Dubai to introduce community service to school curriculums

DUBAI // Community service could soon be part of the education curriculum in the emirate as part of a plan to involve 20 per cent of Dubai residents in all aspects of community service by 2020. The Community Development Authority believes that the community service curriculum will help Emirati and expatriate pupils to engage with the broader community.

It aims to boost the percentage of residents involved in community service to 20 per cent in three years, from 3.6 per cent last year, in time for Dubai’s Expo 2020.

Last year, the Ministry of Education made community service compulsory for public secondary-school pupils.

The plan is to extend the initiative to all schools and to general public.

“We want to get support from schools so that they come forward to participate,” said Hana Al Harthi, the authority’s director of social cohesion.

“We are counting on schools to promote this. We know there are a lot of volunteers doing good work but they are not registered with us.”

Although many schools help labourers and support community welfare work, most pupils and residents are not registered with the authority, which hopes to bring about change through fostering greater awareness.

The percentage of Emirati volunteers dropped to 9 per cent in 2015, from about 12 per cent in 2011, while the percentage for expatriates remained steady at about 3 per cent over the same period. A study by the authority showed that 27 per cent of residents were aware of opportunities to volunteer for community service. In contrast, the percentage for the UK is at 42 per cent and 25.4 per cent for the United States.

Expo 2020 officials said they would need 30,000 volunteers over six months.

“We are working with them to find out what kind of volunteers they need because we will need people right from the airport to all over Dubai,” said Ahmad Julfar, the authority’s director general. “The purpose is to engage the whole community, not to save money.

“Dubai is young, with 28.5 per cent of residents between the ages of 15 and 30.

“The youth have a lot of energy and creativity, and we want to capitalise on this so that we can channel that energy in the right direction.”

There are also plans for a specialised volunteer scheme for doctors and engineers.

“We will work with the ambulance services so that people will be readily available all over Dubai to provide first aid if there is a need before an ambulance arrives,” said Mr Julfar.

The authority will hold a workshop with the Roads and Transport Authority today to encourage the creation of volunteering opportunities.

Volunteering does not include financial donations or working for a fee.

For volunteers keen to raise funds for a specific cause, they have first to seek permission from the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities before registering with the authority.