Arun Sudhaman 08 Feb 2013 // 12:00AM GMT
DOHA--Qatar’s Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, wife of the Gulf nation’s Emir, has enlisted Weber Shandwick to provide a broad range of communications support.
The Holmes Report understands that the agency has been tasked with leading communications for a programme that aims to help more children around the world receive primary school education.
The ‘Educate a Child’ platform was launched at last year’s WISE summit, the education event for which Weber Shandwick already handles PR duties.
Weber Shandwick’s work on the initiative is linked to an overall assignment that seeks to boost Sheikha Moza’s social media presence, following a tender that was revealed by the Holmes Report last year.
The assignments add up to a substantial amount of business for Weber Shandwick in Qatar. The firm declined to comment, while Sheikha Moza’s office did not respond to repeated request for comment.
The social media brief aims to boost global understanding Sheikha Moza’s work in the region, which include numerous social initiatives that focus on women, children and education.
Sheikha Moza serves as chairperson of the Qatar Foundation, a wealthy NGO that is behind such projects as the WISE Summit and Education City. In addition, Sheikha Moza plays a key role in reforming healthcare and schooling in the nation.
The Educate a Child initiative targets the 61m children that miss out on basic education because of poverty, conflict, natural disaster and prejudice. The programme is already supporting 25 projects in countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
On the global stage, Sheikha Moza has also been associated with United Nations’ initiatives for the past decade. She is currently a member of the UN Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group, after previously being appointed Alliance of Civilizations (AOC) Ambassador by the UN Secretary General.
The international assignments are the latest in a string of multi-market briefs to emerge from Qatar, including programmes for Muntajat and Qatari Diar.