July 22, 2010

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation (SSEF) recently hosted a charity exhibition showcasing handcrafted products made by orphan girls, at the SCCI headquarters recently. The exhibition, which is part of the local chamber’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) and services initiatives, aimed at offering a wide array of hand-made products and accessories to chamber employees, clients and visitors who visited the exhibition. Proceeds of the event will be used for the benefit of the orphan girls who are under the care of SSEF.

All products that were showcased at the exhibition are a result of the Foundation’s production workshop program, which seeks to teach the orphans how to create products for a livelihood. Showcased products included Arabic-themed living room accessories and handmade fabrics like table linen, bedroom linen and prayer carpet sets. The exhibition reflects the SCCI’s continued commitment to support the government’s key social and humanitarian programs and also complements the chamber’s thrust towards implementing CSR based initiatives that can be of great benefit to the local community.

Hussein Mohammed Al Mahmoudi, Director General, SCCI, said, “We are pleased with the positive response received from hosting this charity exhibition; not only were we able to showcase the talent and creativity of the orphans who are presently under the SSEF’s care but we were also able to help raise funds for their benefit. The event reflects the chamber’s continued commitment towards various humanitarian issues and our efforts to strengthen and promote productive social involvement programs for the UAE community. The SCCI affirms its support to the SSEF and its aim to provide assistance and care to orphaned children. Moreover, hosting the event complements the SCCI’s thrust towards communicating with the society - directly and effectively – and participating and rendering support to various activities organized by social organizations and entities, and reinforcing our partnerships with government agencies, foundations and other key organizations in the emirate.”

Mona Bin Huda Al Suwaidi, Director, SSEF, said, “The SCCI’s show of support for this exhibition demonstrates the chamber’s strong commitment towards humanitarian efforts and initiatives. Their efforts will surely help the Foundation’s aim to improve the status of orphaned children by providing them with the necessary educational, social, health and psychological support. Allowing us to hold the exhibition at the SCCI headquarters provided us with the two-fold opportunity of showcasing the skills and creativity of our orphans and increasing public awareness on the Foundation’s humanitarian mission and implementation of programs for orphans in Sharjah and the rest of the UAE. The SSEF extends its heartfelt gratitude to the SCCI for the assistance and support that they have provided not only to us but also towards other social foundations with similar goals.”

The Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation was established under the directive of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qassimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in 2002. The center’s role is to give educational, social, health and psychological services to orphans in Sharjah. The center specializes in making orphans more active in their society via anything that they may need in order to create social Empowerment. The SSEF vocational and career empowerment programs provide its wards with the necessary training and rehabilitation that will develop skills, confidence and self-reliance — preparing them to take up business and career opportunities in the future.  

Emirates NBD sponsors India Club Western Union UAE Open Badminton Tournament

Dubai, July 10, 2010: Winners of the India Club - Western Union UAE Open Badminton Tournament 2010 were honoured at a prize distribution function held recently at the India Club in Dubai. Emirates NBD a leading bank in the region, was the associate sponsor for the month-long badminton tournament, which witnessed participation from men, women and children across various age groups. Emirates NBD’s sponsorship of the event is part of its annual tie up with India Club and is in keeping with its three-year association with the club.

June 23, 2010

The Prince Fahd Bin Salman Charity Association for Renal Failure Patients’ Care, a philanthropic body established to provide financial assistance to poor patients and offer health, social and preventive care to those suffering from renal failure, has recently launched a new program dedicated to providing hemodialysis care to needy renal failure patients. The new program was launched at a ceremony attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Prince of Riyadh and Chairman of the Prince Fahd charity. The launch was also marked by the signing of new partnership agreements with different private and public bodies for the interest of renal failure patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Prince Fahd Bin Salman Charity Association for Renal Failure Patients’ Care is an organization that aims to provide renal failure patients with the essential devices, medication and medical supplies necessary for treatment; encourage more scientific research on kidney related diseases and its subsequent treatment; implement awareness programs on kidney ailments and transplants; and help reinforce the Kingdom’s various organ-donation programs. Indigent renal failure patients who qualify for the newly-launched program will be able to avail of vascular and other essential medication; periodical medical examinations; transport to and from the hemodialysis center and coverage of all expenses incurred during emergency medical cases that happen during the coverage of hemodialysis sessions.

