Voluntary activities centre and Shell sign pact to promote CSR

QCFVA and Qatar Shell officials at the signing ceremony of the MoU.

The Qatar Centre For Voluntary Activities (QCFVA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar Shell to encourage an increasing number of local volunteers to participate in the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The MoU aims to promote co-operation with civil society organisations, to train volunteers and provide them with the necessary skills to support each initiative.The first of these collaborations will be for the ‘Enterprise Challenge Qatar’, an initiative that aims to inspire the entrepreneurial spirit among young people in Qatar, by enhancing their business knowledge and equipping them with valuable skills.The MoU is expected to inspire more volunteer mentors to join the ‘Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ 2015. The mentors will participate in a series of training sessions to equip them with the necessary skills to mentor and coach students on entrepreneurial business skills and to enhance ethical business knowledge. Aisha al-Kuwari chairperson of the QCFVA said it “aims to promote volunteer work and raise awareness about social responsibility, including activities beneficial to both young Qataris and residents, in line with our slogan ‘You are the source of rejuvenation, so be the first to take the initiative and volunteer’. The centre is also keen on promoting science and Islamic moral values in addition to contributing to the development of the educational, scientific and practical skills of young people and residents.”Qatar Shell’s CSR manager Mohamed Abu Jbara said: “QCFVA plays a pivotal role in raising awareness about volunteer activities at individual and community levels. We are extremely happy to be signing this long-term MoU. By training volunteers, Qatar Shell aims to equip young people with skills that will enrich their personal and professional life.” The ‘Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ programme has different levels for high school and university students, and is made up of three parts: The Ethical Business Challenge, which tests participants’ ability to balance the economic, environmental and social performance of their company; The Business Simulation which familiarises students with general business concepts from inception through to trading, finance, sales, marketing and production; and The Grand Finals, where universities and school groups compete with other teams to demonstrate their business skills with the highest scoring teams winning the overall competition.The ‘Enterprise Challenge Qatar’ runs throughout October and November, with the Grand Final competition for universities taking place in December. The programme for schools will commence in January 2016, with the Grand Final competition taking place in April.