Young Arab Leaders UAE Chapter launches six new initiatives at the first of its regular monthly meetings

The meeting also reviewed the organisation's action plan for 2006.

The new initiatives cover the educational, training, and professional needs as well as provide entrepreneurial support to youth projects. The programs include mentorship, scholarships, internships, leadership preparation, financing of youth projects, and organizing conferences and forums.

It was agreed at the annual UAE Chapter meeting in January, 2006 that the organization will hold regular monthly meetings in order to strengthen the communication between the members of the Chapter, thus speeding up the pace of development and achievement of the initiatives under the annual action plan for 2006.

The monthly meeting was lead by Saeed Al Muntafiq, CEO of Tatweer and Chairman of Young Arab Leaders UAE Chapter, and attended by a number of Executive Board members along with the members of the UAE Chapter.

During the meeting Saeed Al Muntafiq emphasized the importance of team work, through creating groups to supervise the execution of the initiatives and projects under the 2006 strategy of the Chapter, which concentrates on social activities and events through supporting the youth, and strengthening and developing the leadership values.

Leaders and group members have been assigned to supervise the implementation of the initiatives to ensure their success. Each team consists of a number of knowledgeable and experienced Chapter members to execute the initiatives as per the specialization of the team.

At the meeting Chapter members demonstrated a high level of enthusiasm towards developing these initiatives and ensuring its achievement as per the objectives it has been created to fulfill, alongside launching new initiatives, which will enable the UAE youth to face the obstacles that prevent them to play their role effectively.

Shehab Gargash, designated Entrepreneurship Champion, outlined the importance of the initiative that offers financial, management and technical support to entrepreneurs and highlighted the progress that the Alf Yad has attained in funding youth projects which aims to develop ten private equity funds to finance youth projects. He pointed out that the process of creating the first equity fund has reached its last phase. He also confirmed that the success of investments for this equity fund plays a major role in supporting and speeding up the creation of other private equity funds.

Mona Al Marri, designated Internship Champion said that the Chapter is preparing for a comprehensive media training program which is to contribute towards catalyzing the experiences of media students and transforming their learning by focusing on the national and regional experiences based on international standards.

Mentorship Champion Mishal Kanoo responsible for mentorship programs which aim to guide a group of university students/youth and have them trained by one of the Chapter's members, confirmed that the initiative within this field will focus on selecting a large group of entrepreneurs and university students within the UAE, for participation in mentorship programs that cover the different aspects of the professional, social and educational fields.

The meeting also invited views of the other team leaders, whereby Scholarship and Educational Champion, Balsam Al Khalili said that the programs will include providing educational opportunities at internationally renowned universities for a number of Arab youth who possess leadership skills and capabilities that qualify them to play leadership roles in the future. Moreover, she confirmed that previous initiatives of the Chapter within this field were being activated, alongside negotiations with a selection of international universities to reach new agreements and provide advanced educational opportunities for school and university students in the country.

Showcasing leadership Champion, George Farha, mentioned that as per the plans outlined to catalyze the objectives of the UAE Chapter in this domain, the team was preparing to organize a series of programs in collaboration with globally renowned corporations and specialized training programs from around the world. Additionally, that the leadership preparation program aims to build a generation of capable leaders to lead initiatives and future development through training programs designed on global standards.

Salem Bin Dasmal, Networking Champion said that the chapter will proceed by organizing high standard events and activities that would contribute to creating leaders that are capable of strengthening the growth process, and at the same time contribute towards enlarging the members' contact network at the regional and national levels.

The meeting included a presentation by Siemens International, to explore the possibility of launching a project in collaboration with the UAE Chapter for the Young Arab Leaders, aimed at developing the training programs for the leaders in the business sector, in line with the latest global developments in this domain.

The attendees highlighted the issue of selecting a new Board of Directors for the duration of two consecutive years, and this will be discussed in depth during the next meeting which is to be held on April 10, 2006.