Monther Bin Trad Al Harthi, CEO, Al Rabie, said, “We commend the Prince Fahd Charity for its efforts to provide renal failure patients with the essential medication, facilities and equipment needed to help treat renal failure. Aside from this, the charity has been relentlessly implementing social programs and other related initiatives that are aimed at raising more awareness about kidney related diseases like renal failure. In line with this, Al Rabie affirms its support to His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz and the Prince Fahd charity for its continuing efforts to provide excellent medical and therapeutic services to renal failure patients.”

During the ceremony, Al Rabie Saudi Foods Co. Ltd., a leading producer of dairy products and juices in the KSA, was honored for its active partnership with the Prince Fahd charity and its efforts in helping raise donations not only for the newly launched hemodialysis program but for other initiatives that the charity has implemented. Al Rabie is widely involved in humanitarian initiatives, awareness campaigns and charity fund raising drives in the KSA and across the Islamic world. These efforts are part of a Corporate Social Responsibility program that complements the company’s strategy of utilizing its contributions to help strengthen economic and social development in the Kingdom.

May 9, 2010

Edutech, a leading education and learning solutions company, in conjunction with PTC, a US based software company, and Dubai Men’s College, a premier engineering institute, announced today (May 9th, 2010) a comprehensive program to develop and inspire the next generation of innovative and creative engineers and designers in the UAE. The unique aspect of this tri-partner agreement is the provision of a comprehensive program that includes leading CAD software from PTC, teacher training to be conducted by DMC and project-based learning activities to be spearheaded by Edutech. As part of PTC’s donation, each high school will receive a free site license of Pro|ENGINEER® Wildfire software worth AED 3.3 million, which also includes free home use for students. The total commercial value of the software donation is AED 4.6 billion and marks a major commitment to and investment in UAE education by PTC.

PTC’s Pro|ENGINEER Wildfire is currently used by over 600,000 professional engineers and designers in over 50,000 companies around the world.  In terms of education, over 10 million students in 30 different countries use Pro|ENGINEER Wildfire in technology and engineering related education. This major software donation is a first in the Middle East and is part of a concerted initiative, facilitated by Edutech, to support the teaching and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the UAE. STEM subjects are collectively considered the core technology underpinnings of an advanced society. In many forums (including political, governmental and academic) the strength of the STEM workforce is viewed as an indicator of a nation’s ability to sustain itself.

“PTC is honoured to be working in partnership with Edutech and Dubai Men’s College. At PTC, we develop world leading product development software, but the software is just part of the solution; we need teachers to receive high quality training and for students to be inspired and challenged to develop their knowledge and skills,” said Greg Sisk, Senior Director, Asia Pac and Middle East Education Programs, PTC.

A key part of this tri-partner strategic initiative is the formal agreement that Dubai Men’s College will be a PTC Authorised Training Partner. This agreement will allow DMC to deliver industry certified and recognised training in PTC’s Pro|ENGINEER Wildfire. Dubai Men’s College students will receive certified Pro|ENGINEER training which will give them a competitive advantage in the highly competitive employment market. As part of this ground breaking agreement, Dubai Men’s College will also deliver Pro|ENGINEER training to PTC’s commercial user base within the UAE.

“Dubai Men’s College is focused on delivering excellence in all aspects of our activities. Our Centre of Excellence for Engineering is delighted to become an Authorised Training Partner for PTC providing certified software training to our students, faculty and Industry,” added Phil Corcos, Acting Director of Dubai Men’s College. “We are also excited to become the ‘Scalextric4Schools’ Training Centre in Dubai with our partners Edutech. This exciting community outreach program aligns with our goals to enthuse UAE schools with activities that apply theoretical science and engineering principals within a practical yet enjoyable framework.”

