du hosts “Emirates Women Award 2011” awareness workshop in cooperation with Dubai Quality Group

Dedicated to investing in the development of women, du hosted an awareness workshop at du head office in Dubai Media City on the “Emirates Women Award 2011”, which features du as its main sponsor. The award, now in its 8th edition, is an initiative created by the Dubai Quality Group to honor businesswomen and female entrepreneurs who have excelled in their respective fields, acknowledging and applauding UAE women (nationals and expatriates) for their contribution to the community. The workshop, designed to support the Emirates Women Awards, aimed to inspire and motivate du’s women employees to apply for this year’s edition. 

The workshop featured a welcome note by Hala Badri, du’s EVP Brand and Communications and an inspirational video on the stories of previous winners. Thanaa El Tabie, Business Excellence Consultant, Dubai Quality Group, gave an overview on the Emirates Women Award and Shabana Karim, the Founder and Owner of The Nail Spa and 2009/10 award winner (Business Category) gave useful tips on starting your own business and turning it into an exceptional success story. Maryam Al Jallaf, Senior Manager Process Control Potrooms and Cell Linning at DUBAL and 2007/08 award winner (Professional Category) spoke about her rise to success from a simple engineer position and the value of hard work and dedication. The women then all cooperated to answer guest questions at an informative Q&A session. 

Hala said: "du recognises the vital role that women play in a nation’s development and as such actively supports initiatives such as the Emirates Women Awards. The Award is an important platform in the UAE to recognise women's achievements in all fields and exchange valuable experiences. The UAE demonstrates several illustrious examples of women achieving excellence in leading organizations and by showcasing their success, we aim to inspire more women to follow suit."

The workshop coincided with the recent launch of ‘Her Business Super Plan’, a first-of-its kind plan in the region specifically tailored to the requirements of modern-day business women in the UAE. The novel plan, which features winner Shabana Karim as its brand ambassador, provides benefits such as bundled calling minutes, free business calling circle, free national data, shopping rewards, special offers on latest handsets and much more, all for just AED 200 per month. The customized offer also reinforces du’s commitment to catering to the various needs of the diverse small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, a crucial sector in the UAE’s future growth. 

“At du we are dedicated to providing UAE women with tailor-made solutions customized to empower professionalism and enable success. ‘Her Business Super Plan’ caters specifically to the needs of women entrepreneurs and professionals helping them to achieve their goals and reach even greater levels of success. The plan offers impressive cost savings and helps women stay in touch with their female business associates at no extra costs providing vital support to these inspiring women and increasing the power and presence of successful women entrepreneurs," added Badri. 

The deadline for application for the Emirates Women Awards is Sunday 10 April 2011 with winners announced in May 2011. In support of women everywhere, du wishes all applicants in the UAE good luck.