Imagine a world without chocolate chip cookies, or a life without dishwashers water heaters, windshield wipers or WiFi. All of these useful contraptions were invented by the women of yesteryear. This year, in a bid to celebrate International Women’s Day, leading telecommunications company du has joined forces with the UAE’s Zayed University’s (ZU) College of Communication and Media Sciences (CCMS) to orchestrate a fun, social media campaign, #becauseofher, aimed at promoting female empowerment, honouring these inventors, and highlighting women’s unforgettable contribution to people’s quality of life.
du has organised two competitions on the theme #becauseofher. The first, a social media competition from March 2-8, will allow participants to share inspiring stories about women by using the hashtag #becauseofher in English or #لولاها in Arabic. They can share their stories on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
On International Women’s Day (8 March), du will take the second contest to its retail stores. Customers will be able to participate by posing with Instagram cut-outs at the du stores in Dubai -- Al Salam Towers, Mall of Emirates, Dubai mall, Mirdif City Centre -- and in the company’s flagship store on Hamdan Street, Abu Dhabi. Customers can share their photos on social media using the hashtag #Becauseofher and complete the competition sentence, which will be revealed on the day. Arabic speaking participants can use the hashtag #لولاها , and mention the woman who’s made a difference to their life. Three winners will be selected based on the most touching #becauseofher caption and receive generous prizes.
“We are proud to be launching this ground-breaking, creative, and impactful social media campaign, designed by a group of talented Zayed University students,” said Hala Badri, Executive Vice President, Brand and Communications, du. “At du, we have long believed that women have the power to move the needle of influence across a broad spectrum of issues in the UAE. We place women’s empowerment at the core of our corporate sustainability vision. Ultimately, through such campaigns, we hope to propel the nation’s future female leaders to take quantum leaps forward.”
This unprecedented initiative, designed by four ZU female students, is perfectly in line with the UAE’s overriding theme for 2015, which has been declared ‘The Year of Innovation’ by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.
ZU’s Dubai campus is home to du’s first multimedia lab, which was established in 2012 at an investment of AED 2.8 million. The project came about as a result of a contest by du for ZU students after the launch of the Multimedia Lab.
Badri added: “Our engagement with the university students to design a campaign on the theme of International Women’s Day is a wonderful example of how our support to educational institutions is nurturing creative talent amongst creative leaders of tomorrow.”
Each of the four winning students: Ayesha Bin Thani, Maitha Al Mehairi, Reem Al Awadhi and Sukaina Al Abbas from the College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University, who major in Integrated Strategic Communication, were exceptionally proud and excited to learn from the du judges that they had won the competition and would be designing a corporate campaign on behalf of du. “The experience in itself was valuable. However, winning the first place validated our vision and hard-work and was the cherry on top,” said one of the students, Ayesha Bin Thani.
du provided support to Zayed University in their efforts to digitise and enhance technical support for the multimedia laboratories of the College of Communication and Media Studies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Zayed University students have recently demonstrated their multimedia capabilities by winning 5 of 9 awards, for the quality of their storytelling and film editing at the Community Development Authority's Human Rights Short Film Competition.
In recent years, du has spearheaded a string of initiatives designed to help Emirati women take the necessary steps towards empowerment. Today, du is the official telecommunication partner of the Arab Women Leadership Forum. The company is a staunch supporter and creator of programmes that advance women’s development and economic opportunities, especially those that benefit Emirati women. Three out of 10 du employees are female, and 31% of these women are Emirati. In addition, du has created a vital source of employment for women in the Northern Emirates with the 100% Emirati contact centre in Fujairah, where women make up 91% of the employees. du also employed 36 Emirati ladies to prepare Iftar meals for its Mawaed Al Rahman initiative last year.
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About du
We started operating in 2007, offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services. Today, we serve more than 7.5 million individual customers and over 80,000 businesses in the
UAE. We also provide carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters. We won the Gallup Great Workplace Award.
Our recruitment strategy aims to provide fulfilling opportunities for quality talent in a cosmopolitan working environment where more than 60 nationalities work 35% of which are Emiratis. We are the first telecom company in the world to release a Sustainability Report based on GRI-G4 comprehensive guidelines. Among our other laurels, we also have the credit of being the first in the UAE to be awarded with prestigious LEED Platinum certification for 2 of our green retail outlet.
du is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 20.08 percent by Mubadala Development Company PJSC, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications and Technology LLC and the remaining by public shareholders. Listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the company trades under the name ‘du’.
For further information, please contact:
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Saugat Chatterjee |
Reka Sepsy |
Source: http://www.du.ae