This announcement is part of a strategic educational programme, which will provide an emphasis for technology & engineering in high schools and help to deliver a more complete STEM focused education, which will, in turn, produce a higher caliber of student entering higher education and the UAE workforce. STEM education is vital to building a knowledge-based economy and increasing technology literacy within the population. Employers in all industries need an educated workforce that can fully utilise technology to establish and maintain global competiveness.

“Edutech has significant experience in deploying effective and innovative learning solutions and projects,” said ASF Karim, CEO, Edutech. “Building on our success with LEGO Mindstorms, we recognized the need for a comprehensive program, which brings together the 3 crucial components; the right product, high quality teacher training, and an academically rich project-based learning activity. With this agreement, I am pleased to say we’ve got all three; PTC is donating industry leading software, Dubai Men’s College is delivering the teacher training and Scalextric4schools is the perfect project-based learning activity.”

In support of the software donation, Edutech are launching an academically rich project-based learning activity that directly supports the teaching and learning of the STEM subjects. The Scalextric4schools Design-Make-Race challenge was developed by PTC and Hornby Hobbies (owners of the Scalextric brand) and involves students designing their very own slot-car in Pro|ENGINEER and then using modern manufacturing process and materials produce their car and race it against other students.

“For companies to develop innovative products and compete in a global economy requires a highly skilled and well trained workforce. The unique nature of the agreement with Dubai Men’s College not only meets the software training needs of engineers and designers in today’s workforce, but also will help create a future, technology enabled Emirati workforce,” concluded Greg Sisk.

April 25, 2010

‘The Noble Humanitarian Awards Middle East’, a prestigious annual gathering and award ceremony to recognise the achievements of philanthropic organisations in the region, combined glamour and charity  in one  star-studded ceremony last night (April 24, 2010) at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Hosted by famous Egyptian actress Yusra, the two-hour gala event witnessed top Arab celebrities introduce and present the awards to the charity honourees, each of whom were given an award sculpture designed by Antonio Banderas with personal touches added by children with special needs from the UAE.

Among the celebrities who awarded the honourees were Adnan Al Talyani for the ‘UAE Red Crescent Authority’; Saber Rebai for ‘UNICEF’; Mohammed Bin Sulayem for ‘Dubai Autism Centre’, Ragheb Alami for ‘Dubai Cares’; Muhammad Bin Futais Al Marri for ‘Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care, Special Needs and Minors Affairs’; Janeen Mansour for ‘Friends of Cancer Patients Society’; Mohammed Bin Sulayem & Rola Saad for ‘Gulf for Good; Ehab Tawfik for ‘Life for Relief & Development’; and Mostafa Shaaban & Fayez Saeed for ‘Make-A-Wish Foundation’. Further, Ragheb Alameh, Saber Al Rubai, Rida Al Abdullah, Ehab Tawfik, Hasna, Assi El Hilani, Rola Saad, Tarek Batal, and Saoud Abou Sultan provided superb musical entertainment during the program.

Speaking at the event, Janeen Mansour, Founder, The Noble Humanitarian Awards, said, “I believe that tonight marks a historic event, as through our collective efforts, a platform that recognises and encourages the priceless work done by regional organisations has been born.  I am delighted to present these 10 distinguished organization-awardees, whose commitment to their respective initiatives continue to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate, and in the process provide us with striking inspiration to take similar actions. Similarly, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to all the artists who have come to join us tonight, who continue to leverage their status to draw much more interest towards charitable work.”

The gala has been organised by The Celebrity Charity Awards Corporation, a U.S non-profit organisation working to unify the efforts of charities with celebrities, influencers, media and citizens to create an effective forum for change. The official sponsors for this year’s event included luxury auto brand ‘Infiniti’ as the exclusive ‘Green Room’ sponsor, as well as leading broadcast, print and radio organisations such as Abu Dhabi TV, The National, Al Ittihad, Zahrat Al Khaleej, Star FM, and LIVE.

