Gergawi highlights Dubai's pioneering role in philanthropic efforts at Clinton Global Initiative

More than 1,000 business leaders and representatives from NGOs, academics and governments attended the summit, which was held in New York recently.

Participating in the panel discussion 'Successful Models for Sustainable Development', H.E. Al Gergawi made a special mention of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, which has instituted a US$10 billion endowment to build a new generation of qualified world class leaders, in the region, across all segments of the society.

"The endowment helps to reinstate knowledge and culture as key pillars of the society, establish a regional knowledge infrastructure, while empowering the youth to be innovative in job creation," said he said.

Highlighting the recently launched Dubai Cares campaign for educating needy children in poor countries, he also focused on Dubai's success in social and economic transformation, and examined new models for the future.

Quoting from a World Bank study that has forecast the need to create 80 million jobs in the next decade in the Arab world, H.E. Al Gergawi said: "This is an unprecedented challenge, with the population growing at an annual rate of over 2.4 per cent during 2000-2004."

The panelists at the Clinton Global Initiative included Bill Drayton, CEO and Founder of Ashoka, the global association of the world's leading social entrepreneurs; Robert Rubin, Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Citigroup and Muhammad Yunus, Founder and Managing Director of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The session was moderated by Daljit Dhaliwal, anchor, PBS Wide Angle.

Highlighting the positive role played by Dubai Government in instituting various programmes for government excellence and e-government, H.E. Al Gergawi said: "These programmes comprise models and tools that can be replicated by others. In fact, through the Dubai School of Government, we are actively sharing this knowledge and experience with our regional neighbours."

He praised the role played by the Clinton Global Initiative in empowering social entrepreneurs and giving them a platform to redefine approaches to poverty, healthcare, education and climate change.

Calling for greater collaboration and coordination among organizations, he said these efforts will drive action that will tackle the challenges, modernize systems, and empower societies to advance in a new direction .

Drayton spoke on empowering social entrepreneurs in diverse fields, including civic engagement, economic development, education, environment, health, and human rights.

Rubin discussed the best way to promote new models of sustainable development.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Yunus explained how Grameen Bank has successfully changed the lives of millions in Bangladesh through micro credits.

The Clinton Global Initiative brings together world leaders in business, government, science and religion to develop a framework to address contemporary issues of concern. Every participant contributes either his expertise or through donations to achieve the initiative's goals.