The Sharjah Volunteering Center at the Department of Social Services in Sharjah organized the first volunteer forum under the slogan "Making Impact", which coincides with the International Volunteer Day, which falls on December 5 of each year, yesterday morning at the University of Sharjah - Colleges of Medicine, and included participation from the General Command of Sharjah Police. And the Ministry of Health, as they constitute the first voluntary line of defense in the face of the Corona pandemic, in addition to representatives from the University of Sharjah and government and federal agencies, bodies and departments. In the opening speech, Hessa Al Hammadi, Director of the Volunteer Center, congratulated the UAE on the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, congratulating our wise leadership, which was able to preserve the approach of the late Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the Federation, in progress, advancement and prosperity so that our beloved emirates became one of the first countries. Five years ago, and under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, may God protect him, the Department of Social Services in Sharjah launched the "Sharjah Volunteer Center" with the participation of several government, federal and private institutions, to crystallize a new form of work Volunteering in the Emirate and giving it an official character, organizing voluntary work and spreading its culture among the members of society and its institutions and moving it out from the frameworks of individual efforts to collective and institutional work. Contribute to achieving social solidarity and community cohesion in the Emirate of Sharjah. She added, although we are still at the beginning, many achievements have been made, the most important of which is the establishment of a broad base of volunteers, so that the number of registered persons in the center has reached 19008, and today we celebrate our first conference, which we chose to have as its slogan "The Impact Industry", to introduce individuals Society and institutions on the impact of volunteering in building societies, by reviewing live experiences of volunteering, especially for those parties that formed the first line of defense for the Corona pandemic and benefiting from their experience. She concluded her speech by saying that volunteering elevates a person, refines his personality, and makes him a race to help others for free, just as it elevates a person. It promotes human societies as well, and makes them love giving and benevolence. Let us all be proactive in helping others to progress more and more for our society and to form a distinctive mark in the history of volunteering by instilling this value in today's and future generations. The conference included two sessions, the first dealt with two axes, namely, the role of government institutions in the field of volunteer work in light of the Covid pandemic, and the second topic dealt with the role of universities and research institutes in offering specialized programs in the sustainability of volunteer work. In the first axis, Colonel Ali Saif Al-Dabahi, Deputy Director of the Police Research Center at the Sharjah Police General Command, spoke about the country's experience during the Corona pandemic, noting that the UAE faced Corona with a comprehensive strategy, working and volunteer cadres and community awareness. He stressed the importance of working with one team among these parties, as it is the main element in confronting the virus. He noted the role of the rational leadership of the state, especially the message of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces: Do not cripple them. Which had a great impact on the hearts of citizens and residents, and the integration of civil, public and private institutions and the role of volunteers is what made the UAE one of the first countries that was able to confront Corona and made its experience the focus of admiration and attention of the world. Al-Dabbahi numbered the campaigns and tasks that were entrusted to them during the pandemic, which were dealt with according to a well-studied national strategy, such as the national sterilization program, quarantines, and others. Noting that the number of volunteers has increased during the pandemic. Volunteers are the reason for our success For her part, Dr. Amira Al Khaja, Director of Primary Health Care in Sharjah, addressed the experience of the health sector with volunteers during the Corona pandemic, which was intense despite the seriousness and difficulty of the situation, even from the medical staff, where hundreds of them volunteered in isolation and quarantine hotels first, and they were not The experience is easy for us, because we have not gone through such an experience before, and we needed a large administrative staff to register and take data, as well as in the places of examination and then vaccination, and the volunteers were a major reason for our success and completion of our tasks. At the level of health centers, for example, we used to receive 300 visitors or patients per day, but during the pandemic, the number rose to a thousand. The Role of Universities in Instilling a Culture of Volunteerism In the second axis, Dr. Alaa Al-Taei, Associate Professor of Sociology at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Sharjah reviewed the pioneering role of the University of Sharjah in the sustainability of volunteering, a view of strategy and implementation, where she addressed examples of sustainable volunteer behavior at the University of Sharjah in a number Among the points, the University of Sharjah set the university’s strategy 2019-2024 as a primary goal in integrating students with the university environment and the local community through a number of measures, the most important of which is activating extra-curricular activities within the teaching and learning axis, which did volunteer work through its various interests circles, including the Department of Sustainability of the Community Partnership, which has implemented several initiatives to consolidate voluntary social work, including the Volunteer Hour initiative targeting University of Sharjah students and faculty members. The university has also devoted its efforts to the sustainability of volunteer work through its research centers and confirms the university’s role in the research partnerships of the local community that aim to activate development policies by revitalizing the concept of social responsibility by strengthening cooperation between public organizations and the university. The second session and the second session presented two axes, the first reviewed the best practices and experiences in volunteer work, and the second axis dealt with the impact of volunteer work in building societies. Volunteering is a feature that every volunteer is proud of, as we are a Muslim and interconnected society and we have customs and traditions that make volunteering in us. But in our time, the development, organization and structuring of the voluntary process entered upon it. He added, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, established the Sharjah Award for Voluntary Work with an insight into social work in general and volunteer work in particular, and the award is the first at the state level and the Arab world to honor volunteers, personalities, initiatives and voluntary work to encourage people to volunteer. We also focus on creating young generations for volunteer work to continue and be a feature of our society. One of the effects of volunteering is that