Airbus Foundation and Iranian Red Crescent Society Launch New Humanitarian Youth Programme

The Airbus Foundation and the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) unveiled a joint initiative programme to train thousands of Iranian teenagers in robotics and resilience techniques, developing their skills to respond to disasters and ensuring safer and more resilient communities for the future.

The programme, which launched in April in Tehran as a pilot, included three IRCS youth centres in Tehran this year, and expanded to Isfahan, Mazandaran and Golestan in 2017 and followed by Fars, East Azerbaijan and Lorestan provinces in 2018. The Foundation and the Iranian Red Crescent aimed to reach more than 6,000 participants by 2018.

The IRCS will bring its network of 400 branches in 31 provinces expanding the reach of the Airbus Little Engineer (ALE) programme among its youth members across the country.

This program is an opportunity for the IRCS to find corporating partners willing to work committedly from the ground up, to respond to earth realities in complex environments and to take the longtrem view and offer solutions.

The collaboration agreement between the Airbus Foundation and the IRCS focusses on the popular ALE programme, an initiative dedicated to instilling an appreciation for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) among the youth in the region. The ALE programme aims to contribute and engage students through robotics and aerospace workshops and ultimately contribute to create a sustainable flow of talent for the region. The use of science, technology, engineering and mathematics combined with robotics will empower and strenght the youth to consider their communities before, during and after disasters and will present a successful model to be used and replicated elsewhere.

Originally designed as a one-day aerospace workshop for teenagers, the IRAN ALE programme has been expanded into a seven-week module focusing on the humanitarian needs in times of disaster. The module was developed in cooperation with the IRCS and is based on its expertise with earthquakes and other disasters in Iran.

Participants in each group will be trained in humanitarian missions including establishing communications in a disaster, relief and rescue operations, managing supplies and logistics and ensuring equivalence. The programme operates within four levels: first, training 12- to 14-year-old teens in robotic and boosting their STEM skills; second, disaster management and improving students’ comprehension of responding to risk reduction, preparedness and relief; third, building a network of engineering students to serve as mentors and trainers; and fourth, building resilience in both sets of students.

The Airbus Foundation works with more than 30 non-profit organisations all over the world, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support humanitarian causes and engage young minds to embrace science and technology for a better tomorrow. The Airbus Little Engineer programme in Iran is the latest repetition of the global partnership agreement between the IFRC and the Airbus Foundation.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society is a humanitarian organization established in 1922 and implements based on the rules of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The IRCS mission includes effective contribution to protection and promotion of human dignity, improving the life-saving of vulnerable people and those affected by disasters and crises and creating peace and friendship at international level. As a member of the International Federation of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, the IRCS serves as an auxiliary to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in humanitarian fields such as disaster risk reduction, promotion of humanitarian laws and values, providing rescue, relief and medical services to the most vulnerable and disaster-affected people enjoying over 2 million active members and volunteers and 50,000 active relief workers responding to local and international emergencies.