Dubai Municipality organizes 120 volunteer events to promote cleanliness in the first half of 2024

(MENAFN- Weber Shandwick) Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 19, 2024: Dubai Municipality has announced the success of the 'An Hour with a Cleaner' initiative in organizing 120 field volunteering events during the first half of 2024. This resulted in more than 5,160 hours of volunteer work, an achievement that emphasizes the vital role of volunteering opportunities in supporting efforts to preserve the environment, clean the city and enhance the civilized appearance of the Emirate. In addition, it highlights the importance of cultivating a culture of volunteerism as a key element in Dubai's sustainability and progress.

The initiative attracted 5,160 volunteers from 105 different entities and succeeded in collecting more than 5 tons of general waste, 40% of which was recycled and diverted from the landfill in cooperation with the private sector. The initiative also included organizing events to distribute gifts and meals to more than 300 cleaning engineers, a move that reinforces the human and social dimension of the initiative and contributes to appreciating the efforts made by this important group in maintaining the Dubai’s cleanliness.

The initiative succeeded in documenting the collection of large quantities of cigarette butts, which were completely recycled in cooperation with the private sector, in a distinctive effort to preserve the environment and reduce harmful waste. Participants were also able to remove more than 55 kg of random advertising posters that were distorting the appearance of building walls and facades, as well as public and service facilities in commercial areas and markets.

During 2023, the initiative achieved great success, attracting 7,089 volunteers from 134 government, private and civil organizations. This wide participation reflected the diversity of the community, including employees, students, families, as well as people interested in the city’s environmental cleanliness.

On this occasion, Eng. Saeed Safar, Director of Waste Operations Department at Dubai Municipality, said: “In line with the Year of Sustainability declared by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and based on Dubai Municipality's keenness to embody the vision of the wise leadership in the Government of Dubai, the Municipality works to support the application of the principles and concepts of social responsibility and sustainability in institutional work, and has adopted international best practices and administrative standards to implement an effective system for managing social responsibility, which enables the selection, guidance, implementation and support of social responsibility initiatives, whether field or administrative, in various fields.”

Safar emphasized Dubai Municipality's eagerness to promote community work by creating sustainable volunteering opportunities and adopting social responsibility initiatives specifically aimed at city cleanliness throughout the year. This also positively contributes to supporting the new government index launched by the Ministry of Community Development to measure the rate of giving in volunteer work at a national level within the framework of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. He further emphasized that this plan aims to stimulate positive citizenship and consolidate the culture of giving and volunteering among citizens and residents alike, enhancing the voluntary work reports by Dubai Municipality and reflecting its impact in raising the index of giving behavior in the Emirate overall.

Safar said that this initiative aims to achieve multiple objectives, the most important of which are promoting social responsibility in the field of maintaining cleanliness and environmental sustainability and engaging the local community in this field, in addition to enhancing cooperation between public and private sector organizations to achieve common environmental goals. It also aims to inspire individuals and organizations to adopt environmentally friendly options, while highlighting humanitarian efforts by supporting and delighting Dubai Municipality's cleanliness engineers.

He added that the initiative also works to spread the culture of volunteering among community members, in line with the federal national indicator for activating environmental volunteering initiatives, which supports the commitment of government departments to achieve the goals of sustainability, social responsibility for individuals, and social responsibility for institutions at the level of the UAE. The initiative aims to support the municipality's efforts by providing the public with the opportunity to actively participate in public cleanliness activities throughout the year and on various environmental and national occasions.

Safar expressed Dubai Municipality's thanks to all entities, institutions, and volunteer teams that participated in this important initiative, in recognition of their role in promoting the values of community cooperation to create a conscious and responsible society that believes in the importance of supporting the municipal work efforts to keep Dubai the cleanest and most sustainable city in the world. He also pointed out that the initiative's annual increasing activities emphasize the importance of community partnership in promoting environmental and humanitarian values, within the framework of a common commitment to achieving sustainability goals. He further observed that this reflects everyone's eagerness to contribute to meaningful community initiatives that enhance the city’s commitment to support environmental sustainability, as well as make Dubai a model for environmental sustainability in the UAE.

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