January 21, 2008 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Dubai
Prominent members of the royal families of Dubai, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia today announced a plan to form a new organization to help coordinate philanthropic efforts across the Arab world as it faces Islamic extremism, a growing number of unemployed youth, and other social problems.
The new Arab Philanthropy Establishment will provide information to donors about effective charitable programs, push to establish laws and policies to foster giving in the 22 Arab nations across the Middle East and North Africa, and help nonprofit groups manage themselves well and learn how best to disclose information to the public.
The announcement of the new group culminated a two-day philanthropy conference held here by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of the kingdom of Dubai.
“You work at an individual level and are unknown to all the people. Unifying and organizing your work will give you increased financial and social power,” he said at the event.
The 200 or so attendees included well-known members of Arab royalty, such as Queen Rania of Jordan, business people, and nonprofit officials. It was the first gathering of its kind in the Arab world.
A report on Arab giving that was released at the meeting shows that Arab philanthropy is on the rise. With their assets experiencing phenomenal growth thanks in part to the high price of oil, a large number of wealthy people and companies in the region want to fight poverty, build schools, or support other charitable causes.
But a lack of clear government regulations, concerns that prominent gifts will be unfairly scrutinized for potential ties to terrorists, and other factors have hampered philanthropy by Arabs, said the report, which was produced by the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo.
The region’s most generous donor so far is Sheikh Mohammad. Last year, he pledged $10-billion to his eponymous foundation.
According to Nabil Ali Alyousuf, acting chief executive of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, the fund will provide college scholarships for students to attend Ivy League schools in America, support entrepreneurship and cultural activities, and give grants to translate Arabic books into English and other languages.
Given the large number of young people in the Arab world –- 53 percent of the region’s population is under 29 -– he said education was key to economic growth and preventing terrorism.
“We either educate them,” he said, “or we leave them to poverty, no education, and potential extremism.”
