The ancient Greek storyteller Aesop is quoted as saying: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Showing kindness, helping others, and doing things that bring benefits beyond your own personal life is what makes this world a better place.
One definition of kindness is the act of being helpful to others or to another, and kindness comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be anything from a friendly smile to a stranger, cleaning up a dirty street, writing a book to capture moments of history, or developing an organisation that builds products and services to improve the way we live our lives.
Unfortunately we live in world where kindness doesn’t sell, at least not in the way that humour, adventure, danger and drama do.
Think of all the videos that have spread through social media, or the pictures or stories that are broadcast through your WhatsApp group. I am pretty sure that most of the time you are either in a state of laughter or shock rather than feeling a warm sense of joy.
What kindness needs is a platform, something that celebrates both the bold and ambitious plans to bring good to the world, as well as the little acts of individuals that are dedicated to spreading hope and joy to communities across the city.
A platform is necessary to spread the awareness, and increase the potential of not only online virality of the acts, but also the real-life domino effect these acts can have on other people, inspiring them to give back in whatever way they can.
For the UAE that platform has come in the shape of the Abu Dhabi Awards. These awards are an initiative which recognise and honour individuals who have selflessly dedicated themselves to support and contribute to the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
What is truly beautiful about these awards is that they are blind – blind to religion, ethnicity, colour, status, age, or gender. Everyone who is a citizen or resident of the emirate of Abu Dhabi is eligible.
For example, a young British schoolgirl who leads a community project has just as much of a chance of winning an award as the Emirati head of a billion-dollar government initiative. A labourer, who created a competition to motivate his fellow workers, can just as likely be recognised as a nurse of the local hospital who has made a difference to the lives of her patients.
You may be asking yourself, how is that so? Well when the Abu Dhabi Awards initiative was first set up it wanted to emphasise the acts and deeds regardless of the individuals behind them. It wanted to remove any potential biases, influence or status from the picture and focus purely on impact, not by the number of nominations received.
I am really excited about this year’s Abu Dhabi Awards. Given the growing and dynamic youth in the emirate, as well as the tools in our hands to spread powerful messages, means there is so much to bring to light, and so much good to be shared and spread throughout the city.
More importantly these awards give us a chance to build on the UAE’s narrative of kindness, giving, and supporting those in need. This, year the UAE was ranked number one in the world for per capita foreign aid for the second year in a row. The Abu Dhabi Awards in turn shows how this attitude is reflected internally within our very own borders, within our very own communities, and within our very own lives.
So what can you do as an individual? You can recognise the people who have played a role in making your life and your community better, whether it’s your boss, your friend, your teacher, your local deliveryman, even someone you only met once (or never met at all) that you felt was doing work that had a positive impact on the emirate and its people.
All a person needs is one nomination to be eligible for the award, just one. Think of how that could change their future, spread their positive message, and increase the impact of their work. It could be that pivotal moment that sets the tone for the rest of their lives.
At the end of the day it is not about who receives an award or not, it is about what we learn about each other along the way, it is about how we have come together to promote everyone in this city who is trying to make a difference, it is about giving the good in our lives and our communities a chance to grow, and that is a reward in itself.
Khalid Al Ameri is an Emirati columnist and social commentator
On Twitter: @KhalidAlAmeri
