Qtel organizes Easy-to-Remember Mobile auctions to help drive Qatar's charitable efforts

While the high bids made at the charity auctions - which can run into the millions of Qatari Riyals - make the headlines, it is the long-term impact and benefit of the funds raised that matters most to the participants and the organiser, Qtel.

Since 2005, Qtel has organised nine auctions of ERM numbers, with funds raised going into a central Charitable Fund, designed to provide resources to both long-standing charities and emergency provision for people in need.

Adel Al Mutawa, Executive Director of Group Communications, Qtel, said:

"For the participants in the auction, the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the local and global community is the primary reason they take part. The Charitable Fund has provided an important mechanism to distribute funds across a wide range of social causes, and the auctions have worked as the engine to drive the whole enterprise."

The Qtel Charitable Fund, which pools the funds generated by the auctions, was established when it became apparent that the strong demand for memorable phone numbers in Qatar created a unique opportunity for social benefit.

Typically, up to 50 numbers are made available for each auction, with some numbers running in sequential order and others using the same digits, so that they are easier to remember. Many of the participants in the auctions are leading Qatari businesspeople or senior executives, who are eager to make a personal contribution.

"Many people assume that the bidders are only interested in the numbers themselves for the social cachet, but the reality is that the majority are taking part because it provides a distinct opportunity to make a real impact on the lives of those less fortunate," said Al Mutawa.

A wide range of charities and projects have received donations from the money generated by the auctions since 2005.

In Qatar, a number of organizations, including the Qatar Diabetic Association, Qatar National Cancer Society, Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of Special Needs, the Qatar Orphan Foundation and the Qatar Red Crescent have all received funds generated by the auctions.

Some international efforts have also received support because of the charity auctions, including Qatar's Reach out to Asia campaign, which supports the Education for All (EFA) initiative to provide education for all children and adults by the year 2015. In 2007, following the Lebanon War, Qtel organized a special auction to support the Qatar Charity's urgent relief campaign for those affected.

As well as social charities, the Funds raised by the phone auctions are used to support a range of cultural charities, including the Sheikh Eid Bin Mohd Al Thani Charity association, which sponsors a range of Quran Programmes, and the Qatar Charity's Umra programme for young Qataris.

The funds raised by the auctions have even contributed to the construction of the full-fledged dialysis facility at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). The state-of-the-art 'Qtel Kidney Dialysis Centre' will cater to over 60 patients at a time when it opens in 2009.

"Qatar's mobile phone auctions have raised international interest and have even secured a place in the Guinness World Records. It is testimony to the charitable instincts of the participants that something as simple as a new mobile phone number could do so much good both here in Qatar and internationally," said Al Mutawa.