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Dhs 37 Million for Culture Endowment by the “Cultural Rewaq”

20 May, 2016

Dhs 37 Million for Culture Endowment by the “Cultural Rewaq”
Dhs 37 Million for Culture Endowment by the “Cultural Rewaq”
Dhs 37 Million for Culture Endowment by the “Cultural Rewaq”

Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy supports innovative emndowment to stimulate government and private sector participants to contribute to the community

The Ousha bint Hussein Endowment for ‘Cultural Rewaq’ was announced as 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. The endowment was established by Dr. Mouza Obaid Ghobash dedicated to and in remembrance of her mother, the late Ousha bint Hussein bin Nasser Lootah, providing support with an annual cost of 3 million dirhams and with endowment equivalent assets exceeding 37 million dirhams.

The concept of the cultural endowment was adopted by Dr. Mouza Ghobash to change the perception of endowment from its traditional characterization. The endowment was announced in coordination with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy (MBRGCEC) to promote awareness of the importance of supporting UAE culture and revive endowment as a tool for societal development.

Based on this initiative, Ousha bint Hussein Cultural Rewaq received 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 cultural awareness through endowment.

Dr. Mouza Ghobash, Founder of Ousha bint Hussein Cultural Rewaq said: "We are very pleased to support the Global Vision for Endowments, which revives endowment as a tool for development of the community in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. This vision emphasizes the expansion of endowment beyond its traditional version. We at the Ousha bint Hussein Cultural Rewaq embrace the concept of innovative endowment launched by His Highness through the cultural endowment. The Ousha bint Hussein Cultural endowment will provide a cultural and intellectual base for the UAE and pioneer the development of cultural endowments. I founded this endowment in the memory of my mother, late Ousha bint Hussein bin Nasser Lootah, and to be a monument that contributes to the culture."

Dr. Mouza Ghobash further stated: "We are delighted to obtain the Dubai Endowment Sign launched by His Highness to highlight the development efforts undertaken by the institutions through the concept of endowment. This sign will be a catalyst in showcasing our efforts in the UAE society and promote the developmental role played by us."

Commenting on the launch, Dr. Hamad Al Hammadi, , Secretary General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy, stated: " The innovative endowment is one of the key initiatives of the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy and focuses on strengthening society through the contribution of government and private entities. 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. The Ousha bint Hussein Cultural Rewaq is considered one of the prominent institutions in the cultural field and the cultural endowment adopted by Dr. Mouza Ghobash underlines the importance of the participation of members of the community and its institutions in the development of our beautiful country"

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 provides the necessary consultation 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 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.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has encouraged Dubai government agencies that enter into procurement and contracts to provide favorable treatment to suppliers and companies that have adopted the Dubai Endowment Sign.  Accordingly, the procurement departments in government entities will apply this standard besides the technical and financial criteria when they are choosing suppliers or service providers.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy, one of the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives, oversees the largest global initiative to revive Endowments including legislation and rules for endowments, products and services and the Endowment district. The Centre works on the implementation of the Dubai Endowments Strategy and achieving the Global Vision in this area by stimulating and empowering endowments to meet the pressing social needs. The Centre provides services to members of local, regional and global institutions at no cost to convert endowment into one of the main catalysts of development in the Arab world. The Centre works to provide Awqaf and endowment consultation according to international best practices, and consulting in wqaf and endowments deployment options to enhance the social impact for the benefit of the 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.