UAE President honours 'parent-friendly' organisations

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has stated that prioritising support for the family and enabling it to fulfil its critical role is a central focus of the government's programmes and strategies.

Sheikh Mohamed's comments came during an event to honour institutions awarded the Parent-friendly Label (PFL) by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA).

The PFL programme targets institutions in the UAE’s semi-government, private, and third sectors, aiming to encourage them to adopt policies and frameworks that support working parents and enable them to provide the best possible care for their children.

The UAE President noted that enabling parents to balance work and family life leaves a significant social, cultural, and educational impact, and positive effect on workplace efficiency.

Of the 12 organisations that earned the Parent-friendly Label, two were awarded the PFL+ classification for meeting or exceeding global standards in parent-friendly policies and practices.

The two were Emirates Nature in association with WWF, and Tappy Toes Nursery. The remaining 10 organisations, who earned the PFL for exceeding local leading parent-friendly policies and practices, were Bain Co, Mubadala Investment Company, Novartis, Nestle, LinkedIn, Houbara Defence Security, Visa Middle East, Chalhoub Group, Nabta Health, and Wintershall DEA Middle East.

The latest cycle saw 75 applications received from across the country, with each being evaluated by an independent judging panel consisting of senior leaders from various emirates. Overall, this cycle positively impacted the lives of over 48,000 children and reached more than 127,000 employees working in participating institutions, including around 66,000 parents and 1,500 children of determination.

Applications for the next cycle (Cycle 3) will open on February 27, 2024, and close at the end of September, 2024. Organisations in the private sector, semi-government sector or third sector in the UAE are encouraged to review the eligibility criteria online and apply here.

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— WAM English (@WAMNEWS_ENG) January 31, 2024