Tatawwar, brought to you by HSBC in partnership with Potential.com, brings together students, teachers, and government bodies to create a better future.

HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC)

DUBAI, ---, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, November 15, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- HSBC and Potential.com have launched the fourth edition of their future skills flagship programme, Tatawwar: Building Tomorrow’s Minds, for students across the UAE, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Algeria.

Tatawwar, meaning “to develop” in Arabic, empowers students to learn and apply core future skills in the areas of innovative design thinking, financial literacy, critical thinking, and social entrepreneurship. Tatawwar helps them take challenges they are facing in their communities, and turn them into innovation opportunities.

It is an interactive online and face-to-face programme that brings together students aged 15 to 18, schools, parents, and the business community to innovate for a sustainable future by addressing the three United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

1. Health and Well-being
2. Clean Water and Sanitation
3. Climate Action

The past three editions of the programme have seen more than 10,000 students from over 2,800 schools across the Middle East and North Africa register in the blended learning experience. Having an online and mobile-first strategy, helps Tatawwar reach remote regions and makes it accessible to all the students.

Commenting on the launch, Daniel Howlett, Regional Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Middle East, North Africa and Turkey said: “The Tatawwar programme is accessible to everyone. Its universality is incredibly important and the experiences youth will get through the programme will be personal to them. It's a community experience, generating creativity and innovation, teaching them, social entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy and budgeting skills. It helps the next generation to become more curious, flexible, and adaptable. These are key future skills as they develop their career pathway.”

Given the impact that Tatawwar has had on the communities across MENA, it has been recognised internationally, winning several prestigious awards. The programme won two gold awards at Gulf Sustainability Awards 2021, for Best Learning and Education Programme and Best Community Development. It also won a bronze award at the International CSR Excellence Awards, and was shortlisted in Global Good Awards for Educational Excellence and Special Judges Award for Innovation categories.

Sabrin Rahman, Managing Director – Regional Head of Sustainability for Europe and the Middle East, said: “It’s fantastic to see Tatawwar recognised for the positive impact it continues to have on its participants and their future prospects. Social entrepreneurship skills are key to the development of youth in the region, especially when it is related to tackling the most pressing challenges in their communities.”

To date, 12 winners and 50 ambassadors have graduated from the programme after undergoing extensive mentorship and further development on social entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and future job skills.

In the last rollout, first prize was awarded to Asma Bachir Bey from Algeria for her ‘P.V.M Supply’, a reasonably priced portable ventilator for everyone. The ventilator is easy to operate and works with both solar and battery power making it usable anywhere. Asma, a student from a rural small village in Algeria, was able to not only participate but win – a testament to the inclusiveness of the programme.

The second prize was awarded to Amal Hamdi Mohammed Albadawi from Bahrain for her ‘Pharmabot’ AI robot and the third prize went to Abdulmohsen Mohammad Alghanim from Kuwait for his ‘R 2 Filter’, a sink filter to recycle water.

The progress of previous rollout winners has been outstanding. One of the winners of the first edition, Samah Abdulla from Egypt, has already raised capital through crowdfunding. She launched her Water Management and Saving (WMS) mobile application in both English and Arabic languages and been chosen for several incubation programmes.

Another previous winner, Rishabh Java from the United Arab Emirates, has grown his start-up ‘Broccoli Brains’, a gamified treatment of ADHD, to a team of 8. They are now building a productivity tracking application that uses EEG integrated headphones to track your focus and alert you when to take a break. Rishabh has also built another start-up named Tangled, a global peer-learning community that is redefining skill building with gamification.

Omaima Mosharaf, a previous finalist, has become a teen social entrepreneur based in Bahrain. She is the founder of YouthWave MENA, the region's first youth-led sustainable innovation hub and experience playground for young start-up founders. After turning 18 this year, she signed with Savii - the first neobank for teens in the GCC, regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, as a youth advisory board member to enable teens to become financially independent. This year, she also joined Andra Public Relations, a Bahrain-based public relations and corporate communications firm with a primary focus on financial technology, educational technology, start-ups, and other specialised governmental sectors. As if that’s not enough, she also joined DANA, an Abu Dhabi-based accelerator and funding platform for women-led start-ups from the MENA region in sectors of AgriTech, FoodTech, water solutions, waste management, and renewable energy.

"We are very proud of how Tatawwar has evolved and how HSBC has been able to make use of the potential.com empowerment platform to create impact at scale. They are demonstrating how all corporates can address Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues head-on using platforms and effective impact reporting, to create a better future.” said Shadi Banna, Chief Empowerment Officer, Potential.com.

Students can now register for the programme at www.tatawwar.com. Schools, parents, NGOs, and any other partners who would also like to participate in empowering the next generation of social innovators are also invited to get in touch through the website.

Daria German
Potential.com
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Tatawwar 2020 - 2021 final event