By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Amna Al Habtoor, founder of Arcadia, and the Noor Dubai Foundation have announced a collaboration to support the treatment of UAE residents in recognition of World Sight Day, which takes place on 14 October.
The Noor Dubai UAE treatment program, launched in 2016, provides funding for UAE residents with limited financial means, who suffer from critical eye diseases. Since its launch, the program has successfully treated 230 patients from 16 different nationalities.
As part of the campaign, Arcadia has launched a special limited-edition fragrance titled Unity designed to underscore the sense of havoc and confusion created when losing one of the senses yet being anchored by the others. The bottle features a unique design with all labels and box sleeves written in braille, while the perfume itself is inspired by Noor Dubai’s branding and coloured in a shade of blue. 20% of all sale proceeds will be donated to the Foundation.
The collaboration was launched with a series of videos featuring visually impaired individuals who were asked a series of questions about their condition, their heightened senses (smell particularly) and emotions and memories recalled when smelling the Unity fragrance. The videos have been commissioned to create awareness on how visually impaired people lead their day to day lives and with increased reliance on other senses.
“Arcadia is a brand that represents the idea of a utopic existence where each nostalgic fragrance is coupled with a narrative, underscoring the euphoric experience that occurs while reminiscing. When we all understand the struggles of a visually impaired person, our humanity unites our vision for better days. We are proud to be supporting a UAE charity with the mission to fight blindness worldwide,” said Amna Al Habtoor.
Arcadia will also be providing free eye screening at its Dar al Wasl branch via the Noor Dubai mobile eye clinic. The eye screening will further raise awareness on the importance of annual eye checkups, as early detection of eye diseases can prevent the development of visual impairment.
The team at Arcadia will provide a complimentary 15ml Unity fragrance for everyone participating in the screening which will take place between 5pm – 8pm on Thursday 14 October. Results of the screening will be shared with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) as part of their global campaign for World Sight Day.
Dr Manal Taryam, CEO & Board Member Noor Dubai Foundation, said: “It is our pleasure to collaborate with the homegrown brand Arcadia to support our national treatment program. We hope to inspire other homegrown brands and companies to take part in supporting our mission of improving the well-being of individuals through the prevention of blindness worldwide.”