volunteer work in the country has become institutionalized, organizational and practical, and through our work, we found that some volunteers volunteered hours for 2000 hours during the Corona pandemic, and this matter makes us all happy, as it shows the extent to which society understands the culture of volunteering, noting that volunteering reduces crime rates. The community and leisure time, as well as teamwork that serves the community, increases, and the family that works in the field of volunteering is a cohesive and cohesive family. volunteer.. A heavenly message, Abdulaziz Al-Sindi, President of the Bahrain Society for Voluntary Work, also participated in the activities of the forum, via an e-mail to the forum participants, congratulating all volunteers on the occasion of the International Volunteer Day, describing volunteering as a heavenly message of social solidarity and a recipe that pervades the world with love, friendliness and serenity, as it enriches It contributes to building and progressing societies, because volunteers are the community capital, and when human money, human energies, human ideas and voluntary efforts are present, the growth, prosperity and development of societies in general. Voluntary efforts are partners with governments in the growth and progress of society and thus produce true community partnership. He added, and perhaps the Corona pandemic is the closest example of volunteering efforts with government efforts, and volunteer work was present, contributing to the protection of the homeland and humanity, and the world enjoys health, through the various models that volunteered in the front rows to confront Corona. In addition to the volunteering of artists and intellectuals, each volunteer in his field and specialization, in addition to other matters in which we find volunteers, such as disasters and crises, where they take the initiative to provide assistance. He mentioned that volunteer work is not restricted to anyone, but is open to everyone and is for everyone, as it is a humanitarian work for everyone, and developed countries care about volunteers and have centers and incentives for volunteers. Al-Sunni called for the existence of a community partnership between companies and institutions, volunteers and institutions that sponsor national action, and the two parties need each other and one hand does not clap. Volunteering is a self-initiative and the experience of the Emirates Child Protection Association, Moza Al-Shoumy, Vice-President of the association, who combined her personal experience as a volunteer with her work in the field of child protection, advised that success in volunteer work requires self-initiative that one has the desire, acceptance and acceptance of volunteer work and help others. Free of charge, and the second matter is the existence of an environment that attracts voluntary work, indicating the impact of the traditional view that prevailed in the past that voluntary work is “Bashakir work” and that mothers refused to work for their children on this pretext or because they did not accept the girl’s going out and staying for hours outside the house, but differed Today, the Emirati society enjoys an attractive environment for volunteering, as there is an abundance of volunteers, both citizens and residents. As for the third pillar of the success of volunteer work, it is the acquisition of volunteering skills, calling for the promotion of what is known as specialized volunteering, so that the volunteer is appointed according to the tools he possesses, so the matter becomes easier and the results are better, As part of the experiments, Hessa Al Hammadi, Director of the Sharjah Volunteer Center, reviewed the experience of the center, which was established in 2016 with the aim of contributing to achieving social solidarity.and societal cohesion in the Emirate of Sharjah, where the Center undertakes the task of organizing volunteer work and spreading its culture among community members and institutions. It also works on attracting and registering volunteers from the age of 18 through its electronic platform, training and qualifying them, and spreading awareness of the lofty message of volunteering, and other goals that advance volunteer work. Al Hammadi also reported some statistics as follows: 726 volunteer hours, 90 organizations offering volunteer opportunities, and volunteer hours amounted to 396025 volunteer hours. ========================= cadres of Asdaa' first volunteer forum Dr. Tariq Sultan bin Khadim, member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Sharjah and head of the Human Resources Department, said that we are all working With the high humanitarian approach of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, embodying his vision and efforts in promoting a culture of volunteer work in Sharjah society. We join hands as institutions and individuals to support everything that would consolidate voluntary work and thought that leads to social cohesion and cohesion. He explained that voluntary work is an essential pillar of the renaissance, and the wise leadership in the Emirates has adopted this approach as an approach and practice, and has allocated large areas for it within its strategies so that the fruits of giving and giving and the unlimited voluntary initiatives implemented by the state locally and globally. He stressed that the outputs of volunteer work inevitably serve the public interest, serve to promote authentic values, and achieve achievements that advance all humanity. Volunteer work brings about noticeable positive changes in societies, and builds a loyal and empowered generation capable of turning challenges into opportunities. Strengthening the Solidarity Society Ali Salem Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Airport Authority and a member of the Sharjah Volunteering Committee, stressed that volunteer work in the Emirate of Sharjah constitutes a fundamental pillar in strengthening the symbiotic society and dedicating the values ​​of synergy and social cohesion. In line with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, which urges strengthening the volunteer work system and providing all the ingredients necessary for its success. He added that Sharjah strives to involve both individuals and bodies in its endeavors to consolidate society's efforts to contribute to building the emirate's future by establishing a spirit of cooperation and positive participation in enhancing the country's position at the global level, by supporting voluntary campaigns and initiatives as part of the development system. What the UAE is experiencing in various fields, where volunteer work occupied a large part of the lives of most of the sons and daughters of the nation, and has become a way of life for them, and this was evident through their giving and their societal contributions in various circumstances and occasions. An Emirati pillar Eman Rashid Saif, Director of the Health Education Department at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, member of the Volunteering Committee in the Emirate of Sharjah of the Executive Council, confirmed that volunteering is a value rooted in Emirati society, and is one of the most important pillars that the UAE leadership has been keen to establish. In order to achieve sustainable development and to ensure a better future for society and future generations, volunteering carries many lofty values ​​that achieve solidarity, brotherhood and cooperation, because its basis is giving and giving, which is a philosophy and practice in the Emirati society in all its categories.