Abu Dhabi: A new partnership between Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, and the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) will support the organisation of activities that are part of the World Early Childhood Development (WED) movement.
The partnership was announced at a recent signing ceremony hosted at the ECA headquarters, attended by Sana Suhail, ECA director general, and Homaid Al Shimmari, deputy group chief executive officer and chief corporate and human capital officer at Mubadala.
The WED Movement was launched earlier this year to spur innovation in systems, platforms and programs that help realise ECA’s mandate to provide for the health, wellbeing, and protection of Abu Dhabi’s children from pregnancy to eight years old. The initiative focuses on parents, children, partners, policymakers, civil societies, research entities, social investment funds and innovation centers, in addition to the private sector. Through strategic interventions and tailored programmes, it aims to promote and develop the early childhood sector locally and globally.
“Mubadala will play a vital role in supporting WED Movement globally and in advancing efforts to create true innovation in early childhood development to better prepare our children for the future. This partnership will allow us to collaborate and support each other through the powerful synergies between our entities, manifested through a number of unique activities we are planning together. We are excited for this new chapter in WED and look forward to working together with the Mubadala team,” Suhai said.
“At Mubadala, we pride ourselves in being responsible investors, focusing on ways we can empower the future of our nation, placing strategic partnerships at the heart of everything we do. We strive to create a knowledge-based economy in the UAE, and this can only happen if we start with children in their earliest development years. By providing a highly engaging learning environment, we can empower future generations of leaders and policy makers who will make a long-term positive impact. We are proud to support WED, not only to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as an ECD leader, but also in preparation for the UAE’s next 50 years, in line with the principles of 50,” Al Shimmari added.
“We are uniquely positioned to support Abu Dhabi as the child friendly capital of the world and have an extraordinary opportunity to drive change by preparing the next generations for the next fifty years. Through this esteemed partnership with Mubadala, we are better equipped to improve child outcomes, incorporating a holistic approach towards child development. We are committed to using the knowledge and experience of our growing team to drive innovation and help our children grow up healthier, smarter and more empowered than ever before. The future of our nation, and world, depends on them,” said Cecilia Vaca Jones, co-chair of the WED Movement.
The partnership also enables ECA to host the inaugural WED Main Forum, taking place next year, and will see Mubadala contribute to ECA’s Knowledge Management Platform to facilitate the free exchange of ideas. Additionally, Mubadala will work hand in hand with ECA in contributing to the implementing of many activities and programs among the initiative, as well as engage stakeholders to realise the vision of WED. Leveraging existing projects, ECA will also work with Mubadala on merging WED’s messages and visions extracted from the breakthrough working groups and translating them into plans and programs that can enhance the path of growth and prosperity of children in early childhood.
Beyond 2021, the partnership will extend into a three-year roadmap of collaboration, bringing several activities to life. By capturing the experience and insights of child health professionals, academics and educators, researchers, technology, media and design experts, WED will develop and present a series of actionable policies and programmes that can be immediately implemented by ECA to benefit children in the emirate and beyond.
