Activating the Role of Youth In Humanitarian Action (between theory and practice) Shaima Al Zarooni Chief Executive Officer, International Humanitarian City
Contents: Introduction History of the launch of humanitarian action in the United Arab Emirates The most important UAE initiatives launched to serve domestic and international humanitarian action Objectives of the research paper 1. Explain the role of youth in the development of humanitarian action 2. Highlight the importance, objectives and motives of voluntary and humanitarian action 3. Address the constraints and challenges facing local organizations working in the field of humanitarian action The role of the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development in the enrichment of effective partnerships, which aims to enhance the role of young people in humanitarian action by following carefully calculated steps Recommendations Issues for discussion
Introduction: Young people and their involvement in humanitarian action is a social value and phenomenon that embodies the civilized behavior of societies. As the number of youths between the ages of 15 and 29 years in the Middle East exceeds the 100 million mark, this research paper highlights the importance of activating the role of young people and their motives, clarifying the concepts of relevance to the research topic, addressing the fields of voluntary humanitarian work, and the relationship between the role of youth in the development of constructive partnerships between local and international humanitarian organizations as the element of voluntary or professional humanitarian work is one of the most important components of the development of humanitarian action. We will conclude the study by providing a vision for the future of young people's awareness and pursuit of work in the humanitarian system. Humanitarian action is a positive social phenomenon that represents a civilized behavior and is even a fundamental pillar in the structure of the community and the cohesion of its members. Humanitarian action has gained special importance in our Islamic society in general, and in the Gulf region in particular, as one of the best actions a Muslim can perform because it stems from the desire to do good deeds for others in a bid to win God's reward. The Almighty Allah has espoused his love for a person with the extent of that person's usefulness to others. He says: (And if any one obeyeth his own impulse to good, be sure that Allah is He Who recogniseth and knoweth.) (Surat al Baqara: 158). He also says: (But he that will give more, of his own free will, it is better for him.) (Surat al Baqara: 184) And Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: "The best person is the one who is most beneficial for other people." From a psychological standpoint, voluntary humanitarian work is the highest degree of sacrifice for the sake of public interest, because it is one of the patterns of human behavior, which reflect the personality of the individual, the extent of his knowledge, his upbringing, the degree of his belonging and his compatibility with the society in which he lives, with its various traditions and rules. Scientific studies suggest the presence of a correlation between volunteering in a social environment and the achievement of the basic needs. The more the basic needs are available, the more this helps to develop awareness. In our contemporary time, and in view of the growing number of humanitarian disasters and numerous conflicts facing the world as a result of development and social, economic and security changes, there is an urgent need for greater awareness of humanitarian action, preparing young people to participate in its development, enhancing unity and highlighting new ways of cooperation that benefit from an era in which the language of communication has become an effective business tool. History of the launch of humanitarian action in the United Arab Emirates: The United Arab Emirates has long been a beacon of goodness and giving in the field of humanitarian action, at the Arab, Islamic and international levels. We find it proactive in extending a helping hand in all issues with a human dimension in any part of the world, regardless of geographical distance, or religious, ethnic or cultural differences. As a result, it has earned profound respect and appreciation at a global level. The UAE's humanitarian role is nothing new. It has been a firm approach in its foreign policy since the era of the late, and forgiven God willing, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, God rest his soul, and it has continued and developed under His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may God protect him, and his brothers, the rulers of the Emirates, may God protect them all. Out of its keenness to extend bridges of human communication with all peoples, and to fulfill the desire of the late Sheikh Zayed when he said: "We believe that the goodness of the fortune bestowed upon us by the Almighty Allah must be extended to help our friends and brothers." The volume of foreign aid provided by the United Arab Emirates in 2012 was more than AED 3.457
billion. It amounted to AED 7.75 billion in 2011. Total foreign aid since its inception on December 2, 1971 until 2010 was more than AED 589 billion. The total soft loans and non-refundable grants amounted to AED 600.207 billion. The United Arab Emirates plays a leading role in the different fields of humanitarian action and development assistance on both the regional and international levels. This role has gained the confidence and appreciation of the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, which made the UAE a global hub for mobilizing support and backing for humanitarian issues, with Dubai as the basis of the leadership of its relief operations around the world in cases of disaster, calamity, conflict, violence and war to alleviate the burden of human suffering and protect human dignity. The most important UAE initiatives launched to serve humanitarian action at the local and international levels: Humanitarian action and voluntary work are human practices that indicate the degree of a society's refinement and its cultural and social awareness. Despite the importance of voluntary work and its role in various aspects of life, which is offered through the public humanitarian institutions and various charities and which attract volunteers, the majority of institutions do not realize the value of volunteering as they should, nor do they play a role in raising the awareness of all segments of society. As a result, a large proportion of the community is reluctant to do voluntary work. This highlights the scientific problem concerning the reciprocal relationship between volunteers and organizations that benefit from their work. Therefore, the UAE responded by launching several initiatives and programs that aim at activating the voluntary and humanitarian work of young people. UAE Red Crescent Society The UAE Red Crescent Society was founded in 1983 and has since assumed a leading position in the field of humanitarian action and solidarity with urgent and pressing humanitarian issues to meet the needs of vulnerable and distressed populations. