As the UAE officially marks 2017 as ‘The Year of Giving’, The Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy (MBRGCEC) and the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF) - part of the world’s leading conservation organization – start off the year with the launch of a first-of-its-kind initiative to support environment through endowment. This initiative is following the ‘Global Vision for Endowment’, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to revive the practice of endowment through innovative applications. It is aligned with the vision declared by the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to promote the culture of giving back to the community and enhance the spirit of loyalty to one’s country in 2017.
According to this initiative, EWS-WWF will specify the private sector companies willing to support environment programs sustainably so they meet the criteria to be eligible for the Dubai Endowment Sign in coordination with MBRGCEC. Companies can communicate directly with EWS-WWF to present their efforts and be considered to attain the sign. This sign demonstrates the company’s contribution to the vision of the country and gives privilege for the private sector in procurement with Government of Dubai as per the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
The environment endowment initiative aims at strengthening public awareness of the importance of environment programmes, and encouraging companies to initiate their corporate social responsibility to support initiatives, studies, and research in the field of environment. Positive participation of the private sector and social figures are expected so as to translate the vision of Sheikh Khalifa which marks 2017 as The Year of Giving in the UAE.
Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Deputy Director General at EWS-WWF said: “The UAE has a rich natural heritage as well as a history of protecting it. It is our collective duty as residents to help preserve our environment so our children and future generations can enjoy good and healthy lives. We will work in the coming period to attract supporters to be part of our innovative endowment and thus to contribute to the development of society through environmental support. We encourage companies willing to participate to reach out directly to us, and help us bring to life the first pillar of The Year of Giving which aims at creating a sense of community responsibility in the private sectors so as to fulfil their role in serving the community and contribute in the developmental march of the country.”
Dr. Hamad Al Hammady, Secretary-General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy stated: "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. Thus, we are keen to search for social needs that can be supported by endowment. We hope that the environment endowment will attract lots of companies willing to support environment programs and research. Although participation in this initiative is considered as CSR, we provide a number of benefits to companies receiving the Dubai Endowment Sign. This includes media and marketing campaigns, promoting the efforts by using the endowment sign in all types of communication including websites, forms, buildings and others. Most importantly, the sign gives privilege to companies in Dubai Government contracts as per directives by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.”
The Secretary General of the Centre said that the website - www.MBRgcec.ae is ready to receive enquiries from all interested individuals and organizations wishing to make a positive difference for our environment and support the Environmental Endowment Fund.
To contact EWS-WWF directly, visit the website (http://uae.panda.org/) or email Dima Najim, Project Manager – Sustainable Funding, on dnajim@ewswwf.ae
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About Emirates Wildlife Society – WWF
Emirates Wildlife Society is a national (UAE) environmental non-governmental organisation established in 2001 under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s representative in the western region and Chairman of Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi. Emirates Wildlife Society works in association with WWF, one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations, with offices in 100 countries. The association is commonly known as EWS-WWF. Our vision is to build a future where humans live in harmony with nature. Our mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the environment. We work with people and institutions in the UAE and region, to implement conservation solutions through science, research, policy, education and awareness. For more information please visit www.uae.panda.org
About The Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy
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 utilizes 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.