2023 training program for 1,000 students with expanded participation from young girls

Kuwait – 29 January 2023 – CODED Academy, the First Coding Academy in the Middle East – Based in Kuwait, is teaming up with Agility and other well-known local companies to launch Kuwait Codes, a free program that will train 1,000 high school students in programming languages and frameworks.

The Kuwait Codes initiative, now in its third year, aims to provide the basic digital skills that the country’s future workforce needs in order to build a successful knowledge- and innovation-led economy. To date, more than 1180 students have received free training through Kuwait Codes.

The 2023 program will focus on four distinct knowledge areas: Website programming, Game development, Python Programming, and Flutter. The intensive course runs over 3 main cohorts.

Ahmad Marafi, CEO OF CODED Academy, said: “We are pleased to partner with Agility in this strategic partnership to launch the Kuwait Codes initiative. It allows any high school student in Kuwait to learn coding and software development for free.  Agility, like CODED Academy, is also keen to ensure that girls are able to fully participate and complete the Kuwait Codes program. Our goal is 50% female participation in the 2023 program.  We want to extend our gratitude to Agility and all the supporters involved for contributing to this great initiative, which will benefit about 1,000 Kuwait youths.  Agility has previously supported CODED Academy’s Unicode program, which provided free training and skills development to more than 300 university age young people.  We’re proud to again have Agility as a Strategic Partner, and we’d like to thank the Agility team for contributing their time and effort to be part of our 2023 Kuwait Codes program.”

Henadi Al Saleh, Agility Chairperson, said: “Agility has long supported educational initiatives in the communities where we operate, especially initiatives that support the development of technical and digital capabilities, key skills we need in our workforce. CODED provides students in Kuwait with practical coding skills that set the foundation for the future. I look forward to seeing the progression and growth in the coming Kuwait Codes cohorts, especially progress achieved in girls’ participation.”

Hashim Behbehani – COO said: “I want to extend my warmest invitation to all eligible high school students in Kuwait to participate in this year’s Kuwait Codes program, especially to girls who are interested in apps and software development.  We will do our best to create space for any eligible student, and we will provide you all the tools, resources and support you need to be successful!

“I’d also like to thank Agility for its support of this year’s program.  I’d also like to thank Agility for engaging with us to ensure that girls can fully participate and complete this training.  Our goal is to make it super easy for participating students to understand the fundamentals of application development, and to help students to transition from classroom projects to “real” applications. I’m looking forward to seeing all the inspirational and very real apps this year’s participants will develop as part of this training!”

Registration for the Kuwait Codes program is now open. Female and male students are welcome to participate and can apply for the Kuwait Codes program by following CODED’s social media accounts at @Joincoded @kuwait_codes.

In 2022, Agility supported CODED’s UniCode program which provides digital coding basics to undergraduate students, and it has been organized with the support of the Computer Engineering Society (CPES) at Kuwait University, reaching 335 students, 60% of whom were female.

Celebrating the month of Ramadan, Agility and its affiliate, United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), teamed up to run a meal program in coordination with the Al Ber Foundation and its ‘Naemati’ Project. The project reached more than 500 families.

Volunteers from Al Ber, along with employees from Agility and UPAC, helped pack and distribute the “Machla boxes,” containing basic food supplies. Boxes were donated and contained a months’ worth of necessary food items.

In addition, Agility organizes daily Iftar meals for its employees whose jobs require them to be on duty during Iftar at its facilities in Sulabiya, Jahra, and Fahaheel.

Agility Logistics Park (ALP) Kuwait supported the Al Ber Foundation, a local NGO, and their project ‘Naemati’, donating previously used racking systems to store food and beverage products. All stored items will be donated to those in need, and stored at Al Ber’s storage facility.

Naemati works closely with supermarkets across Kuwait to collect food and beverage products. The Naemati team, along with youth volunteers, collect and store the items, using ALP’s donated racking system or in the freezers and fridges.

The storage facility has the capacity to store tons of various products on any given day, and distribute them to hundreds of families daily. Naemati have a distribution list that is comprised of over 14,000 less fortunate families in Kuwait that will benefit from these donated items.

In a partnership that started in 2007 with INJAZ, a local nonprofit organization, employees from Agility Kuwait and United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), a leading commercial real estate and facilities management company and one of Agility’s infrastructure companies, hosted several Job Shadows, Interview and CV Writing workshops, and Innovation Camps, mentoring nearly 1,500 students from schools, colleges, and universities around Kuwait.

In 2020 and 2021, Agility Kuwait participated in the mentorship and training of more than 100 students enrolled in the LOYAC ‘KON’ Social Entrepreneurship Program in collaboration with Babson College-Boston, USA.

