National Olympic Committee launches page on UAE Volunteering Platform
Initiative announced on Zayed Humanitarian Work Day
Dubai: Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC), said that volunteering is deeply rooted in the UAE’s culture due to the values instilled in the community by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Inspired by the leadership’s vision, volunteering has become a way of life in the UAE, he said. People across the community, both citizens and residents, volunteer to contribute to the organisation of events and activities. He expressed his pride in the contributions of volunteers, which have significantly supported the organisation of highly successful sports events and activities in the country. Volunteering in the sports field helps people expand their knowledge and experience and acquire various kinds of expertise, His Highness noted.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed made these remarks on the occasion of the launch of the National Olympic Committee’s page on the UAE Volunteering Platform on Zayed Humanitarian Work Day, in cooperation with the Ministry of Community Development and the Emirates Foundation. The NOC’s new page on the Platform (www.volunteers.ae) seeks to attract volunteers in various disciplines and offer them diverse sports volunteering opportunities as part of the broader strategy to reinforce the UAE’s status as a preferred venue for regional and global sporting events.
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, First Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Committee’s Executive Office, said volunteering is a vital factor behind the success of sporting events, programmes and activities in the country. The strong volunteering culture in the UAE has played a key role in consolidating the UAE’s status as a global sporting destination.
He further said the directives of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee, to promote volunteering activities, helps advance the Olympic movement in the UAE. The vision of the UAE’s leadership has helped foster a strong volunteering spirit in the country, which has boosted the country’s capabilities to organise exceptional sporting events.
Hessa Tahlak, Assistant Undersecretary for Social Development Affairs at the Ministry of Community Development, said the UAE leadership and government place high priority on providing volunteering opportunities to the community. Her Excellency also stressed that the Ministry of Community Development and the Emirates Foundation continue to work closely with the National Olympic Committee to open new channels for volunteers of all ages and nationalities to support the organisations’ short and long-term development goals.
She said the National Volunteering Platform, which features volunteering opportunities from various organisations, has half a million registered volunteers from various disciplines. She further said sports volunteering supports the personal and professional development of the volunteer, which in turn helps develop nation-wide competencies, a key goal of the National Olympic Committee’s partnership with the Ministry of Community Development.
Ahmed Talib Al Shamsi, CEO of the Emirates Foundation, said volunteering is vital to the success of the Foundation’s mandate, which was inspired by Sheikh Zayed who instilled the values of service to the nation in every Emirati and planted the seeds of a vast volunteering movement that is gaining new momentum. With the help of advanced technology, the Platform matches volunteers with volunteering opportunities in the sports sector with the support of the National Olympic Committee, he added.