The
UAE has always given great priority to social development in its attempt to
realize social welfare for the community. The UAE strives to minimize the
problems resulting from the changes occurring in the society. The constitution
of the UAE affirms that family is the building block of the community and
providing maternal and child care is the responsibility of the state and the
community out of the country's commitment to integrated social
development and the favored position of family in the Emirati community
as one that upholds Arab and Islamic values, which in turn promote solidarity
and family unity.
The
Family Development Foundation (FDF) is one of the leading social foundations
that strive to realize the vision of Abu Dhabi of creating sustainable social
development for an aware family and a coherent society by providing a set of
services and programmes for the benefit of families of all sectors. The
Foundation strives to learn the needs of families through field surveys and
formalizing the results as programmes designed to provide Emirati families with
what they need to develop and prosper. The Family of the House award was born
from an initiative of the Mother of the Nation HH Sheikha Fatima bint
Mubarak.
Where
did the idea of establishing this award, which is important to the family and
community, come from?
The
award was launched by the FDF in response to the initiative of the Mother of the
Nation HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union,
Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation and Chairwoman of the
Supreme Council of Motherhood and Childhood. Her Highness Sheikha Fatima has
launched the Family of the House award in order to promote family unity and
solidarity and honor exceptional families and family members who have succeeded
in achieving positive results that contributed to the social development of the
UAE in general and the emirate of Abu Dhabi in particular. The award strives to
honor the families that achieved results through benefiting from the services
and programmes offered to families by the Family Development Foundation and its
branches.
What
are the categories which the award seeks to honor?
The
award aims to honor the families that participate regularly in the social
services and programmes offered by the government of Abu Dhabi in general and by
the FDF in particular. Those services and programmes have created positive
results, contributed to the stability of the family life and strengthened the
families' unity and solidarity of its social fabric. The award aims to honor the
institutions—public and private—that operate in different sectors especially
those concerned with developing social studies that are concerned with family
matters, in addition to institutions and authorities that support
family-directed social projects and programmes.
How
will the winners be honored? And how much will the prizes be?
The
winners will receive amounts up to AED 200,000 for families, AED 50,000 for
individuals in addition to a trophy and a certificate signed by HH Sheikha
Fatima bint Mubarak, may Allah protect her.
What are the most prominent goals of the
award?
The
award has several goals that can be summarized as follows:
1.
Highlighting
the important role of families and how they affect the stability of the
community.
2.
Shedding
light on healthy family practices by honoring families who have a positive
influence on the community in general and its special categories in
particular.
3.
Honoring
the families participating regularly in the Foundation's programmes and
Services.
4.
Encouraging
institutions and governmental, semi-governmental and private organizations to
support and adopt family-concerned initiatives to ensure the stability of
families.
5.
Encouraging
and stimulating scientific research and studies for individuals as well as
institutions working in social development in general and family issues in
particular.
The
award aims to honor public and private institutions of different sectors that
develop family-concerned social studies in addition to the institutions and
authorities that support family-oriented social programmes and projects. How do
you see the outcomes of this award for this category and how can it be of
benefit in the future?
This
category is greatly important, especially with the developmental goals set for
it in the service of families and community members in general. The outcomes of
the studies that can lead to success and winning the award will definitely
contribute to the developmental process in the entire nation especially in the
emirate of Abu Dhabi. This is due to the great international importance of
research and studies as the basis of constant development and service
improvement in every community. Through the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak's Family
of the House award we are hoping to effectively further promote social
responsibility and research and study methodologies of family-related
issues.
How
do you find the participation and how many applications have you received from
families and individuals so far?
So
far, the award has received 84 applicants with complete application forms plus 3
institutions working in family-supportive projects. It is great to witness this
great popularity and the unending daily stream of phone calls in the
Foundation's different centers, which can only be evidence to the importance of
the award and the families, family members and social institutions' desire to
compete for the honor of receiving it.
What
are the most important approaches taken by the award's Promotion Committee to
reach the biggest number of family members?
The
Promotion Committee has launched a website for the award as well as pages on
social networking websites that are considered the world's most popular
destinations in this day and age, such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The
dedicated social networking pages of the award are in good standing and keep a
good audience of concerned family members. They have also contributed greatly in
spreading the word about the award.
The
Promotion Committee has held several meetings to coordinate for and promote the
award in the Western, Middle and Eastern regions of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The Award's Coordinator General and the Promotion Committee have held numerous
meetings with applicants in order to explain to them the award's application
form. The Committee has also published newspaper advertisements inviting
families to take part. A television advertisement has also been filmed and—God
willing—will be aired soon on satellite channels.
What
is the new addition that the award offers or seeks to discover through its many
categories?
The
award strives to discover the best practices in treating social issues. Our
community is filled with creative and effective young people who have their own
initiatives and work using modern technologies to put forth social initiatives
that will ultimately be in families' best interest. There are volunteers in
different fields of life, such as: communal weddings; spreading cooperation and
love in the community and investing social networks in creating educational
media campaigns in the community. In addition, the community is filled with
wonderful examples of families working to affirm solidarity and cooperation
between family members. The award seeks to learn about their pioneering social
practices in order to encourage them to put more effort to be able to apply for
the award, which will lead to the realization of the anticipated results with
better management, marketing and utilization of available resources.