April 21, 2010

Top Arab celebrities are set to perform at the ‘The Noble Humanitarian Awards Middle East’, a prestigious annual gathering that recognises the achievements of philanthropic organisations, which will be staged in the region for the first time to honor charities for their outstanding humanitarian programs. Famous Egyptian actress Yusra will be hosting the show, with Ragheb Alami, Hussein Al Jasmi, Assi Halani, Saber Rebai and Ehab Tawfik among the many high profile Arab celebrities who would be performing and presenting the awards during the star-studded award ceremony, which will be held at the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi on April 24, 2010.

Among the honourees this year are ‘UAE Red Crescent Authority’, ‘UNICEF’, ‘The General Women’s Union’, ‘Dubai Autism Centre’, ‘Dubai Cares’, ‘Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care, Special Needs and Minors Affairs’, ‘Friends of Cancer Patients Society’, ‘Gulf for Good’, ‘Life for Relief & Development’ and ‘Make-A-Wish Foundation’. Each charity organisation will be presented with an award sculpture designed by top Hollywood personality Antonio Banderas, which are incorporated with personal messages from special needs children who participated at the ‘Making of the Noble Award’ workshop.

“The resounding support being given to ‘The Noble Humanitarian Awards Middle East’ by the A-list celebrities in Arab entertainment industry, adds significantly to our efforts to turn the spotlight on the great work being accomplished by this year’s honourees, and we are very grateful for their support in this initiative. We are confident that their presence at the upcoming gala event will encourage even more support from the Arab film and music industry and the public at large for humanitarian causes being advocated by the awardees and the awards itself,” said Janeen Mansour, Founder, The Noble Humanitarian Awards.

The gala event is being organised by The Celebrity Charity Awards Corporation, a U.S non-profit organisation working to unify the efforts of charities with celebrities, influencers, media and citizens to create an effective forum for change. The official sponsors for this year’s event include luxury auto brand ‘Infiniti’ as the exclusive ‘Green Room’ sponsor, as well as leading broadcast, print and radio organisations such as Abu Dhabi TV, The National, Al Ittihad, Zahrat Al Khaleej, Star FM, and LIVE.

The celebrations focused on recent charity work, most notably the group’s Facebook initiative. Showing great generosity, the chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor, pledged to support the Red Crescent Society in the UAE through a Facebook sponsorship campaign. For every individual that connected as a friend of Society’s Facebook account, Mr. Al Habtoor agreed to donate 40 dirhams. During the 40 period of the campaign, over 5,000 people all over the world became Facebook friends of Al Habtoor Group, amassing a total of over AED 200,000 in total Al Habtoor sponsorship.

In an unprecedented show of further support, the Al Habtoor Chairman doubled his financial support at the conclusion of the campaign, donating over AED 400,000 to the Society.

The celebration also honored the Al Habtoor Group’s close business associates in appreciation of their longstanding relationships. Among those honored were leading financial institutions HSBC, Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Talal Abu Ghazaleh, and Grant Thornton. Key Arabic and English dailies like Al Khaleej, Al Bayan, Al Ittihad, Khaleej Times and Gulf News were also recognized for their role in helping the group communicate its various initiatives.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor said, “Our group’s success is not reflected in just profit charts, our ambitions, expansions or our contributions to the country, but our effort to uplift the entire humanity. Helping those in need has made us stronger so that we take on greater challenges with every passing day.”

One of the UAE’s most respected business conglomerates, the Al Habtoor Group was founded by Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor and has accomplished remarkable achievements in its 40-year history.

Although it is best known for construction, the group is globally recognized through its involvement in the hospitality, automotive, real estate, education, insurance and publishing sectors.

April 14, 2010

Gulf for Good (G4G), a Dubai-based charity that organises adventure challenges to raise funds to be donated to handpicked causes, is planning to partner with educational institutions across the UAE, to further promote its fund-raising adventure activities. The initiative is also part of the charity’s vision to expand its reach over the Gulf region and boost the number of regional participants in its adventure activities.

