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Basketball legend supports Imperial College London Diabetes Centre Walk 2014 diabetes awareness initiatives
Los Angeles Lakers legend will be coming to the UAE on 28th October to kick off the ICLDC Take a Step for Diabetes Week with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The week will feature a series of health and fitness education events. The title partner of the event is Imperial College of London Diabetes, a state-of-the-art, out-patient facility that specialises in diabetes treatment, research, training and public health awareness.
With public health as one of its core pillars, ICLDC launched Diabetes-Knowledge-Action, a public health awareness campaign in 2007 to call attention to the wellness of the nation. It is now the UAE’s longest running public health awareness initiative. The campaign presently has four pillars: Eat for Life, Cook for Life, Play for Life and Walk for Life.
“We are very excited to have Kareem visit the UAE in support of ICLDC’s healthy lifestyle campaign. His participation in various community events hosted by our centres in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain will really help re-enforce the message that a balanced diet and regular exercise are the smart, simple steps needed,” said Bashar Al Ramahi, ICLDC’s Chief Executive Officer.
He noted that Abdul-Jabbar’s support in getting these messages out to the nation is especially valuable as the countdown for ICLDC’s annual community event, #Walk2014, as well as World Diabetes Day. They take place on November 7 and November 14, respectively.
The week-long health awareness initiative led by all-time leading scorer in the NBA and advocate of health and fitness, will include Abdul-Jabbar conducting an educational talk at a school on topics including balanced diet, preparing your own lunchbox and exercise to avoid diabetes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be visiting the ICLDC’s facilities in both Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to highlight the Play for Life pillar, promoting regular exercise for healthy living to corporate teams, among other messages. Since 2008, Play for Life hosts a football tournament and encourages organisations to swap their desks for the football pitch with over two thousand players participating so far. In Abu Dhabi, Abdul-Jabbar will be having an interactive discussion with selected players from the companies in Play for Life.
Abdul-Jabbar will also be participating in a series of other health and fitness initiatives throughout the United Arab Emirates. The objective of his visit is to promote the public health awareness campaign’s four pillars to engage the UAE to start living a healthy lifestyle.
Abdul-Jabbar will also be participating in a series of other health and fitness initiatives throughout the United Arab Emirates. The objective of his visit is to promote the public health awareness campaign’s four pillars to engage the UAE to start living a healthy lifestyle.ICLDC and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to increase public health awareness by utilising the campaign to engage the local community about the importance of active lifestyles.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a global icon that changed the game of professional basketball and went on to become a celebrated author, filmmaker, and ambassador of education. As one of the NBA’s all time greatest players, the 7-feet-2-inch Hall of Fame center, famous for his indefensible skyhook, dominated the NBA for 20 years amassing six NBA championships, 19 all-star team selections, and 38,387 points, making him the NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer.
In 2012, the New York Times best-selling author was appointed to be the US Cultural Ambassador by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. He is currently a contributing columnist for Time Magazine and Society Editor for The Tokyo Journal. He is currently filming his bio-pic for HBO set to release February 2015. Each year Kareem helps 22,000 school-children attend Camp Skyhook which gives kids a shot that cannot be blocked. The Los Angeles based camp incorporates a hands-on five day outdoor learning experience in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Learn more at www.campskyhook.org
