Our Participation in Government Initiatives

Year of Giving - Detail

Developing a culture of social responsibility, volunteerism, and serving the nation - Detail

The UAE is globally known for its numerous philanthropic activities and programmes providing assistance to the less fortunate people. His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan declared 2017 as the “Year of Giving”, which was a solid testimony of one of the UAE’s noble missions -- to give back to society.  The announcement of the year 2016 as the “Year of Giving” happened two months after the UAE had been cited by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) World Giving Index as the 10th most generous country in the world.  Field for description

Three Pillars of the “Year of Giving”

Corporate Social Responsibility 

This pillar highlights the vital role of the private sector in upholding corporate social responsibility by launching programmes and projects that promote the values of giving and volunteering, which benefit the communities in the UAE.

Volunteering

This cultivates the spirit of volunteerism in individuals and organisations which strengthens solidarity and cooperation. This pillar targets to bridge the gap between those who are in need and those who would like to extend help, ultimately creating a positive impact in the country, as a whole. 

Serving The Nation 

This pillar underscores one of the fundamental values in Emirati culture which is serving the nation through contributing to its development. It aims to foster altruism and loyalty by stressing the significance of serving the country selflessly. 

National Strategy for the Year of Giving

The national strategy focuses on six areas – corporate social responsibility, voluntary work, role of humanitarian organisations, role of media, legislative framework, and serving the nation. It consists of more than 1,400 initiatives set by over 100 government agencies and 400,000 private institutions in the UAE. This will be implemented through the collaboration of federal and local agencies for key projects, follow up of progress, and giving regular updates to the Higher National Committee. 

The UAE's Ranking in Foreign Aid

(Infographics)

One of the world's largest humanitarian donors

Source: Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

Aid to

178 Countries

AED 15.23 billion

Development assistance in 2016

AED 28.5 billion

Foreign Aid in 2018

Year of Giving Initiatives

National Corporate Social Responsibility Index

The Ministry of Economy introduced initiatives in the CSR pillar to help the UAE government in monitoring the private sector for their philanthropic and volunteering activities. The Ministry launched a national corporate social responsibility index as an effective tool to rank private companies by their expenditures on charity work, humanitarian projects and social development programmes. 

Warm Winter Initiative

Warm Winter, the campaign launched by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, was participated by the Ministry and provided clothes and winter essentials to 300 workers employed by the Dubai Municipality.

2000 hours of volunteer work 

The Ministry of Economy completed 2,000 hours of volunteer work during the Year of Giving as one of its initiatives was to provide voluntary work and community service for at least 5 hours during the year. This was a timely opportunity for all MoE employees to apply their skills in serving their communities.

Leisure trip for orphans

In line with the values and principles of the Year of Giving, the Foreign Trade Sector of the Ministry of Economy organised an entertainment trip for orphans to Ski Dubai, which brought genuine happiness and put a smile on their faces.