G4G has previously worked with UAE-based institutions such as The English College and Dubai Men’s College and is aiming to involve other schools, colleges and universities in adventure challenges to raise funds for charity. The charity’s plan to collaborate with educational institutions can also assist programs such as the ‘Duke of Edinburgh Awards’ and the International Baccalaureate, both of which are dedicated to the personal development of young people from all backgrounds and the promotion of peace through intercultural understanding. Some of G4G’s previous projects include the construction of a community hospital in Nepal, classrooms in Tanzania, purchasing children’s physiotherapy equipment in Sharjah, computer software for blind students in Oman and medical equipment in Palestine.

“We believe that students can learn important lessons not only inside the classroom, but also by interacting with and playing an active role in the community, which can hone a host of practical skills to complement their theoretical knowledge,” said Brian Wilkie, Chairman and Founder of Gulf for Good. “With the growing interest of students in the UAE in acquiring a holistic education, we are confident that our challenges will help students to get fitter, develop their skills, learn to respect and understand other cultures and become well-rounded individuals with a culture of serving the community.”

Gulf for Good is set to be honoured at the first ever ‘Noble Humanitarian Awards Middle East’, a prestigious annual gathering that recognises the achievements of philanthropic organisations, which is being staged at the Emirates Palace on April 24, 2010. The gala event, which aims to drive awareness on the work of regional charity organisations and the impact of their work in the lives of people across the globe, is being organised by The Celebrity Charity Awards Corporation, a U.S non-profit organisation working to unify the efforts of charities with celebrities, influencers, media and citizens to create an effective forum for change.

“We are proud to honour G4G for spearheading unique activities that encourage people from all across the Gulf to become involved in exciting events while raising funds for the needy across the world. The innovative approach being developed by this organisation and the sizeable amounts of money they have managed to raise for charity, have played a significant part for their selection at the first ‘Noble Humanitarian Awards Middle East’,” concluded Janeen Mansour, Founder, The Noble Humanitarian Awards.

Founded in 2001, Gulf for Good (www.gulf4good.org) is operating under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai’s Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman & CEO, Emirates Group. To date, G4G has organised a total of 28 challenges in 17 countries involving over 550 participants aged from 15 to 72, and has raised over AED 5 million in total funds, which have been donated to tangible and deserving community projects in the adventure challenge host countries. The challenges previously organised by the group include trekking to Machu Piccu in Peru and Everest Base Camp, cycling in Cambodia, kayaking in Madagascar, Oman and Borneo and even camel trekking in Jordan! This year, they are offering climbing Kilimanjaro, hiking in Lebanon, cycling in Cuba and cycling, trekking and kayaking in northern Thailand.

Sharjah, April 5th, 2010: During World Autism Awareness campaign—honored annually in the month of April—autism centers in UAE will be partnering with Al Qasba to organize a series of special entertainment and charity activities in coordination with private sector organizations at the Al Qasba in Sharjah.  The event will include seminars about the disorder as well as community-building activities aimed at bringing together different age groups from across the UAE who are affected by the disorder.  During the campaign, Al Qasba walkways will be decorated with informative mupies and advertising boards which will include various tips and facts about autism and autistic people.

Al Qasba will be partnering directly with Autism Centers around the UAE to collect charitable donations that can support the centers’ work and expand medical research initiatives. In a recent 2009 report from the National Autism Center in the United States, almost 90% of established treatments are behaviorally-based, which typically involve day-to-day care like that which is provided through various autism centers in the UAE. 

Zainab Ahmed, Corporate Social Responsibilities Coordinator at Al Qasba, says that the organization’s inspiration for the public event was to encourage peer interactions and new community initiatives.  “It’s not an issue of giving someone medical treatment and sending them home,” says Ahmed.  “Autism care is about dedicated hands on attention, and that is what we are ultimately trying to inspire through this public event.” 

Al Qasba has also announced that the profits collected by throughout the entire week will go directly to local autism organizations.  Visitors interested in volunteer opportunities can receive detailed brochures during the event and learn more about the initiatives being pursued locally by government and nonprofit organizations.