Badiri Education and Development Academy, the education and capacity building arm of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA) has recently launched a virtual hub for collaborative learning, the Badiri Knowledge Exchange’, with a session titled E-Learning: A World of Opportunities at Your Fingertips.

The new initiative takes to online platforms to support knowledge exchange and interaction among community stakeholders to inspire and empower one another, maximise their personal and professional potential, and foster solidarity, as the world shifts to new ways of learning in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Held every Wednesday using video and web conferencing services such as ZOOM Webinar, Instagram Live, Twitter Live, ‘Badiri Knowledge Exchange’ seeks to expand the learning ecosystem by choosing relevant topics for participants to discuss and share experiences with tools, ideas and skills to help others combat the current challenges brought on by the impact of COVID-19.

Facilitators at the academy will lead each session to maintain a productive and inclusive experience for community members who will then take the discussion forward through a Q&A.

The first discussion was attended by 25 participants, who discussed the importance of e-learning, shared individual insight into the different e-learning platforms, and offered tips and strategies on choosing the right online course and committing to finish it.

Practicing self-care in the time of a pandemic

On April 15, Reema Baniabbasi, an Emirati counselling psychologist at The Psychiatry & Therapy Centre in Dubai Healthcare City, will lead the discussion titled ‘Maintain your emotional health while you practice physical distancing’. She will explore five strategies to help individuals cope with the pandemic while stressing on the merits of establishing a self-reflective practice, observing holistic self-care, the need to set boundaries, creative ways of staying connected, and understanding personal emotions and feelings to channel our inner well-being.

COVID-19 and viability of start-ups

Abdulaziz Alyas, Entrepreneurs Mentor, will throw light on ‘Is now a good time to start a business for entrepreneurs’ in the virtual session scheduled for April 22. Stressing on the need to adapt to changing consumer preferences, he will offer perspectives to help businesses move forward at a time of supply chain disruptions. Despite the prevalent uncertainty, investors and entrepreneurs can find tremendous opportunities if the novel ideas they present are scalable, suitable for immediate execution and monetisation, and offers great value propositions for customers.

Commenting on the launch of the initiative, Dr Mona Rashid Al Ali, Manager of Badiri Academy, said, “As an education and capacity development entity, we are keen on reimagining the process of learning in order to better support our community of knowledge seekers as we adapt to new and emerging challenges. ‘Badiri Knowledge Exchange’ takes forward our commitment to support the learning endeavour of those who seek knowledge and are committed to self-development by fostering connections whilst keeping them safe. Our networked learning experience will enable the generation and dissemination of knowledge, and lays special emphasis on practical learning, so as to build participants’ capacity to successfully apply the expertise they gain to navigate the current business environment.”

Ready to start learning?

To enroll in an upcoming session, receive updates on new sessions that meet your needs and interests, or to offer suggestions, connect with Badiri Academy using @Badiriacademy, or write to Badiri@namawomen.ae.