Shell Saudi Arabia has announced the continuation of its sponsorship for the Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) art program for two years (2018-2019). The announcement, made at an event organized by the DCA on Nov. 12, is part of Shell Saudi Arabia’s ongoing support for children with special needs.
Since its establishment in 1981, the Disabled Children’s Association has become one of the largest institutions specialized in the care of children with special needs in the Arab world.
The program held last month promoted the skills and artworks of such children.
“At Shell, we believe in creating an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. Today’s talent is more diverse than ever before. An inclusive environment is key to innovating, developing and retaining talent, and it begins with the youngest members of our communities,” said Al-Zomaia.
Shell has been active in the Kingdom for over seven decades and has a wide variety of social investment activities in the country, many of which are centered around youth empowerment, such as Shell Intilaaqah and FutbolNet.
Shell Intilaaqah aims to strengthen young people’s career options by enabling them to switch from being an employee to becoming an employer, or making the transition from seeking employment to creating employment. Shell’s trainees have set up 1,100 businesses, in addition to 500 existing small and medium businesses. Together, they created over 3,000 jobs. Shell Intilaaqah has been training Saudi entrepreneurs since 2010. Over the past years, Shell Intilaaqah trained, supported and mentored 10,000 Saudis — the majority of whom were women.
Shell and Football Club (FC) Barcelona Foundation work together and use football to teach children the importance of values. The FutbolNet program is a 12-week football training course for children supported by dedicated coaches. Futbolnet aims to infuse values like respect, teamwork and commitment, which are key for the children to develop as happy, healthy and value-adding individuals.