Sheikh Hamdan approves Dubai Endowments Strategy

Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, chaired the Council’s meeting today where he approved the Dubai Endowments Strategy.

The meeting was attended by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE.

Sheikh Hamdan noted that the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to innovate, diversify, and sustain Dubai’s endowment initiatives are fundamental to the emirate’s humanitarian aid projects and to encourage individuals and institutions to contribute to charitable activities.

"Dubai and the UAE remain at the forefront of sustainable endowments, reinforcing their contribution to humanitarian aid worldwide. The country’s commitment to endowments showcases the ability of the Emirati community to serve as a leading global model of sustainable humanitarianism," Sheikh Hamdan said .

“The values of quality, sustainability, innovation, and agility that underpin endowment projects in Dubai are inspired by the vision of Mohammed bin Rashid. These values are reflected in the recent 1 Billion Meal Endowment initiative launched by His Highness this Ramadan, representing the largest endowment fund for providing sustainable meals to millions of families worldwide,” he added.

Sheikh Hamdan added: “Dubai’s commitment to expanding innovative endowment funding is driven by the leadership’s vision to encourage participation from individuals and institutions in various sectors, including education, healthcare, scientific research, community development, and philanthropic endeavours.”

The value of Dubai’s endowments reached Dh8.8 billion in 2022, with 493 endowers and a total of 839 endowments. The implementation of the Dubai Endowments Strategy will be overseen by the Dubai Endowments Foundation and Management of Minors’ Funds (Awqaf Dubai), to expand the positive social impact Dubai has on communities worldwide.

The Dubai Endowments Strategy aims to maximise financial stability and increase service endowments, promote a safe, sustainable, innovative and attractive environment for endowments, spread the culture of endowments and highlight their societal role, enhance the efficiency of the institution, and establish it as a regional benchmark. Additionally, the strategy seeks to build a pioneering digital infrastructure to support these goals.

The strategy has identified strategic opportunities to encourage individuals and institutions to engage with innovative initiatives in several sectors, including Islamic affairs to meet the needs of mosques in Dubai, social affairs to increase the endowments’ contribution to financing projects and social programmes, education to improve the resources allocated to the education sector and promote scientific research, philanthropic endeavours to achieve a sustainable environment in Dubai, and healthcare by increasing financing to support hospitals, medical centres and health research institutes.

In recent years, Dubai has launched several endowment initiatives to support local and other communities, including the Bonyan Al Khair initiative, which aims to raise Dh35 million to construct 22 charitable buildings for the benefit of unfortunate families, the Al Tadawi Medical Endowment Fund, which provides comprehensive health services, the Bridges for Goodness campaign to support earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria, and the Well of Water initiative, which contributes to Dubai's global water aid efforts.

Fertility Study

The Executive Council also approved a study during the meeting that explores the family aspirations of Emiratis. The study revealed that many Emirati couples in Dubai plan to start families. The majority of married Emirati women in Dubai have more than three children while about 25% have more than six children, according to the study.

The study provided recommendations to encourage childbirth, including increasing community awareness about marriage and providing incentives for marriage, educating couples and providing support services and consultations for parents, and awareness campaigns to promote family stability. Additionally, it recommended expanding the services of the Dubai Fertility Centre and establishing more nurseries in government workplaces to support working parents.