We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
We uniquely combine the UK’s deep expertise in arts and culture, education and the English language, our global presence and relationships in over 100 countries, our unparalleled access to young people and influencers and our creative sparkle.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
The British Council in UAE
The British Council’s office in the United Arab Emirates is one of over 100 worldwide. It was established 46 years ago and is one of our most important operations today.
We work in three key areas: arts, English and education, with a focus on young people.
Our work in English supports the Emirati and UAE resident community through English language courses at our Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah centres. We have also set a standard of training teachers through our CELTA courses and our co-operation with government bodies.
We work closely with schools and universities providing examinations to students both directly and through our partners.
Our work in education and training is at the heart of the UAE's ambitions to develop its young people to be competitive, and to engage internationally. We develop the skills of young people, through programmes such as Skills for Employability and Connecting Classrooms. We support international academic links between UAE and British Universities through programmes such as Internationalising Higher Education.
Our arts programme promotes UK participation in major cultural events, capacity building in the creative sectors and opportunities for UK engagement in the development of the UAE cultural sectors.
