Dubai: The UAE’s announcement of 2017 as the Year of Giving has been welcomed by the business fraternity in the country.
Retail hypermarket chain, Lulu Group, said that a portion of its revenue is already earmarked for organisations such as the Emirates Red Crescent and Dubai Cares, besides the hypermarket chain investing in several local and international projects in the fields of education, health care and poverty elevation.
“I am sure with this new announcement every corporate, and even individuals, will further donate towards more humanitarian projects next year and show to the world the true meaning of compassion and empathy,” said Yusuf Ali M.A., chairman of Lulu Group.
The Ministry of Economy, meanwhile, issued a statement on Sunday supporting the initiative. “With hard work and determination, the public and private sectors, aided by individuals, can help serve the country and promote the value of social responsibility,” the ministry stated.
Rashed Al Beloushi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), stated that he believes the initiative will solidify the idea of social responsibility among companies in the private sector, and will open doors for more participation by various sectors to help develop the UAE.
“The UAE is growing in a remarkable way not only in terms of the economy but also on a humanitarian front, and I am sure that The Year of Giving will be welcomed by the business community here and aid the development of the nation,” said Rizwan Sajan, head of Danube Group.
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) exercise, Danube has already been offering free communication skills and personality development courses to blue collar workers at the Danube Welfare Centre, its Dubai based non-profit social organisation. “This year, we trained up to 1.000 workers and hope to double this by the end of 2017. Plans to open centres in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are also currently under way,” Sajan said.
Xpress Money, the international money transfer, also announced that it will be expanding investments to its CSR platform called H.O.P.E (Helping Our People and Environment) by expanding its initiatives aimed at improving the quality of lives of the potentially marginalised.
The Abu Dhabi-based Burjeel Hospital, meanwhile, intends to expand its CSR by offering more free cancer treatment and cardiac surgeries for the financially insecure. “We are also focusing on accepting patients from countries like Iraq and Syria to provide free treatment as part of our social responsibility,” said Clancey Francisco Po, chief executive officer of the hospital.
Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation, or Empower, too, said it looks forward to participating in the Year of Giving. “Empower boasts great resources to contribute in the implementation of charitable and CSR initiatives, inside and outside the country,” said Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower.
Echoing his thoughts is UAE Exchange’s President Sudhir Kumar Shetty, who said it would be increasing its community activities as a response to the announcement. “We believe in giving back to the community,” he said.
The announcement to declare 2017 as the Year of Giving particularly highlights initiatives and programmes that would specifically target business and finance industry players to promote the culture of giving back to the community and enhance the spirit of volunteering.
The move follows the concluding ceremony of the Year of Reading 2016, which strategised transforming the act of reading into a lifestyle through various initiatives in the UAE.
With additional inputs from Fareed Rahman, Senior Reporter and Sarah Diaa, Staff Reporter
(Rabiya Shabeeh is an intern with Gulf News)
