Arab Hope Makers initiative to honour philanthropists

dubai — His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched an initiative titled Arab Hope Makers that aims to honour Arabs who dedicated their lives to serve humanity.

Those who make a difference in their communities through programmes, projects and humanitarian initiatives would be honoured as per the initiative, which is an extension of the Year of Giving. The website for the initiative, arabhopemakers.com, said the first prize winner will get Dh1 million and the ‘Hope Maker’ title.

“We want to instill benevolence across our Arab region,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that it is very important to shed light on unprecedented initiatives by ordinary people to serve their communities. “Our objective is to celebrate benevolence and hope makers and civilisation makers. They are the real stars and the idols for new generations,” Mohammed said. He said that even when the hope makers want to stay behind the curtains, new generations need new idols for positive change.

He also emphasised the importance of positivity in the region, especially amid the current situation. “Renaissance of nations doesn’t rely only on governments, but also on people who are aware of the situation and contribute positively in facing their sociocultural challenges.”

He invited outstanding individuals with a rich portfolio of philanthropic activities from the Arab region to nominate an Arab Hope Maker. “They should be people who are active in volunteering and humanitarian work, especially those with noble merits of selfsacrifice and passion for serving people.” The initiative also aims to identify 20,000 stories of hope.

The scheme has been launched by Sheikh Mohammed’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, which aims to “improve the Arab world through humanitarian, developmental and community work”.