Dubai: Looking for a meaningful way to help support the environment in the UAE?
As the UAE officially marks 2017 as ‘The Year of Giving’, a new pathway is now available for individuals and the private sector to demonstrate their commitment to ecological stewardship through sponsorship.
In a statement on Tuesday, a new environment endowment initiative was announced by the Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy (MBRGCEC) and the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF).
Organisers of the new initiative said that it enables participants to “start off the year with the launch of a first-of-its-kind initiative to support environment through endowment”.
The endowment is in keeping, said organisers, with the vision declared by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to promote the culture of giving back to the community and enhancing the spirit of loyalty to one’s country in 2017.
This new endownment also follows the ‘Global Vision for Endowment’, which was launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to revive the practice of endowment through innovative applications.
According to this initiative, EWS-WWF will specify private sector companies willing to support environment programmes sustainably so they meet the criteria to be eligible for the Dubai Endowment Sign in coordination with MBRGCEC.
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.
Laila Mostafa Abdul Latif, 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 Hammadi, secretary-general of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment, said, “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 programmes and research. Although participation in this initiative is considered as CSR, we provide a number of benefits to companies receiving the Dubai Endowment Sign.”
For details, log on to www.MBRgcec.ae
