Elham Al-Qasimi recently visited Dubai Women’s College (DWC) to share her experiences as the first Emirati woman to reach the North Pole and inspire young Emirati women to pursue their dreams. Elham is the third in a series of noted local adventurers to visit DWC this month in support of “One Book… One HCT”, a month-long reading promotion program joining Butheina Kazim and Suzanne Al Houby in a program of events and activities for all HCT students driven by DWC Library and generously supported by the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy. In her speech to DWC students, Elham said, “My country is a country that is growing really fast with a very small population. Half of them are women. Every one of us needs to dream if we are going to grow as a country, every one of us in our own way, by doing whatever you think will make you happy – that’s how we will change. That’s how we will grow. I have come to talk to young women in my country about our potential, even as mothers, not just as employees. As citizens, as daughters – even men, as husbands and as fathers. If we do not grow, and if we do not experience things that change our opinions, how can we make our children be better? And how can we help our country grow?” She told the audience of her experience on the journey saying, “I remember on that day thinking ‘it’s so hard, I don’t know if I can do this…’, I also started remembering small bits of e-mails I had received from Arab women, from around the world, not just the UAE, but from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon…, who talked about how they had a dream, and they had just let it go and didn’t think about pursuing it, until now.” From her part, Robin Bishop, DWC Library supervisor said, “Young Emirati women need more exposure to strong role models like Ms. Elham, to show them that nothing is impossible for them.” DWC streamed the event live on the web to all campuses of the Higher Colleges of Technology, reaching audiences of young Emiratis at the men’s and women’s colleges all over the nation. Students from Abu Dhabi Men’s college even submitted questions for Ms. Elham online via Twitter. For over 20 years, DWC has been an HCT flagship institution providing world-class education for women in the UAE. With a mission supported by the ELITE principles: Excellence, Leadership, Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, DWC has been recognized as being at the pinnacle of higher education in UAE.
