A United Arab Emirates-based group of high-profile entrepreneurs has pledged 10 full scholarship grants to deserving Filipino students in the UAE citing, among others, the “talent, competence and capabilities” being shown by Filipinos.
The Abrahamic Business Circle (ABC) announced this initiative during a business conference it hosted on May 27, 2021 with Philippine Ambassador Hyayceelyn Quintana as their keynote guest.
Founded by Dr. Raphael Nagel, the Abrahamic Business Circle aims to further cooperation through tolerance and business relationships and the creation of the organization was inspired by the “Abraham Accord,” a historic agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel signed in September 2020 in Washington, D.C.
In awarding the scholarships for online degree courses from business schools based in the United Kingdom and the United States, Nagel expressed his belief in the talent, competence, and capabilities of Filipinos after having worked with them throughout his professional career.
Ambassador Quintana, for her part, conveyed her appreciation to the Circle’s generous commitment, even as she expressed her desire to see education further empower future generations of Filipinos by capitalizing on their innate potential.
In her remarks, the Filipino diplomat spoke about the directions that education will take in the near future such as the shift to technology-enabled distance learning, heightened need for parental involvement in children’s learning process, and the importance of instilling critical thinking to combat the rise of fake news and misinformation online.
She likewise spoke on the Philippine experience and focused on the role of governments worldwide in giving impetus to the trends by providing infrastructure and enabling policies and by ensuring that even the most marginalized sectors will benefit from education to reduce inequality.