14 February 2010
Participation Comes as Part of DEWA's Efforts to Educate Youth through Splashy and Sparky The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) today announced it is participating in KidZania, an award-winning children's edutainment concept that is being introduced to the region for the first time at the Dubai Mall. Targeting children from 4 - 15 years old, KidZania is an 80,000 square foot interactive mini-city featuring streets, buildings and shops scaled down to a smaller, child-friendly size. It allows children to dress up and role-play by performing realistic tasks in a fun and meaningful way. 'Sparky' and 'Splashy,’ DEWA's two mascots that represent electricity and water, bring a fun element to the activities at KidZania, while promoting the rational usage of water and electricity. DEWA's participation at KidZania comes as part of its endeavour to win the young hearts to the cause of environmental protection and foster a culture of energy conservation among the population of the UAE. The DEWA stand at KidZania offers the youth details on the diverse energy conservation methods, and the role of utilities, especially electricity and water, in any town. It allows children to play out their aspirations in electricity generation and water desalination while learning about the tasks and responsibilities that DEWA's engineers and technicians undertake on a daily basis. It also provides details on how a power station operates and how to fix simple water pipe leakages and electricity disruption. His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, said: DEWA has taken the strategic decision to invest in our youth to ensure they appreciate the importance of conserving the natural resources. Our continuous economic growth has necessitated a simultaneous development in the awareness and importance we attribute to issues such as the environment and conservation as our future depends on how we resolve such issues now. Our various community-led initiatives have witnessed an enthusiastic response from the youth, providing us with the motivation to further pursue such programmes. We believe our participation in KidZania will bring benefits to the overall community. Abdulla Al Hajiri, Executive Vice President, Customer Service, DEWA, said: In the process of the kids having fun at KidZania, DEWA will take the opportunity to instill a positive mindset on the core issue of conservation. In a region such as ours, it is vital that resources are properly utilized and all individuals are aware of how to use them intelligently. We are confident our participation at KidZania will provide a fun-filled and memorable experience for children, in addition to offering them learning and knowledge-gaining opportunities. DEWA has implemented similar initiatives aimed at educating the youth through participating at initiatives such as the Dubai Summer Surprises and Global Village.