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the Red Crescent Society, has confirmed the Society's keenness on strengthening its local and international roles in order to meet the growing requirements of humanitarian action. According to the latest reports submitted by the UAE Red Crescent Society, the number of volunteers is up to 5,000, 70 percent of whom are UAE citizens, of which 60 percent of these are women. All volunteers who hold degrees in various specializations help the Red Crescent Society to achieve its humanitarian objectives. The National Program for Social Volunteering "Takatof" The Takatof Program was established in Abu Dhabi in April 2007 at the initiative of the Emirates Foundation, which is one of the most important social welfare institutions in the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Foundation was established in 2005 at the initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and is chaired by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. The Foundation launched the Takatof Program, which is one of the most important initiatives designed to raise public awareness of the needs of the community, and encourage participation in available volunteering opportunities, the empowerment of individuals, the development of their skills, and encouraging them to embrace to voluntary work and belonging to the UAE. Sanid Program The Sanid (Support) Program was developed by the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) and Takatof, the social volunteering program of the Emirates Foundation for
Philanthropy in response to the unique culture of volunteerism that characterizes the people of the UAE. Sanid is a robust and active emergency response program in the United Arab Emirates. It draws on the strengths of the best proven international models of voluntary response to emergency situations, particularly the Swedish Civil Defense League and the US Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). At the same time, the working methods of these two institutions were conditioned to become more compatible with the customs, culture and distinctive circumstance of the United Arab Emirates. The Zayed Giving Initiative Since its inception in 2003, the Zayed Giving Initiative has made valuable accomplishments at the local and international levels, under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the Red Crescent Society. The Initiative has set an excellent example in the areas of philanthropy. More than 100 million people in Arab and African countries have benefited from its therapeutic, training, educational and preventive programs. It has also attracted more than 50,000 volunteers. The Dubai Volunteering Center (DVC) The Dubai Volunteering Center is an initiative by the Community Development Authority, which is a part of the government of Dubai. It is the first official Dubai Government body established to manage volunteering services throughout the UAE, with a special focus on the Emirate of Dubai. The DVC adopts volunteering initiatives and events by various bodies and associations and offer them to volunteers who wish to participate in them, thereby fostering a spirit of unity and care throughout society. The DVC also provides training for volunteers to promote the correct concept of volunteering by organizing awareness lectures on the culture of voluntary work for new volunteers in schools, universities and institutions. The objectives of this research paper: 1. Explain the role of youth in the development of humanitarian action: The role of young people in recent times has become the main driver of many concepts and activities, which push society towards innovation and progress. The concept of humanitarian action includes voluntary work within a unified framework in the United Arab Emirates, where the concepts of humanitarian action and voluntary work are inseparable, and carried out under the umbrella of voluntary associations. UAE law No. (6) for the year 1974 was enacted and its amendments were passed as Law (20) for the year 1981 about associations of public interest. The law includes many issues pertaining to the organization of work in these associations. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has been assigned to follow up the tasks of public interest associations, and it has become the umbrella body that regulates their affairs. In light of the United Arab Emirates' hosting of UN agencies and the activation of its role through the facilitation of relief operations and the adoption of development programs, the concept of humanitarian action has taken a broader and more comprehensive scope of voluntary work. Therefore, it has become necessary to provide training programs, which contribute to the service of humanitarian action and encourage young people to acquire the required experience in order to contribute to the enhancement of the efficiency and skills of motivated young people to provide assistance and effectively invest their energies in a way that serves humanitarian action. 2. Highlight the importance and motivations of voluntary and humanitarian action: The Gulf region in general is characterized by higher income levels than other parts of the Middle East. Furthermore, the cases in which the local community engages in
