The Department of Community Development - Abu Dhabi, the social sector regulator responsible for organizing volunteer work activities in the emirate, continues to hold volunteer workshops in the emirate in cooperation with the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an, the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, and the UAE Volunteer platform.
The workshops, which were organized in previous periods, targeted a number of public benefit associations and institutions, and licensed places of worship for non-Muslims in Abu Dhabi. Recently, a workshop was organized at the DCD headquarters, attended by representatives of more than 18 entities from various governmental and semi-governmental institutes in Abu Dhabi.
The workshop aims to develop an efficient and effective volunteering environment in Abu Dhabi by spreading the culture of volunteer work to enhance social cohesion. It also aims to identify the most important proposals and discuss the challenges facing the volunteer work system.
Mubarak Al Ameri, Executive Director of the Social Licensing and Control Sector at the Department of Community Development, explained that the volunteer workshops were organized in cooperation with partners to introduce the mechanisms and practices of volunteer work in Abu Dhabi. Similarly, they introduce work on building various strategic partnerships with the relevant authorities to reach important outcomes. These outcomes cover increasing the number of active volunteers, volunteering hours, and stimulating specialized volunteerism with experience and competence.
He added “Since 2020, the Department of Community Development has been keen to launch a volunteer work policy in Abu Dhabi, in addition to licensing volunteers to regulate the practice of volunteer work and organize the volunteer environment within an organized framework. This will help enhance community participation, that contributes to empowering people and institutions towards creating an active and responsible society. When this is achieved, we can expect to enhance social cohesion, as volunteer work is an essential contributor to the advancement of society.
The session began with a speech from the winner, Mrs. Fathia Al-Nadhari, as the first volunteer in the Emirates Red Crescent Authority who has devoted her time and effort since the 1970s to volunteer work and humanitarian giving. She stressed on the importance of volunteering as one of the most important values of humanity that the wise leadership is keen to establish to ensure the sustainability of charitable work and achieve happiness in society.
During the workshop, a detailed explanation was presented about the services provided by the department in the fields of volunteering, such as the service of issuing volunteer licenses for individuals, volunteer teams, and entities that seek help from volunteers, in addition to the service of providing jackets for members of licensed volunteer teams. The supervisory and oversight role that the department undertakes in order to organize volunteering in Abu Dhabi was also discussed.
The workshop also reviewed the role of the department’s partners in the process of organizing and stimulating volunteer work in the emirate and the most prominent services that are provided. This is done to ensure the creation of a sustainable system of volunteer work in the emirate and volunteer opportunities in various fields by involving various sectors in the country.