Emirates Foundation hosts senior level delegation from the International Association for Volunteering Effort

ABU DHABI – Emirates Foundation, the national organization set up by the Abu Dhabi Government to facilitate public-private funded initiatives for the empowerment of youth across the UAE, hosted this week a Senior-level delegation from the International Association for Volunteering Effort. The visit to Abu Dhabi comes as the capital is announced as one of 3 top international capitals shortlisted to host IAVE World Volunteer Conference in 2020, the largest global gathering of volunteering experts and practitioners.

The IAVE visit comes as part of the final bid evaluation phase, and including meetings with various UAE government bodies, officials, volunteering association and organizations. During their visit to Emirates Foundation, the delegation received first hand insights into the UAE’s pioneering work in the area of volunteering, creation of a strong and sustainable volunteering model and cultivating a culture of volunteerism.

Commenting on the visit, H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon, Managing Director of Emirates Foundation said: “Volunteerism is a true reflection of the vision set forth by the wise leadership of the UAE to nurture a culture of giving and civic engagement by our youth. This is done through relentless education, awareness and the creation of programs that enable youth to volunteer while creating social and economic impact in their community and the nation overall.”

H.E. added, “Today with a solid infrastructure in place to embrace promote volunteering efforts and an active eco-system of partners working collectivity to enhance volunteering endeavors, the UAE has become a successful model of creating volunteering impact at scale and in setting the standards and best practices for the region to follow.”

“These reflect the UAE’s commitment towards promoting and celebrating the values, beliefs and practices of giving and volunteering across the UAE and putting youth at the forefront of finding lasting solutions to theirs and their community’s most pressing challenges.” H.E. concluded.

H.E. Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai said: “The UAE leadership has played a fundamental role in instilling a mindset of volunteering amongst youth and the community through promoting the principles of giving and civic engagement as part of everyday life, while creating meaningful volunteering opportunities for our youth."

“Through recognizing the power of partnerships early on, our leadership has also been instrumental in creating an enabling volunteering ecosystem in the UAE and paving the way for thousands of youth to participate in monumental volunteering opportunities, such as those offered by Expo 2020, which will be positively transformational for the progress of our nation.”

H.E. Sana Suhail Undersecretary, at the Ministry of Community Development said:” Today, we are uniquely positioned as a nation to share our learnings, best practices and models in nurturing and cultivating volunteering through systematic programs, digital nationwide portals and most importantly youth experiences both locally and internationally.”

“Through volunteers.ae, the national largest volunteering platform, we have successfully attracted, trained and mobilized over 300,000 volunteers in a short period of time, all of whom are offering unique and specialized volunteering support across all sectors within the UAE. The operations and management of such an establishment is worth examining and sharing as a successful case study demonstrating the power of collective civic engagement and the deeply rooted impact it has on the nation.”

Maytha Al Habsi, CEO at Emirates Foundation, said: “We were honored to host the International Association for Volunteering Effort delegation at Emirates Foundation, whose work has gone a long way over the last four decades to promote and strengthen volunteerism across the globe. At Emirates Foundation, we believe that IAVE offers a unique platform for growth and exchange; and it’s through sharing our work, progress and learnings that we can all work together meaningfully towards spreading and advancing volunteerism with successful models and adaptable blueprint for the region and beyond.”

-Ends-

About Emirates Foundation

Emirates Foundation was launched on 12 April 2005 as an initiative of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. It is chaired by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Emirates Foundation is a national organization set up to facilitate public-private funded initiatives for the empowerment of youth across the UAE, putting them at the forefront of economic, social and human capital development through market-based research programs.

The Foundation works with public and private sector partners to meet national goals and respond to society’s most pressing challenges in the areas of youth empowerment & engagement, volunteering and entrepreneurship powered by digital smart platforms and defined through data-driven market needs.

For more information on Emirates Foundation, please contact:

Samar Abdulhadi – samar@inspirat.us +971504546313

About IAVE

IAVE exists to promote, strengthen and celebrate volunteering in all of the myriad ways it happens throughout the world. With members in 70+ countries, IAVE is the connective tissue of a global network of leaders of volunteering, NGOs, businesses and volunteer centers that share a belief in the power of volunteers to make a significant strategic contribution to resolving the world’s most pressing problems.

© Press Release 2018