voluntary work that serves humanitarian action in the field of relief are fewer. Frequent and unstable events in the Middle East, in addition to the fact that many humanitarian relief organizations are based in the UAE's International Humanitarian City were the main reasons for highlighting the importance of humanitarian action for young people and increasing awareness of the importance of enhancing voluntary work, which aims to serve the local and international communities through cooperation with international organizations working in the fields of relief and development. The role of UAE youth in influencing constructive partnerships between local organizations and UN and international humanitarian agencies has had the greatest impact. The elements of trust, transparency and mutual interest are the most important reasons for the success or failure of the partnerships that serve humanitarian action, and given the country's increasing interest in humanitarian action and the increase in awareness of its methodology, partnerships between local and international humanitarian organizations has become imperative for the success of development programs and relief operations alike. The youth, with their open-minded culture and ability to overcome many of the false beliefs, play a prominent role in overcoming the obstacles facing the partnerships needed to serve humanitarian action. 3. Addressing the obstacles and challenges facing local humanitarian organizations: The strengths and weaknesses of youth involvement in humanitarian action must be highlighted, while setting priorities and explaining how to overcome challenges. As interest in voluntary work increases, voluntary organizations grow and awareness of the importance of volunteering and its role in the progress of society doubles. In our contemporary times, voluntary social work has become a mainstay in the evolution of and development of communities. In this context, developed countries attach great importance to voluntary work. Statistics show that the number of registered charities in Britain is more than 170,000; the number of voluntary associations is more than 300,000; and the number of volunteers in Britain is 23 million people. During the period from 1999 to 2013, the British government supported voluntary work by providing funds to encourage volunteering initiatives, including the initiative of senior citizens to carry out projects designed to figure out ways to engage and involve elderly people in voluntary work. In Canada, the number of non-profit organizations (also called voluntary organizations) is more than 161,000 organizations. There are 12 million volunteers in Canada. One recent study indicates that 32 percent of adult Australians contribute to voluntary work. It is worth mentioning that in spite of the presence of significant number of charities and voluntary organizations in the Gulf States and the Middle East region, but we lack the studies and statistical indicators that serve humanitarian action and contribute to the drawing of future strategic plans. One of the most important challenges associated with humanitarian action and the activation of the role of youth is the lack of academic educational reference to the concept of humanitarian action and the mechanism of engaging in it. Until now, Middle East countries in general lack the academic disciplines associated with humanitarian action because there is little interest in them. This is clearly reflects a lack of specialized studies on humanitarian action in international universities located in the Gulf region, while these disciplines are available in a limited number of international universities; such as the Geneva-based Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action (CERAH), the US-based Humanitarian Academy of Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Lugano in Switzerland.
The role of society and media in spreading necessary awareness of humanitarian action among young people: From a psychological standpoint, social responsibility is a social need as the entire community needs a socially, professionally and legally responsible individual. The need for socially responsible individuals is more pressing in the community because he is responsible for himself. It is an individual need. No individual has a healthy and clear personality without having links with the community including emotions, belonging and concern. Based on this, we find a close correlation between the nature of voluntary work and social responsibility. They are both social needs and embody belonging, concern and emotional attachment to the community. Perhaps what voluntary work and social responsibility have in common is participation as one of the patterns of human behavior, which reflects the character, culture and upbringing of a person as well as the degree of his compatibility with the society according to whose traditions, customs and rules he should live. The role of the media in influencing society in general and youth in particular, ranks first. Social media has become most common way of setting priorities and orientations of community action. This prominent role must be taken into consideration in order to launch the necessary awareness campaigns through it, and turn humanitarian and voluntary work from an individual choice to an organized systematic action in scientific and illegal framework. The role of the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development in the enrichment of effective partnerships, which seek to boost the role of youth in humanitarian action by following calculated steps: The Ministry of International Cooperation and Development was created by virtue of Federal Decree No. 32 for 2013. The ministry's mandate was designed to enable it to achieve a distinguished position for the United Arab Emirates in the field of development work and international cooperation at the regional and international levels. As for its strategic objectives, they include the development of a pioneering development policy, which promotes the role of the state in development work at the regional and international levels, in addition to the management of development programs and strengthening the role and engagement of the state in humanitarian response, which is directly associated with the importance of enhancing cooperation with donor countries and international organizations. The Ministry plays a key role in raising the level of field and technical expertise of young people in the field of humanitarian action in the United Arab Emirates. The Ministry steers the country's policy in the field of international development and promotes cooperation with local and regional organizations and donors. It also organizes training courses and workshops in cooperation with local and international humanitarian organizations to attract experts and the transfer expertise through training programs for different categories.
