The Ripples of Happiness program – now in its second year – is co-created and developed by the Coca-Cola Foundation and INJAZ Al-Arab. The primary focus of the educational program is to encourage students to become more socially responsible members of the community, as well as promoting entrepreneurial, financial literacy and workplace readiness.
As part of their ‘Spotlight’ project, the students from Applied Science University created a special stand in Bahrain City Centre where they blindfolded volunteers and asked them to attempt to complete simple, everyday tasks that most people take for granted. By enabling the visitor to experience the world of the visually impaired person in this manner, the students were able to further educate the public about the difficulties facing hundreds of visually challenged Bahrainis on a daily basis.
The students created a two minute video to illustrate their work to demonstrate the impact that the event had on the local community and emphasize the difficulties that blind people face and the need for society to address certain issues to ensure equality.
The students were recognized and rewarded by the Ripples of Happiness program for successfully planning, organizing and financing a creative and innovative solution to a social problem in their community.
Executive Director of INJAZ Bahrain, Her Highness, Sheikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, congratulated the winning team and commented on the significant role of youth in building societies.
“Such initiatives are intended to encourage youth to engage socially and take the lead in inducing social change in their communities through “Entrepreneurship” that would not have been possible without the support of the Coca-Cola Foundation. Today our youth have shown success in responding to social needs facing their society and actually contributed and gave back to their local communities,” Her Highness said.
“Coca-Cola would like to pass on our congratulations to the winning students from Applied Science University in Bahrain for creating what was a unique and insightful social event. Our plans are to grow the Ripples of Happiness program over the coming year and further engage with other universities across the region. As part of this, the Coca-Cola Foundation will continue to seek talented and committed youth to drive positive impact and support in communities by implementing beneficial projects to prepare them for the real-world,” Antoine Tayyar, Public Affairs and Communication Director of Coca-Cola Middle East, said.
Runners up in this year’s program were King Abdul Aziz University from Saudi Arabia, winning $7,000, and the University of Business & Technology, also from Saudi Arabia, who won $5,000. Both of their works were also aimed at educating society about a key issue.
In total there were four submissions from universities in Bahrain, the three others included University of Bahrain focusing on an S3 campaign (Stay Safe to Save) highlighting responsibility and respect for the rules and regulations between the members of the community; Ahlia University aiming on building the awareness of women caring for children with special needs using Laughing Yoga; and Bahrain Polytechnic which helped bridge the youth and the elderly together through community activities.
The program took place simultaneously in 20 Universities across Palestine, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Jordan with more than 300 participating students. All students that were involved in the program across the region were mentored by Coca-Cola employees and volunteers from the INJAZ AL-Arab network over a period of six weeks.