Atlantis, the Palm has partners with world-renowned artist Sacha Jafri to launch ‘Humanity Inspired’, a charitable initiative.

The project will see Jafri attempt to create the largest art canvas in the world, in partnership with Guinness World Records.

This initiative, which is designed to connect people post the Covid-19 pandemic in order to tackle the devastating impact of the virus on children and youth, aims to raise more than US$ 30 million.

It will support Dubai Cares and its partners, such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), as they collectively embark on a global initiative to scale up digital connectivity to ensure minimal disruption to education and provide equitable access to remote learning for all children and youth globally.

Humanity Inspired will also support the Global Gift Foundation who will focus on their main charitable objective of supporting key-projects focusing on children’s education and wellbeing, targeting those most in need in the aftermath of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Partners from the public sector in the UAE including the ministry of tolerance and coexistence, ministry of education, as well as the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, are also joining the initiative.

Speaking about the significance of this charitable initiative, Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive at Dubai Cares, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic forced 192 countries to close down schools and universities, affecting more than 1.5 billion school-aged children and youth, which represent around 90 per cent% of the global student population.

“More than 60 million teachers were also no longer in the classroom.

“Given this reality, we are very excited to join forces with Atlantis The Palm and Sacha Jafri in this ambitious charitable initiative.”

The painting, at over 1,800 square meters, will be larger than two football pitches end-to-end, and will be unveiled to the world at Atlantis, the Palm in November.

Speaking about his impetus for the ambitious initiative, which is being sponsored by Dana Holdings and Four Seasons Ramesh Gallery, Jafri said: “After a conversation with UNICEF earlier in the year, my eyes were opened to the fact that an estimated 385 million children live in extreme poverty around the world and these children are twice as likely to die in childhood.

“These numbers have almost doubled in the last four months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This pandemic has affected every community across the globe and taken the lives of thousands, but it has also changed our mindset, and this means we have a window of opportunity for change.”