- The Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an announces its programmes for this year will focus on enhancing ‘Social Inclusion’ – a social priority identified by the Department of Community Development.
- Additional programmes will be rolled out in 2021, enabling members of the public to unite and volunteer, participate and contribute, playing their part in making Abu Dhabi a prosperous city in the future.
Abu Dhabi: The Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an has announced that it will launch a number of pioneering programmes this year that will focus on strengthening social inclusion as part of its efforts to create an inclusive society in Abu Dhabi.
Identified as a social priority by the Department of Community Development – Abu Dhabi, Ma’an has selected ‘Social Inclusion’ as its theme for 2021 and will focus on further programmes throughout the year.
The initiatives will focus on encouraging more Abu Dhabi residents from different nationalities to come together and make a positive difference across the Emirate for this year and beyond.
Bringing communities together, Ma’an has created an online community through Let’s Connect, a ten-week virtual programme which uses social media to create a number of initiatives for residents to participation in with themes focused on health and wellness, business and coaching, community and arts and culture.
Through social investment, the programmes will aim to foster community engagement, create volunteering opportunities and encourage a culture of participation and giving, bringing the entire community together to create sustainable solutions to the most pressing social challenges being faced today while making a positive and sustainable social impact. Work on this will see support for the National Programme for Organs and Tissue Donation through fund raising as well as creating a campaign which targets support from the community for orphans within the Emirate.
By launching programmes that activate social inclusion and increase social cohesion, Ma’an will help build an inclusive society with members of the communities able to integrate and feel a strong sense of belonging as well as respecting cultural diversity. As well as creating positive relationships and building connectedness, the programmes will also help strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as a prosperous city to work and live in.
The announcement of the ‘Social Inclusion’ theme comes at a time where the UAE will celebrate its Golden Jubilee this year as part of the ‘Year of the 50th’ occasion with Ma’an determined to create collaborative communities through the social inclusion programmes.
In the space of two years since being founded, Ma’an has identified and forged key strategic partnerships with different organisations in the government, private and third-sectors with the goal to grow the third sector and create a better tomorrow. Through these collaborations, Ma’an has helped tackle 10 pressing social priorities which have all touched people’s lives for the better in Abu Dhabi.
So far, more than 15,000 people including People of Determination have been able to benefit from excellent innovative services and products that have been created by 45 social entrepreneurial teams while a group of Students of Determination are undergoing the ATMAH programme – GCC’s first Social Impact Bond project with the aim to secure permanent employment. Work with 70 partners throughout Abu Dhabi has helped to identify a number of social priorities, creating innovative solutions to address a societal issues.
Ma’an has also created a number of volunteering opportunities such as its ‘Journey of Generations’ programme that is focused on people giving up their time to interact and spend valuable time with senior citizens.
Last year in response to the health and economic challenges, more than 400,000 people also benefitted from food support, education, medical aid and basic needs as part of the ‘Together We Are Good’ programme which received more than AED 1 billion worth of in-kind and financial contributions from Abu Dhabi’s communities.
Ma’an will now begin to build on this platform in the future by encouraging more social innovative solutions, highlighting the vital roles social entrepreneurs can play in shaping the future of Abu Dhabi as well as informing organisations on how their Corporate Social Responsibility plans can be more impactful and strategic.
Through its pillars of work – the Social Investment Fund, Ma’an Social Incubator and Community Engagement Programme, Ma’an will also aim to increase community engagement and participation, allow members of the public to contribute to a good cause, find effective solutions through contracting and enable fundraising.
As part of its ‘Social Impact Bond’ pillar, Ma’an has recently partnered with the Early Childhood Authority to launch a new Social Impact Bond project and Ma’an will roll out more Social Impact Bond projects later this year.
Her Excellency Salama Al Ameemi, Director General of the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an, said: “In the space of two years, we have taken big strides forward in achieving excellent results when it comes to creating social impact and it is imperative, we build on this platform beginning now in what is an important year for the whole of the UAE with the ‘Year of the 50th’ milestone celebrations.
“Based on the findings from the United Nations Economic and Social Council report, the UAE has the highest demographic diversity in the world at 87% and with Abu Dhabi becoming increasingly diverse, the importance of fostering social inclusion will grow. Therefore, through our programmes that we will launch this year, we aim to bring everyone together and give every Abu Dhabi resident from different walks of life an opportunity to be part of making a meaningful difference and feel valued and respected at the same time.
“We have seen how government, private and third-sector organisations have stepped up in times of need and these collaborative efforts have so far helped strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position to work and live in. With a more socially inclusive society, we can help raise everyone’s standard of living and enrich lives economically as well as socially and culturally.”
About Ma’an:
Ma’an was established in February 2019 under the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi with the aim of bringing together the government, the private sector and civil society to support a culture of social contribution and participation. The authority will deliver solutions for social challenges with five main pillars of work – a Social Investment Fund, a Social Incubator Program, Community Engagement Programs and the introduction of a new type of public contracting, Social Impact Bonds, as well as Outreach Management.
Ma’an will support the third sector to flourish in Abu Dhabi, enabling responsible not for profit associations or foundations and social enterprises to contribute to the development of strong, active and connected communities.
Ma’an Authority for Social Contribution is a ‘Ghadan 21’ accelerator programme initiative, supporting Abu Dhabi to become one of the best places in the world to do business, invest, live, work and visit.
