In coincidence with the decision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan declared 2017 as the 'Year of Giving, Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation announced its participation in the Global Endowment Vision adopted by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum- the Vice President, and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai- for the revival of endowment as a developmental practice for communities. The participation of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Foundation has been represented in providing a sustainable donation valued at AED 5 million on annual basis for medical education at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
This sustainable community service comes within the framework of the Innovative Endowment concept in coordination with Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy(MBRGCEC); and also within the medical education endowment adopted by the Centre in collaboration with the university. As the Innovative Endowment concept allows the establishment of various types of endowment as a developmental practice through services and products and other tools; and not to be limited to property assets, as the case is with the conventional endowment.
Based on this initiative, the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Foundation will receive the Dubai Endowment Sign from the MBRGCEC, one of the key initiatives under the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives, in recognition of their contribution to the community as a model for private sector enterprises. This sign gives procurement privileges for the private sector with Government of Dubai entities as per the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
“We have participated in the initiative due to our firm belief in the importance of the decision adopted by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, to declare 2017 “the Year of Giving”. In addition to our support to the Global Endowment Vision adopted by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Such vision that contributes to the development of our communities and to become a global model to be followed in order to contribute to the development of all the state’s sectors in collaboration with the private sector. We hope, through this Innovative Endowment, we could achieve the desired impact,” Dr. Raja Easa Al Gurg, Chairperson of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation, said.
Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Dean of the College of Medicine at MBRU, has stressed the importance of cooperation amongst the private sector’s entities in supporting community initiatives within the UAE: “We highly appreciate the endowment support by Easa Saleh Al Gurg Foundation, which will be allocated for medical education at the university. Moreover, we are looking forward to more fruitful cooperation with such leading entities, which in turn will contribute to the enhancement of the health standards, the development of medical capabilities across the state and building sustainable potentials within the health sector in the UAE.”
Alsheikh also demonstrated the importance of endowment in supporting the fields of medical research at the university and providing the community with health and medical qualified cadres that are capable of addressing the various health issues with exceptional competence; in addition to accomplishing leadership and distinction in the field of medicine and health sciences at domestic, regional and international levels.
Dr. Hamad Al Hammady, Secretary-General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy stated: " Declaring 2017 as the 'Year of Giving' by His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, is a great opportunity for all private sector companies to utilize the innovative endowment concept. The Innovative endowment, part of the Global Vision for Endowments, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai has opened a wide door to the development of communities, which brings this important development tool to support community development.
The innovative endowment adopted by Mohammed bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy serves to provide unlimited opportunities for government and private sector institutions and works to advance the narrow definition of Awqaf and its perception, hence the importance of the contribution of the public and private sectors, which can devise initiatives that support the development of communities and meet various social needs. We believe that the contribution of the community through innovative endowments are unlimited and government and private sector institutions can participate in the service of the community regardless of the size of their contribution. Al Gurg Foundation has become a partner in the community by contributing through the innovative endowment, and will be provided the Dubai Endowment Sign launched by His Highness."
The Secretary General of the Centre said that the website - www.MBRgcec.ae is ready to receive inquiries from all interested individuals and organizations wishing to obtain the Dubai Endowment Sign.
The Centre will also provide the necessary consulting to public and private institutions in promoting community contribution by the Dubai Endowment Sign, which helps build a range of community services that address the most important needs of the community through the active participation of institutions.
The Dubai Endowment Sign was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as a key initiative of the Global Vision for Awqaf and Endowments, and highlights community participation by providing an opportunity to government and private sector institutions to participate in community service through innovative endowments in favor of the development needs of the community.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy, one of the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives, will oversee the largest global initiative to revive Endowments including legislation and rules for endowments, products and services and the Endowment district. The new Centre will work on the implementation of the Dubai Awqaf and Endowments Strategy and achieving the Global Vision in this area by stimulating and empowering awqaf and endowments to meet the pressing social needs of people. The Centre will provide services to members of local, regional and global institutions at no cost to convert Awqaf into one of the main catalysts of development in the Arab world. The Centre works to provide Awqaf and endowment consulting according to international best practices, and consulting in wqaf and endowments deployment options to enhance the social impact for the benefit of the Arab people. The Centre also works on knowledge management in the field of Awqaf and endowments through research, studies and the organization of conferences, workshops and partnerships, as well as capacity-building and raising the efficiency of employees working in this area.
Dubai's Global Vision of Awqaf and Endowments, aims to revive Endowments and transform Dubai into a global center to stimulate and enable Awqaf and endowments to serve humanity through eight enablers including a comprehensive strategy, a clear legislative environment, effective consulting, adopting global best practices in the creation and management of Awqaf and endowments foundations, maximize the impact of Awqaf and endowments through highlighting innovative social opportunities, monitor urgent social needs that can be addressed by Awqaf and endowments, and finally by stimulating Awqaf and endowment through collective funding opportunities. These eight enablers work together in an integrated approach to achieve Dubai’s global vision in this area. These enablers address four strategic objectives, the first of which is to turn Dubai into a catalyst to serve the community through endowments and donations. The second objective is to transform Dubai into a strategic regional hub to meet the social needs in the Arab world harnessing Awqaf and endowments. The third objective is to transform Dubai into a source of global best practices for Awqaf and endowments, while the fourth objective is to transform Dubai into a global center for research and expertise of Awqaf and endowments.
The Center utilises the Dubai Monitoring system for the social needs in the Arab world, a system created by the Center for monitoring the most prominent social needs that can be met through Awqaf and endowments in the Arab world. The system harnesses reliable global data sources to calculate and develop a heat-map of the most important needs of each country in the Arab world. The system data is updated periodically. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy also provides consulting in this area for the concerned local, regional and global institutions.
The Centre has also developed a Best Practices Guide for Awqaf and endowments that combines global best practices with practical examples of various international experiences in the creation and management of Awqaf and Endowment foundations. The Guide explains the best way for the formulation of strategic plans for organizations that operate in the field of Awqaf and endowments customized based on each organizations’ needs, size and objectives. The Guide also includes options for organizational structure, the general framework for setting priorities for projects to maximize social impact, investment management, performance indicators, as well as development operations. The Centre provides the necessary consulting in this area for existing or yet-to-be-established Awqaf and endowment institutions.