Emirates Foundation Youth Philanthopy Summit opens today to maximize social investmentandempower youth in the region

Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan
EMIRATES FOUNDATION YOUTH PHILANTHOPY SUMMIT OPENS TODAY TO MAXIMIZE SOCIAL INVESTMENTANDEMPOWER YOUTH IN THE REGION

• Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Emirates Foundation Managing Director, welcomed experts from around the world to the second Youth Philanthropy Summit, 2014
• Organized by Emirates Foundation and includes 21 interactive panel debates with the participation of more than 60 international experts and speakers from more than 50 local, regional and international organizations
• Challenging debate discussions on Philanthropy 2020: Improving Impact, Effectiveness and Collaboration

Abu Dhabi, 3 November, 2014–Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister and Chairman of Emirates Foundation, the Emirates Foundation Youth Philanthropy Summit 2014 opened its doors today to connect experts from around the world in an in-depth and engaging debate on how the impact of philanthropic investment can be maximized to empower youth and further benefit societies in a sustainable way.

In itssecond year, the summit titled “Philanthropy 2020: Improving Impact, Effectiveness and Collaboration” is offering a strategic platform that connectsleading innovative institutions, global and regional business experts, government representatives and philanthropists to discuss best ways to improve the philanthropy sectorand gain social investment results.TheSummit is happening at the Ritz- Carlton Hotel in Abu Dhabi from 3-4 November.

The two day summit includes 21 interactive panel debates with the participation of more than 60 international experts and speakers from more than 50 local, regional and international organizations.

The Summit opened today with a video speech from H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister and Chairman of Emirates Foundation.
“For the second consecutive year, the Emirates Foundation is holding the annual Philanthropy Summit as a strategic platform utilizing thought leadership and pioneering institutions to discuss how philanthropy can be more impactful, and helping youth meet their fullest potential whilecreating positive sustainable social value,” H.H. Sheikh Abdullah said.

“The summit aims to discuss emerging trends in venture philanthropy, and its effectiveness in youth empowerment. In its second round, it will look into creating impact at scale and delivering real systematic sustainable change that can touch the lives of thousands of young people,” H.H. Sheikh Abdullah added.
At his opening remarks, His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin TahnoonAl Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Transport Department and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, and Managing Director of the Emirates Foundation said, “The annual Youth Philanthropy Summit is being held in light of UAE's success andachievements in all areas covering economy, social and culture developments. Without a doubt, these achievements position UAEas a hub for comprehensive development in all fields.”

His Excellency also highlightedin his speech UAE's successful record in the field of volunteering and aid work, which is inspired by the legacy ofthe founder and builder of the renaissance of the UAE Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, (may God have mercy upon him), and currently is reflected inthe prestigious position reached by UAE as one of the leading six countries in the world in providing assistance and humanitarian aid and relief to all those in need around the world.

“The most distinguishing feature of this summit isit'sfocus on youth, which is in line with the Foundation's vision of investing inyoung people and enabling them to contribute towards building the future of the country.The Foundation has positioned itself as the center for exchanging experiences, lessons learned on how to promote the culture of giving, youth development, and implementation of social investments based on partnership and cooperation, innovation and creativity, together with the belief that understanding the needs of the youth is the best way to achieve success,” H.E added.

“The summit will conduct panel debatesin order to enable and enhance youth ability to establish successful and influential social enterprise, not only in the UAE, but also in the GCC. This comes as an implementation for the initiative of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister and Chairman of Emirates
Foundation,who has launched the idea of The Emirates Award for Arabian Gulf Youth, where the Foundation is organizing a ceremony on the 18thof November to honor the young winners.” H.E concluded.

Furthermore, Clare Woodcraft, the CEO of Emirates Foundation, said“This year we are also creating a new youth focused component that will aim to encourage young philanthropists to invest their energy and drive in innovative and impactful initiatives. We aspire to build the next generation of GCC philanthropists. The event will provide multiple interactive opportunities for youth to share their thoughts and gain new skills. Challenge sessions will provide them with practical insights into how to best render their philanthropic ambitions a reality.”
Over the two-days, Emirates Foundation is running three parallel work streams, which come in line with the Foundation's core business areas (Innovation, Empowerment, Volunteering), where each includes 'Challenge Sessions' facilitated by various experts in each respective field.

The summit will offer panel debates and workshops that are useful for youth, philanthropists private and public sectors on various topics such as the importance of seeing Admin costs as investment in human capital rather than a cost.
sessionson boosting employee engagement trough volunteering, as today's youngest generation of professionals consider jobs as means for making a positive change in the world. The platform will arm attendees with examples of companies that turned their workplace volunteer programs into drivers of 21st century CSR strategies, and jointly discover resources and knowledge to inspire and engage millennials and the next generation in the workplace.
One of the sessions will be focusing on what can youth do to sustain the environment,this workshop is facilitated by the Ministry of Energy to encourage youth to preserve the environment through efficient water and electricity usage for a more sustainable future.

Crowd-funding will be also one of the sessions topics, as its increasingly hailed as a 'one-stop' solution for funding social and even commercial organizations. It has gained rapid traction globally and in the region. However, some beneficiaries complain of high transaction costs and limitations to the amount of capital that can be raised.

The panel debates willfeature key expertise speakers including: Hassan Al Damluji, ME Director at Gates Foundation,Ashish Thakker is a highly successful businessman and founder of Mara Foundation which promotes enterprise,H.E Abdullah Al Darmaki, CEO of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Caroline Fiennes, Director at Giving Evidence, Johan Gorecki, Co-Founder of Skype,Chris West, Director at Shell Foundation,H.E Tarek Al Gurg, CEO of Dubai Cares,Abdulkarim Al Olama, CEO at Al Jalila Foundation, and Tamer Makary, CEO of Magrabi Foundation.
The Philanthropy Summit will be focusing on building strategic partnerships with esteemed entities and organizations specialized and active in the youth philanthropy sector

Khuloud Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officerat Emirates Foundation said, “The Youth Philanthropy Summit is a yearlong platform that creates opportunities for an ongoing dialogue with other foundations and corporates interested in contributing to the development of their nation.”
Further, this year's Summit will discuss case studies, which will reveal how greater focus, more long-term goals and new models have allowed each organization to deliver a more powerful impact and sustainable outcomes.

One of the panel discussions will highlight outcomes of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report titled “Foundations' Innovative Approaches to Youth Empowerment” developed in collaboration with Emirates Foundation. This report also showed how philanthropic foundations have been playing an increasingly important role in supporting youth empowerment, be it in education, access to “digital” jobs, strengthening the capacity of grassroots organisations dedicated to youth empowerment and encouraging young people to start their own businesses. It also highlights that foundations have a comparative advantage over “conventional” donors, and a niche role that enables it and other foundations to take risks and pilot innovative practices, often filling existing gaps on the ground.

The summit will also be discussing the launch of Coutts International Million Dollar DonorsReport (MDDR). Data gathered for the GCC countries, which was produced in association with the Emirates Foundation and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy through publicly available information, illustrates the scale and number of donations of $1m or more and the causes and geographies Middle Eastern philanthropists focus on. Data collected for this report is likely to be just a small portion of the true picture of one million dollar giving, as much of the philanthropy in the Middle East goes unpublicised.

Al Nuwais, ended her opening speech highlighting that we see more and more young people interested in philanthropic ideas and investments. This is a growing trend and one we can nurture. She encouraged businesses and leaders to engage with young people during the summit to listen to their stories and ideas and forge a relationship. She wished everybody a very stimulating and engaged two days that will result in new collaborations and partnerships.We hope that we can all work together to create real social impact that makes a real difference.