AFF Organized its Meeting on Corporate Philanthropy

Co‐hosted by Dubai Cares (DC) and Emirates Foundation (EF), the Arab Foundation Forum Meeting was held in Dubai on May10-11, 2010, with Corporate Philanthropy as its main theme. The purpose of this meeting, attended by a large number of leaders from the corporate and foundation sector, was to create a space for dialogue on various aspects of Corporate Philanthropy in the Arab region, and to explore the challenges and opportunities of building effective multi stakeholder partnerships. The opening session of this meeting included welcoming remarks by: AFF Chair of the Board of Directors (BoD) Prof. Dr. Marwan Awartani, Secretary General of the Universal Education Foundation (UEF), Palestine; Mr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Cares, UAE, and Mr. Peter Cleaves, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Foundation, UAE, who welcomed AFF members and guests. This was followed by a Keynote speech by H.E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Board Member of the Emirates Foundation, UAE. This meeting was an opportunity for the private sector to engage in the work of AFF and to provide individual corporations and foundations the chance to explore various forms of collaboration that would augment their efforts to support sustainable development in the Arab region. Discussion also touched on exploring ways and means of enhancing the legal framework of philanthropy in the Arab region. Parallel sessions were also held on the topics of: Strategic Planning and Results Based Management; Good Governance and Foundation Management; and Effective Strategies in Corporate Philanthropy. This was followed by a session on AFF status report.