Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will attend the opening session on Saturday of a conference that is bringing Arab philanthropists together.
Entitled 'From Charity to Change: Trends in Arab Philanthropy', the conference will take place today and tomorrow.
Organised by the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, the conference will study the trends in Arab philanthropy and the challenges faced by philanthropists.
Queen Rania of Jordan, Princes Turki Bin Talal Al Saud and Bandar Bin Saud Bin Khalid of Saudi Arabia as well as UAE businessmen and philanthropists Juma Al Majid, Khalaf Al Habtoor and Majid Al Futtaim, will also attend. Others include Saleh Kamel, Chairman and Founder of the Dallah Al Baraka Group, and Fadi Ghandour, president of Aramex.
The conference hopes to widen the role of philanthropy in the region's overall development, with eight working groups set up to discuss issues, including youth empowerment and inclusion as well as investing in science and research.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Board of Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, said the forum stresses new strategies "to enhance the impact of investing in philanthropic projects".
The conference will review a study undertaken by John D. Gerhart Centre for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement and the American University in Cairo.
