ABU DHABI // Encouraging a culture of giving is fundamental to the UAE's leadership, a philanthropy summit was told today.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Development and International Cooperation, told delegates the UAE aimed to tackle a range of social problems.
“We wish to create an impact on the lives of a large number of people,” she said. “We want to deliver real sustainable results in relation to the problems that we seek to tackle.
"As a country we have always believed that giving back is important and understood that we must help less fortunate members of the community.
“We want to impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people. We want real results in the problems we want to tackle.
“It has been challenging, but we are now in a better position to create change and real social impacts.”
Sheikha Lubna was addressing the Emirates Foundation Philanthropy Summit 2013, and is a member of the organisation’s board.
The conference, at Jumeirah Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, highlighted that business models were now being adopted by philanthropic organisations to ensure money was not wasted.
“This summit aims to discuss philanthropy in transition,” Sheikha Lubna said. “It will look at the current structural changes under way in the sector.
“There is growing recognition that philanthropic capital can play a critical role in driving socio-economic development.”
Experts representing major charities attended the event, which ends tomorrow, to discuss the challenges of how to measure the success of philanthropic initiatives.
“Emirates Foundation has undergone a transition in the last few years from traditional philanthropy to venture philanthropy – we hope this is more strategic and can create more impact,” said Claire Woodcraft, chief executive of the Emirates Foundation.
“We want to encourage a great dialogue and learn from others.
“We are here to change the lives of young people positively but permanently – we don’t want quick fixes, we need long-term systemic solutions that can create social value.
“There is a growing demand for philanthropists to be accountable and to not just focus on their successes but also recognise when something is not working.”
Measuring the impact of organisations’ work can be challenging.
“What we have done is look at each of our individual programmes and continuously monitor them and evaluate them,” Ms Woodcraft said. “It is not just about how much you invest. It shifts the discourse from inputs to outputs.”
“Just because you have a huge budget, does not mean that you will get successful social outcomes.”
Measuring the extent goals have been achieved and making the most of money given is important to global organisations as well as those in the UAE.
Representatives from the Gates Foundation and Shell Foundation took part in a panel discussion and stressed the need to measure the results of the work they carry out to ensure that failing enterprises are not allowed to continue to operate.
The Emirates Foundation now hopes to forge new partnerships and ensure that youths are given the best possible chance in life.
A range of “challenge sessions” at the summit tomorrow will look at individual case studies of work being carried out across the region.
A delegation of young people from Kuwait are among those invited to the summit and will tour UAE landmarks with 25 Emiratis to share their experiences and insights.
ksinclair@thenational.ae
