At the end of May, our project manager Isa visited the Dominican Republic at the invitation of the TUI Care Foundation. The foundation organized an international conference there to celebrate its tenth anniversary. For Net4kids, this was a special opportunity to further strengthen our relatively new partnership with the TUI Care Foundation and to exchange knowledge with organizations from different parts of the world. It is precisely this international knowledge exchange that helps us further strengthen our projects and offer prospects to even more young people.
International cooperation
Since 2025, the TUI Care Foundation has been supporting the two-year hospitality training program of our Vietnamese project partner KOTO. Net4kids brought both organizations together, thereby laying the foundation for the TUI Academy Hanoi. Every year, 100 vulnerable young people are trained here for a sustainable career in the hospitality sector. The program combines vocational training with personal development, enabling young people not only to obtain a diploma but also to develop the skills and self-confidence to build an independent future.
The TUI Academy Hanoi is part of the international Academy programs of the TUI Care Foundation. Similar academies are now active in Sri Lanka, Cape Verde, Jamaica, Tanzania, and Thailand, among others. This is precisely why the anniversary conference took place in the Dominican Republic, where the very first TUI Academy was established and continues to operate successfully.
Sharing knowledge and connecting
It was particularly valuable to come together with organizations that, each in their own context, work towards similar objectives. Knowledge sharing and collaboration were central to the conference. What challenges do the various academies face? What can we learn from each other? How do we ensure that these programs remain successful and sustainable in the long term? And what role can the TUI Care Foundation play in this?
A great example of this is the collaboration with local TUI hotels. By actively connecting academies to hotels within the TUI network, more opportunities arise for internships, practical experience, and ultimately sustainable employment for graduated students. Jimmy Pham, founder of KOTO, also participated in a panel discussion. There, he spoke about the impact of the program in Vietnam and the power of sustainable partnerships.
The power of partnership
For Isa and Jimmy, the conference was also a wonderful opportunity to meet in person for the first time. Although Net4kids and KOTO have been working together for quite some time, they had not met physically before. In addition, the week offered ample opportunity to further deepen the relationship with the TUI Care Foundation, gain more insight into their mission and other projects, and look ahead together to the future of our collaboration.
A broader view of impact
To conclude the program, we visited another initiative of the TUI Care Foundation: a project focused on the restoration of mangrove forests. It was a wonderful opportunity to experience another side of their work and to see with our own eyes how the foundation is committed to both people and nature worldwide.
Moving forward with full energy
After an inspiring week full of new encounters, ideas, and insights, we returned home full of energy. As we said goodbye, we already invited the TUI Care Foundation to meet again in Vietnam in ten years, during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the TUI Academy Hanoi 😉
