game Theory, COVID-19 and its implications for the future, especially on different countries’ economies, as well as its effect on the learning environment.

‘‘Inspired by a forensic consultant at my internship at KPMG, whose job’s objective is to achieve justice, I aspire to pursue a career as rewarding, with the goal to become a policy analyst,’’ she says.

Excerpts from an interview

What are your responsibilities as ambassador for The Citizens Foundation and United World Schools?

The role of ambassador entails advocating for and spreading awareness about the lack of accessibility that underprivileged children have to quality education, especially in developing countries. It is my responsibility to ensure that I am actively involved in encouraging the gathering of funds towards sponsoring their education and towards building educational institutes that have the facilities to provide quality education. As the United Nations affirms, ‘Education is a basic human right’. That this is not true for over 250 million children is an injustice we face.

What are some of your major achievements to date in this role?

Last year, as Youth Ambassadors, we were able to raise over Dh200,000 towards building more schools and the sponsorship of the education of underprivileged children.

Tell us about the Yale Young Global Scholars program you attended.

Yale Young Global Scholars is a diverse summer program that is provided by Yale University and brings together high school students from over 150 countries to participate in an interdisciplinary course of their choice. As a Literature, Philosophy and Culture Scholar, I was able to learn about ‘The Economy of Emily Dickinson’ and ‘Human and Trans-human: The Future of Our Species,’ exemplifying the interconnected nature of the course, where seminars were led by Yale students. This offered me an insight into the university’s style of teaching and student lifestyle from the perspective of a current student. I had the opportunity to indulge in lectures from renowned professors on topics ranging from ‘Dancing in the Multiverse’ to ‘The Trolley Problem,’ enchanting my knowledge beyond the curriculum. The ‘Family Time’ sessions were what I most looked forward to in the program. As a group of 12, our discussions were honest, engaging, and all-encompassing.

What are the 3 biggest takeaways for you from this program?

YYGS broadened my scope of interests and enabled me to explore interlinking fields of study that I was not previously exposed to, such as Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy and Astroculture.

I was able to enrich my global understanding of culture in different countries.

Lastly, the support and encouragement I receive from peers that I had only known for a short period of time enlightened me about the importance of forming new connections and how people are always stronger together.

Tell us about the platform you founded- Swag Attaque.

SWAG (Student Well-Being and Guidance) Attaque was founded to encourage students to battle mental illnesses and to promote educational equity worldwide. We won the YYGS simulation project. So far, we have been able to form a website and encourage students to publish blogs about their journeys and share their stories, as we believe that we can all collectively seek comfort from each other.