Youth Leadership Development In Dubai: KHDA And Duke Of Edinburgh Award Foundation Sign Strategic Cooperation

Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has entered a strategic cooperation agreement with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation at the World Governments Summit, aiming to strengthen youth leadership development and integrate structured non-formal learning across Dubai’s wider education system.

The collaboration is designed to expand recognised non-formal learning pathways for young people in Dubai, linking them with existing schooling. Both parties intend to embed these options within the local education ecosystem while keeping them aligned with Dubai’s priorities, community expectations, and long-term human development goals.

Under the agreement, KHDA and the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation will create a framework for regular strategic dialogue. This framework will focus on youth leadership development, life skills, and character growth, supporting Dubai’s long-term education agenda and its wider ambitions for human development.

The partnership draws on more than 70 years of experience from the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in supporting young people worldwide. It also supports KHDA’s Education 33 Strategy, which stresses learner-centred education, holistic development, and future-ready skills that go beyond exam results or traditional classroom outcomes.

Both organisations state that academic success alone is not enough to prepare young people for a complex, fast-changing world. The agreement highlights leadership, resilience, confidence, community service, and wellbeing as key life skills needed for future work and wider social participation.

The partners will consult Dubai’s youth, parents, and teachers to guide programme design, so that any new non-formal learning options reflect actual needs. "This partnership reflects our shared commitment to youth development and to expanding meaningful, internationally recognised non-formal learning opportunities that support young people in reaching their full potential," said Aisha Miran, Director-General of KHDA.

Engagement will also assess how every young person, regardless of background, can gain access to these opportunities. Martin Houghton-Brown, Secretary-General of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, stated, "We are delighted to be working closely with KHDA to understand how to make sure that every young person, from every background, can develop skills for the challenges and opportunities of life and work in the 21st century."

The agreement positions youth leadership development and non-formal learning pathways as central elements within Dubai’s evolving education landscape, combining international experience with local strategies to support young people’s skills, wellbeing, and readiness for future work and life.

With inputs from WAM