The Ministry of Community Development Youth Council launched the “Community Dialogue” initiative in the presence of Her Excellency Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of Community Development, coinciding with the “World Social Responsibility Day.”
The initiative is an interactive dialogue platform that brings together decision-makers, officials, and people with inspiring experiences and successes in the UAE within a positive dialogue to discuss various societal issues and learn about best practices with the aim of coming up with effective and practical recommendations and solutions that empower all societal groups and promote authentic Emirati values and customs.
The launch of the initiative was attended by the Ministry’s Undersecretaries and leaders, a number of officials from the public and private sectors, senior citizens, people of determination and youth.
The first “Community Dialogue” session, held at the Union Museum in Dubai, discussed the importance of the concept of “social responsibility” and its key role in promoting development and social empowerment in the UAE by addressing four axes that addressed social responsibility from the perspective of “society and the culture of volunteering and empowerment”, “the national media system”, “sustainable empowerment of national cadres”, and “youth and the culture of the impossible”. The
discussions, moderated by content creator Marwan Al Shehhi and Basma Al Habsi, Head of the Youth Council of the Ministry of Community Development, hosted His Excellency Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary-General of the Emirati Cadres Competitiveness Council; His Excellency Saeed Al Eter, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Projects and Head of the UAE Government Media Office; His Excellency Abdullah Al Ameri, Director-General of the Community Contributions Authority “Ma’an”; and Khalid Al Nuaimi, Director-General of the Federal Youth Authority.
The session was also attended by a number of inspiring community success stories: Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Hamdan Al Nuaimi, Director of the Commercial Registration Department at the Department of Economic Development in Ajman, Alia Al Shamlan, CEO of “Farjan Dubai”, Taiba Mughair Al Darmaki, Project Manager at the Presidential Court, Israa Ali, a student with special needs at the United Arab Emirates University and a member of the Emirates Rare Diseases Society, and Engineer Ahmed Al Mutawa, Climate Change Ambassador at “COP28”.
Basma Al Habsi, Head of the Youth Council of the Ministry of Community Development, explained that “Community Dialogue” is one of the sustainable initiatives of the Council, which was inspired by the idea of the historic meeting held between the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his brother Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, may God bless their souls, in “Arqoub Al Sedira” to agree on the establishment of the UAE, where dialogue and intellectual convergence were the supreme values that left a positive impact and lesson that we still learn from its lessons and morals to this day under the shadow of our wise leadership... pointing out that upcoming community dialogues will be organized inside and outside the country to enhance the values of positive dialogue and enrich the sessions with qualitative discussions and recommendations that achieve our vision and goals in empowering the Emirati society.
The session activities began with a discussion of the two themes “Social Responsibility from the Perspective of: Society” and “Culture of Volunteering, Empowerment and the National Media System”. His Excellency Abdullah Al Ameri said that “Ma’an Authority” is keen to consolidate the values of social responsibility and empower it across all sectors by activating the role of individuals, institutions and sectors of the public and private society and civil society towards the issues of their society and enabling them to participate effectively and contribute positively to developing sustainable solutions and services that address the specific social priorities that concern individuals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to build a cohesive and cooperative society through an integrated program to direct community contributions and allocate them through innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms that support addressing urgent social priorities in Abu Dhabi.
For her part, Alia Al Shamlan stated that “Farjan Dubai” has aimed, since its launch in the Al Barsha area, to enhance social communication between the residents of Dubai’s neighborhoods, citizens, through virtual platforms, and to consolidate and spread the culture of volunteering. She pointed out that through the great support of the wise leadership, they have more than 100,000 volunteers in two years, and their initiatives have gone beyond social media platforms in their impact, to the point that they are currently organizing many community events, and “Farjan Dubai” has transformed from a mere idea into a voluntary social institution that enjoys the support and follow-up of individuals and institutions in society.
For his part, His Excellency Saeed Al Eter stressed that the national media, with its various institutions and means, has recorded continuous successes in performing its role as a true and effective partner in accelerating the achievement of national priorities, especially the role played by the media as a tool for societal change capable of consolidating positive values among all members of society and its institutions. He pointed out that today we see the UAE distinguished by a unique and well-established system of social responsibility for all as a result of the wise vision of the wise leadership, which made promoting the culture and practices of social responsibility a national priority.
His Excellency praised the “Community Dialogue” initiative launched by the Youth Council of the Ministry of Community Development in conjunction with the World Social Responsibility Day, stressing that youth are a fundamental pillar in the vision of the UAE leadership for comprehensive development, as the wise leadership attaches utmost importance to youth and their empowerment and places them at the center of its interests, especially with regard to arming them with the tools of the future and positive values and enhancing the spirit of social responsibility in their souls because youth are the real strength and the first wealth of the UAE, its superiority and the future of development and excellence in it.
For his part, His Excellency Ghanem Al Mazrouei stressed that social responsibility is not just a commitment from companies or institutions, but rather an integrated partnership between the public and private sectors and between individuals themselves, and it is a necessity to achieve sustainable development and prosperity. Emiratisation is a fundamental issue in responsibility towards society, and it also represents a reciprocal relationship between all parties and falls within the framework of the responsibility of private sector establishments towards the state and society. He stressed that the “Nafis” program worked to establish strategic cooperation relations with various companies and institutions, which contributed to creating an integrated work environment that supports national cadres and ensures the sustainability of employment growth in the private sector.
For his part, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Hamdan Al Nuaimi pointed to the role of the Department of Economic Development in Ajman in empowering youth in the entrepreneurship sector by launching qualitative initiatives such as the “Ta’zeez” program for the development of small and medium enterprises and the “Riyada” program for practicing economic activities at home, and their keenness to develop legislation and policies, while advising young people who are about to start their own projects to prepare a good feasibility study for it and to know the competitors and the impact of the project in supporting the state’s economy, stressing the importance of seizing the many opportunities provided by the state to young people.
At the end of the session, the Ministry of Community Development honored the participants in appreciation of their efforts in supporting social development. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank was also honored for its effective contribution to community projects over 17 years, including support for mass weddings and initiatives targeting youth and senior citizens.
25 Sep 2024