15 day festival will include exclusive events, prizes and surprises
Sharjah - As part of the ongoing preparations across the country in general, and in the emirate of Sharjah in particular, the Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) yesterday announced the program of activities of its 5th Ramadan Tent in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan.
The announcement was made during a press conference at the bank's headquarters, which took place in the presence of a number of the bank's officials, special guests and media representatives.
Present at the press conference were Mr. Hassan Abdallah Al Balgoni, Head of the Public Relations and Media Division at SIB and Head of the Ramadan Tent organizing committee; Mr. Khalid Ahmed, Director of the Corporate Organizing Office at the Watani Program; Mr. Jassim Al Baloushi, Chairman of the Sharjah Development Forum; Mr. Khalid Moukalid, Business Development Manager at Ruwad; and Mr. Abdul Ghafour Al Raesi, Board Member and Deputy Director of the Culture and Community Development Committee at the Al Thiqah Club for Handicapped.
Included in SIB's Ramadan Tent program is a wide range of religious, cultural, community, sporting and entertaining activities, and the tent's management has allocated attractive prizes for participants. In addition, participants can look forward to a number of yet to be revealed surprises catering to all groups of society, as well as special evenings dedicated to women, children and people with special needs.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Hassan Abdallah Al Balgoni, Head of the Public Relations and Media Division at SIB and Head of the Ramadan Tent organizing committee, said: "As part of its strategy for the holy month of Ramadan, the bank is keen to offer various meaningful programs that serve the community while reflecting the meaning of the holy month and its significance to the Emirati community.
"With the 5th edition of the Ramadan Tent, and our aim of expanding its programs and activities to communicate with all groups of society, we have established bridges of cooperation with various departments as part of the community partnership concept, which is in line with the bank's executive management strategy."
He added: "We are confident that the tent will be truly distinct this year, and that there will be numerous positive responses to the various surprises, gifts and programs on offer."
In line with social communication trends, SIB has launched Twitter@SIBRamadanTent, which will be accessible through the banks PIN: 278B6668. Communication with the public will also be supported through http://www.facebook.com/SharjahIslamicBank.
Said Al Balgoni: "I greatly appreciate the constant efforts exerted by the tent's organizing committee, and I would like to reaffirm the bank's eagerness to participate in various activities that support our special Islamic character. Management will consider all positive ideas and suggestions put forward in forthcoming sessions of the Ramadan Tent."
Al Balgoni stated that the organizing committee, upon the recommendation of the bank's executive management, decided to change the location of this year's Ramadan Tent in order to reach the largest number of people possible and that, after studying a number of options, the new location was approved at Al Rifae on the Emirates Road, near Al Rahma Mosque opposite Al Rifae School.
"We chose this strategic location as it is situated in the middle of the city, making it easily accessible from different roads. It is also connected with the Emirates Road, enabling those coming from outside Sharjah to reach it without difficulty," he explained.
The 5th edition of the SIB Ramadan Tent will run from 4 to 18 August, with daily activities starting after Taraweeh prayers at 10pm. The tent's activities will be launched on Thursday, 4 August 2011, with a religious lecture delivered by the reputed preacher Sheikh Dr Mohammed Al Arifi, who will speak about the virtues of the holy month in enhancing communication and establishing affinity between people from different nationalities and backgrounds.
The lecture will be organized in cooperation with the Watani program, which is participating as a Ramadan Tent partner for the third consecutive year. A second religious lecture, also co-organized by Watani, will be delivered by Dr. Mustafa Ammar Al Manla from Al Madinah Al Munawwarah Researches and Studies Centre on Saturday, 6 August, under the theme "A night in Makkah".
On Friday, (5 August), the SIB Ramadan Tent will host the national expert on etiquette and protocol, Prof. Mohammed Al Marzouqi, who will deliver a lecture on Islamic etiquette under the title "Ramadan, the School of Etiquette".
The tent will also host a media evening on Sunday, 7 August. The lecture, themed "The UAE media: challenges and ambitions", will be attended by a group of prominent local media figures, including Mr. Sami Al Riyami, editor-in-chief of Emirates Today, Mr. Mohammed Najib, Head of Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, Mr. Ahmed Salem Awal, Director of Sharjah TV, and Mr. Adnan Hamad, former Regional Manager of ART Sport in the GCC region.
In support of youth enterprises, the SIB Ramadan Tent in collaboration with the National Network for Small and Medium Enterprises and Ruwad, will organize an evening called "Leadership in Youth Enterprises" on Monday, 8 August. The talk will highlight when and how to start a project, and will look at the proper steps and methods to follow.
The following day (9 August) the tent will host Major General Hamid Al Hadidi, Director General of the Sharjah Police Department, who will deliver a community awareness seminar on the phenomenon of white arms and how to prevent it. The seminar will be attended by a number of police science experts and researchers.
In response to requests to dedicate an evening to women, the Ramadan Tent in cooperation with the Sharjah Supreme Council for Family Affairs, will organize an educational family evening aimed exclusively at women. Hosted under the theme "Our Children are Well", the event will see the participation of women's unions and associations from across the country.
Based on the great success of last year's song evening, which was organized in cooperation with Munshid Al Sharjah, the tent will again host a song evening boasting contestants from the new edition of Munshid Al Sharjah. This year will also see the addition of Al Naham Singers.
Entertainment, sports and children's activities will be organized on Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th, respectively, while an evening devoted to social responsibility - in cooperation with the Sharjah Development Forum - will take place on 14 August. The event will highlight the importance of social responsibility in the private sector and will look at the role of the business sector in supporting economic growth and social development.
In addition, the tent will host an evening for people with special needs on Monday, 15 August, which will take place in cooperation with the Al Thiqah Club for Handicapped. This will be followed by an evening of charity volunteering on 16 August that will see the participation of the Sharjah Cooperative Society, the UAE Red Crescent Sharjah Branch, and the Zakat Fund Abu Dhabi. Various programs will be presented during the closing event.
It is worth noting that the SIB Ramadan Tent organizing committee has also sponsored the "Khalkum Wayana" program, which will be broadcast during Ramadan in cooperation with Sharjah Radio. The bank has presented Dh50.000 worth prizes and has allocated four evenings for live broadcast from the tent.
Daily draws will take place with great prizes on offer. The grand draw will be held on 18 August, the final day of the tent.
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About SIB
Sharjah Islamic Bank, formerly known as National Bank of Sharjah, was founded by an Amiri decree issued by H.H. Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council, and Ruler of Sharjah, to provide commercial banking services to firms and individuals. Originally a conventional bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank became the first in the world to convert successfully to Islamic banking in 2002. Since then, all operating systems and procedures have been modified to facilitate this conversion and all employees trained in Islamic banking.
Ali Yousif
SAHARA Communications
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© Press Release 2011
