The Daily Mile celebrated its global 10 year anniversary on Thursday 28th April. To mark the occasion, The Daily Mile UAE in partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and supported by the UAE Ministry of Education and Emirates Schools Establishment, held a special free-to-attend celebration event.
Yesterday evening’s event, which included a large community walk, formed part of global events taking place throughout the day in communities and schools around the world. ‘Daily Miles’ took place in over 80 countries including the UAE, USA, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, South Africa and Canada.
The UAE’s event at Abu Dhabi Cricket Club was attended by VIPs and over 250 citizens and residents. Food and water was provided at Iftar prior to the walk which started at 7.30pm.
Dr. Saif Sultan Al Nasseri, Director, Group Human Capital at ADNOC, said: “ADNOC’s support for The Daily Mile, reflects our commitment to invest in communities and the people of the United Arab Emirates to enhance their quality of life. The Daily Mile will have a huge impact on young people’s lives, helping the nation’s children, of all ages, to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle that will make them fitter, healthier and happier.”
The Daily Mile is a global initiative founded in the UK by former school principal Elaine Wyllie MBE. It now has over 3.1 million children worldwide in more than 14,000 schools taking part every day, by walking, jogging or running for 15 minutes at a time of their teacher’s choosing. In the UAE, more than 49,000 students in 129 schools take part regularly.
UAE studies show that The Daily Mile increases students’ fitness by an average of 17.6% within the first eight weeks. It also increases overall well-being and focus in the classroom.
“Improving the quality of our children’s health goes hand in hand with improving the quality of education in the UAE”, explained H.E. Lubna AlShamsi, Acting Executive Director Operation Center – Abu Dhabi – at Emirates Schools Establishment. “Programs like The Daily Mile help our students to have more positive and productive academic experiences in our schools, which is critical to the progress of our educational system towards excellence.”
The celebration event on the 28th April was a chance for all family members to experience a Daily Mile together, by walking (or jogging or running) for 15 minutes around the circular track at their own pace.
All participants received free food prior to the walk. Children also left with a free Daily Mile t-shirt.
As well as food and the walk, families enjoyed bouncy castles, spot prizes and other activities, all adhering to the latest government guidance on COVID-19 safety.
The event and all activities took place at Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, which has rapidly developed into the primary destination for community sports in Abu Dhabi. The Club, through its many partners, offers football, gymnastics, netball, padel tennis, aquatics and a wide variety of other sports for citizens and residents to enjoy.
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