Agility has supported LOYAC and their multiple programs since 2006, this is fifth consecutive year where Agility has participated in the ‘KON’ program as part of its continued sponsorship of the organization. Agility invests in community initiatives globally, especially when it comes to education and digital literacy programs. The LOYAC’s KON Entrepreneurship program shifted to a digital platform and online learning in 2020 due to COVID-19. Agility employees in Kuwait welcomed students on a virtual tour of its 18K facility in Sulaibiya, over the course of four phases of their program in July and August, each year.

Through this long-standing partnership, Agility has mentored more than 300 students since 2017. LOYAC is a non-profit organization working towards the overall development of the youth. Since its partnership with Agility, the organization was able to reach more than 14,000 students through its programs. LOYAC designs and develops many programs to facilitate the professional development and personal growth of the youth, ages six to 30. KON is a six-week program that targets young adults, between the ages of 12 through 16, and encourages participants to transform their ideas into action, aiming to develop responsible business solutions to our community’s most pressing challenges. By the end of the program, students will be able to present their business ideas before a jury panel, in addition to a professor from Babson College.

Mariam Al Foudery, Group Chief Marketing Offices, says: “As one of Kuwait’s largest companies, Agility is deeply committed to the importance of training the next generation, and ensuring that they have the ‘on the job’ skills they need to succeed professionally. Agility has partnered with LOYAC for more than 10 years. We are deeply inspired by the organization’s commitment and vision when it comes to young people. I’m also inspired by LOYAC’s young students themselves. Our employees had the chance to mentor and work with LOYAC students over the years, and we’ve always been impressed with their brightness, their passion, and their desire to make a difference in the world and for the future of our country. We look forward to continuing to work with LOYAC closely.”

Every year, LOYAC students continue to think to the future and come up with sustainable solutions for their business plans.

Agility, a leading global logistics provider, is partnering with the Kuwait Society for the Handicapped (KSH), the first charitable Society in Kuwait that provides services to children with disabilities from all nationalities at no cost. Through this collaboration, KSH will build the first sensory gym following international standards in Kuwait by the end of 2021.

Agility’s donation will allow KSH to outfit the sensory gym in the “Children’s Rehabilitation Unit” with clinical equipment and furniture designed to improve users’ sense of movement, body positioning, balance and spatial awareness. KSH therapists will be able to guide users through activities intended to increase fine motor skills, strength, flexibility, coordination and body awareness.

“Sensory gyms are important tools for the rehabilitation and behavior modification of disabled youth and adults, it helps to integrate them into society and change their lives for the better, and we’re pleased to be supporting KSH’s plans to build the sensory gym. Agility is committed to helping KSH as it works to improve the lives of more than 500 children and adults with disabilities in Kuwait,” said Agility CEO, Tarek Sultan.

Workouts and therapy at sensory gyms improve users’ communication skills, increase their attention spans, and improve their physical health. The facilities can accommodate and meet the needs of users with a wide range of ability levels and different stages of disability.

“The Children’s Rehabilitation Unit renovation is the first step for the KSH to develop integrated rehabilitation services that support children and youth in realizing their potential and participating in their communities. By upgrading and developing our programs and building new facilities, we can provide individualized assessments, treatments, and health education needed for rehabilitation. Agility is giving us the means to do so. This will support hundreds of people, giving them access to the care they need,” KSH, Director General Dr. Elham Al Hamdan said.

KSH is a private charity established in 1971. It was the first charitable Society in Kuwait to provide free services to children with disabilities from all nationalities. KSH was established by devoted volunteers eager to offer services for children with disabilities and to ease the burden on family and caregivers guiding them towards improving the education and rehabilitation of their loved ones with disabilities. And since its establishment, the Society has continued to provide integrated care and services which include comprehensive rehabilitation, psychological, social, and educational services at its headquarter and daycare centers in three locations, Hawally, Jahra, and Ahmadi.

This partnership is part of a long-standing commitment by Agility to empower and benefit Kuwaiti youth. Agility has decade-long partnerships with INJAZ and LOYAC to support entrepreneurship training programs. Agility volunteers have mentored more than 1,500 students over the years in business skills and other educational initiatives through the organizations’ ongoing initiatives. In 2020, Agility continued to support organizations throughout their shift to virtual online training programs.

Agility Kuwait partnered with United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), a leading commercial real estate and facilities management company and of Agility’s infrastructure companies, and The Basket, a local non-profit, to distribute food packages to more than 830 families in low income communities in Kuwait.

The packages contained staple food items such as rice, cooking oil, flour, salt, sugar, and dates among other items, and is meant to support the families throughout the month of Ramadan.

Agility worked with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) to deliver 1,000 cartons of essential food supplies and basic necessities to families residing in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, one of the areas in Kuwait with the largest number of virus cases. Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and has been on lockdown since early April. The area’s most-vulnerable families received the supplies, which are intended to last about a month.