U.S. International Pavilion Exhibitors at Arab Health 2017 Support Noor Dubai Foundation to Combat Blindness

“Their vision for turning the simple human gesture of sending a postcard into the gift of sight opened my eyes to this new connection between our countries.”

Dubai, United Arab Emirates/January 30, 2017 — Score another international fan of Noor Shamma’s Postcard Initiative; 270 fans actually. The self-described UAE “Artrepreneur’s” two-year-old art project to raise money for the Noor Dubai Foundation’s fight against visual impairment was the catalyst for a $5,000 gift to the foundation today from exhibitors in the U.S. International Pavilion at Arab Health 2017.

Tom Kallman, president and CEO of Kallman Worldwide, the long-standing American organizer of the U.S. presence at the show, presented the gift with Shamma to Noor Dubai CEO Dr. Manal Omran Taryam, at the opening of the Pavilion to begin the show at Dubai Word Trade Centre.

“As our company enters its third decade as the U.S. representative for Arab Health, I continue to be awed by the culture of excellence in the UAE, and inspired by the purpose and compassion o the people we work with here,” said Kallman. “As 2017 has been declared the ‘Year of Giving’ by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, I’m proud to add to that list Dr. Taryam and Noor Shamma. Their vision for turning the simple human gesture of sending a postcard into the gift of sight opened my eyes to this new connection between our countries.”

Noor Dubai Foundation was launched as an initiative in September 2008 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai with a vision of a world free from preventable forms of blindness. It reached five million people in its first year and was subsequently turned by decree into a non-government/non-profit organization.

Today, Noor Dubai is especially active in developing nations, where it has provided eyeglasses and/or sight-restoring surgery to over 25 million individuals.

“The occasion of Arab Health creates an extraordinary context for this generous gift from U.S. exhibitors and the Postcard Initiative,” said Dr. Taryam. “Just as we bring sight and hope to people who otherwise might go blind, the ideas, technologies and professionals here are bringing new hope to the health and medical marketplace. We are all connected by a shared vision and common purpose to improve people’s lives.”

The Postcard Initiative was founded by Noor Shamma (no relation to Noor Dubai) in May 2015 to strengthen personal connections in a digital world. It started as an offer to send handwritten postcards to her Instagram followers, but turned toward fundraising after one of Shamma’s paintings was sold to raise money at a Noor Dubai auction.

“I already had 500 addresses from people on Instagram who wanted me to send them a postcard, and I thought, ‘what if I could sell art postcards to raise money for Noor Dubai’,” she explained. 

Adjusting her outreach approach, Shamma invited artists to design fundraising postcards and make a financial donation, too. Noor Dubai subsequently endorsed the effort, which to date has secured nearly 50 original works of art created by individual artists for a new collection of fundraising postcards, and funded treatment for over 1,000 visually impaired patients in developing countries.

“Almost by accident, I found more ways than I’d hoped to connect with people through the Postcard Initiative and our work with Noor Dubai,” said Shamma. “My connection now with Kallman Worldwide and the American exhibitors at Arab Health expands our global  reach and will surely open new doors to meet and help more people around the world.”

ABOUT KALLMAN WORLDWIDE, INC.
Export with purpose. Exhibit with confidence. Kallman Worldwide is an export marketing advocate focused on helping the United States of America and its leading businesses capitalize on international trade shows and events to grow their share of global markets. Our flagship U.S. International Pavilion programs cover all the details of creating and presenting a professional business environment to buyers, enabling exhibitors, clients and partners to make the most of their event opportunities, cultivate meaningful global business relationships and account for a measurable return on their export marketing investment.

Since 1963, Kallman has helped more than 10,000 companies, associations and government agencies stand out at nearly 1,000 industry and professional events in 46 countries. The company is a strategic partner of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and a proud recipient of the President’s “E” Award. In 2016, Kallman Worldwide was honored to receive the AmCham Abu Dhabi “Falcon” Award for its organization-wide commitment to building sustainable business relationships between the U.S. and the U.A.E. The company recently joined the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce in support of the Chamber’s mission to foster economic growth, educational advancement and mutual respect between the U.S. and the MENA region. For more information visit www.kallman.com

ABOUT NOOR DUBAI FOUNDATION
Noor Dubai Foundation is a UAE-based charity focused on the prevention of blindness and visual impairment globally. It was launched as an initiative in 2008 by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and was later established as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by Law in October 2010. Over 25 million individuals from all over Africa and Asia have benefited from the Foundation’s free treatment and preventive programs, which include provision of eye glasses and medication. A member of the newly launched Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives foundation, Noor Dubai continues to strive towards fulfilling the Vision 2020 initiative of a world free from preventable forms of blindness.

THE POSTCARD INITIATIVE
Launched in May 2015 by Noor Shamma, artist and artrepreneur, the Postcard Initiative is endorsed by Noor Dubai Foundation and is an ongoing creative and outreach program dedicated to restoring the gift of sight. To date, it has helped restore the sight of more than 1,000 people in developing countries.

In addition to her work with the Postcard Initiative, Shamma is head of Communications and Public Affairs at the Paris-Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi. She holds a BSc in Design Management from the American University of Sharjah and an Executive Masters in Marketing, Management, Communications and Media at the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. In her spare time she teaches art to children.

MEDIA CONTACTS
For Kallman Worldwide
Chris Meyer
+1-201-251-2600 x136
chrism@kallman.com
Twitter @kallmanEWC
Facebook @KallmanWorldwide

For Noor Dubai Foundation
Noora Elkouka
+9714-2197180
noora.elkouka@noordubai.ae
www.noordubai.ae
Instagram: @noordubai
Twitter: @noordubai
Facebook: www.facebook.com/noordubaifoundation

For The Postcard Initiative
Noor Shamma
Artrepreneur
M +971 50 9044999
E inquiries@noorshamma.com
W noorshamma.com
Instagram noorshamma
Twitter noorshamma
Facebook Noor Shamma