Airport International Group Foundation Celebrates Graduates at ‘Hirfati’ Training Centre

Since its official launch in October 2021, Airport International Group Foundation (AIGF), the executive arm of Airport International Group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, has continued its efforts in support of Al Jizah, the local community in which Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) is located. To this end, AIGF held a graduation ceremony recently at the AIGF Training Center ‘Hirfati’ in Al Jizah to celebrate its beneficiaries. The event was attended by AIGF Vice Chairman Nicolas Claude, AIGF Director Zahia Na’san, AIGF Board Member and Secretary Hazem Khirfan and General Manager of Al‐Maydan for Community Services Iman Bkyrat, as well as public figures from Al Jizah community and Naua for Sustainable Development.

AIGF celebrated the graduation of 13 young women from the Hirfati tailoring course, eight young women and men from the photography course, as well as 14 young women from the hairdressing course. This latest group raises the total number of Hirfati graduates who are eligible and ready to enter the workforce to 71. AIGF is currently extending a hybrid car maintenance course for 12 beneficiaries and a sustainable agriculture course for 20 beneficiaries who will be introduced to backyard fruit and vegetable gardening. 

Moreover, AIGF is commencing three new training courses - web design and development, ICDL and intermediate English - and will be holding recurring tailoring and cooking courses within the upcoming period. During the summer break, AIGF is also extending football training for 60 students at the football field it renovated in Al Jizah. Of the 36 beneficiaries who graduated earlier from Hirfati, 85 percent obtained certificates in their respective fields and went on to start their own businesses.  

AIGF Chairman, Omar M. Masri, commented, “As we had pledged during AIGF’s launch event last year, our work towards championing different causes - namely youth empowerment, underprivileged community development and environment in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals - forges ahead in a focused and determined manner. We are fully committed to our community in Al Jizah and shall introduce further training courses and projects thoughtfully designed to advance the skills and livelihoods of our graduates and their families. For this reason, we are adamant about growing our number of beneficiaries so as to broaden this positive ripple effect within local communities.”