Recommendations: In order to boost voluntary and humanitarian action, it is necessary to establish a methodology and regulatory framework, including: 1. The creation of a unified system for voluntary work in associations and governmental and non-governmental organizations, the adoption of special regulations for voluntary work, volunteers and their rights, and following up their programs and activities. 2. Holding an annual conference to be attended by scientists and thinkers to provide scientific views, studies and field experiments related to voluntary work, and everything that would enhance the performance and goals in order to increase awareness of and interest in voluntary work within the community. 3. The inclusion of some subjects related to voluntary and humanitarian action in the educational curriculum, according to the educational stages and student participation in voluntary work to serve the community. 4. Drawing the policy of volunteerism through clear annual plans for each authority concerned with voluntary work, including volunteering programs, organizing the process of voluntary work and creating a database for volunteers and their resumes to summon them when the need arises. 5. Simplifying procedures for persons wishing to engage in voluntary work, encouraging them and giving them moral incentives and certificates in recognition of their important role in society. 6. Striving to attract rare talents and convince them to contribute their ideas and skills in the development and enhancement of voluntary work. 7. Participation in accredited international programs, which provide the necessary expertise for voluntary work and humanitarian. 8. Employing UAE nationals in local and international voluntary humanitarian and relief organizations in order to gain the necessary experience. 9. Signing agreements with UN programs on the training and employment of young people in the UN agencies, through the provision of assisting experts assigned by the state to work with the United Nations for a specific period of time in the so-called Junior Professional Officer. Employees under 32 year of age are selected by the government through a process of careful recruitment to work with UN agencies. The government pays the salaries and allowances of the JPOs for two to three years, depending on the contractual agreement between the program and the donor country. These employees work at either the headquarters or in one of the country offices. Issues for discussion: It is necessary to discuss the proposals and action plans related to the development of the vision of the humanitarian system and the role of youth in the coming years in order to overcome the challenges associated with the methodology of humanitarian action on the following issues: What is the methodology to be followed to face the challenges and obstacles associated with the involvement of youth and the community in humanitarian action?
What are the proposals for studies and research to trace the evolution of humanitarian action in the Gulf region and to find the necessary references for the development of humanitarian action. Suggestions for organized training of young volunteers working in the field of humanitarian and relief action by specialized experts. What are the proposed partnerships to activate the role of youth in humanitarian action, in order to include the academic and practical sector? References: 1. Tendencies of male university students toward voluntary work, applied study at King Saud University, Dr. Fahd Bin Sultan Al-Sultan, Faculty of Education, King Saud University - http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa 2. Working paper submitted to the Seventh International Conference: Management of private and voluntary organizations in contemporary societies, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates - http://www.saaid.net 3. Http://www.cerahgeneve.ch/formations/cas.html Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action 4. Http://www.humanitarianacademy.harvard.edu Humanitarian Academy - Harvard 5. Community Development Association: http://www.cda.go 6. Article on the UAE Red Crescent Society in the newspaper Emarat Al-Youm: http://www.emaratalyoum.com the 7. Ministry of International Cooperation and Development: http://www.micad.gov.ae the 8. The UAE Red Crescent Society: http://www.rcuae.ae 9. The National Program for Social volunteering "Takatof": http://www.takatof.ae 10. The Sanid Program: http://www.sanid.ae 11. The Zayed Giving Initiative: http://www.uaepedia.ae