Nama Centre takes part in Volunteer Day celebrations

Nama Centre, one of Qatar Foundation for Social Work (QFSW)’s affiliatedcentres, has participated in the 2017 International Volunteer Daycelebrations.The participation comes within the framework of its “ongoingencouragement of voluntary work and the promotion of communityparticipation, while reaffirming the importance of volunteering as anoble humanitarian value and the need to support volunteers for theirpivotal role in achieving comprehensive development in theircommunities”, Nama has said in a press statement. The centre’s first voluntary work forum was launched in 1998, organisedby its volunteers, to encourage individuals and institutions tocontribute to volunteerism and instil the meaning and value of voluntarywork in the hearts of citizens and residents. In 1999, the Volunteer Award was launched and has been celebratedannually ever since on International Volunteer Day, which falls onDecember 5 every year. The Volunteer Award aims to promote a culture of giving and nurturingvoluntary and humanitarian efforts of individuals, groups andinstitutions, in recognition and honour of their work, in addition toraising awareness of the role of volunteering in the development ofsociety and motivating individuals and institutions to nurture it. Other key initiatives include the National Campaign to Promote Volunteerism and the Qatar Volunteers Network initiative.The strategic directions of the centre, 2017-2022, include an integratedstrategy to promote youth participation in community service and allowthem to develop and interact within Nama’s project for the developmentof social entrepreneurs. The project is implemented through twochannels: the ‘Moqbeleen’ and ‘Sama Nama’ projects. Maryam bint Abdullatif al-Mannai, acting executive manager of NamaCentre, said: “The celebration of this day is a great opportunity tocontinue efforts to expand the voluntary work framework through thelaunch of new voluntary social development projects and developingexisting ones, as well as the dissemination of volunteerism on a largerscale and the recruitment of more young people.”