Enjoying an evening of glitz, glamour and gaiety will doubtless sound appealing to many, but we’ll give you a better excuse to don black-tie attire this Friday evening. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the best of UAE achievers in the business sector, and support not one but two worthy causes (which makes the rather hefty ticket prices worthwhile).
This year, AmCham is sponsoring the Ability Centre for students with special needs, as well as the Pakistani Welfare Community School (PWCS). Since opening four years ago with three classrooms and a bathroom for all grades, the PWCS has come a long way. Yet their textbooks are outdated, their fans are electric and they rely only on a single bus to transport students, with many having to walk. In addition to this, 110 of the 480 students (many of which are the children of Pakistani labour workers) are unable to afford the monthly fees. They are given free admission, but the school depends on donations to support them, which come from various sponsors as well as Zakat funds.
We caught up with chairman of AmCham Abu Dhabi, Greg Golden, and inquired after their choice of sponsored charities for this year’s Gala:
Can we inquire after your choice of sponsored charities for this year’s Gala?
Well when it comes to events like these, which we hope to do year after year, we want to keep it fresh and to that end we came up with these two charities. They’re not charities which you hear of much, so it’s extremely worthwhile, especially because all the business and trade that we like to celebrate requires people who are educated and skilled. So it all goes hand in hand. It’s also quite important to our members – these technology companies survive on engineers, and when they look at their corporate social responsibilities, they always focus on education. So we are supporting what our membership supports.
Sounds good. Now could you talk us through AmCham and the awards themselves?
Sure, AmCham Abu Dhabi is all about promoting investment and trade in goodwill between the United States, the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a whole. We are focused on the bilateral relationship between the US and the UAE in terms of trade and economics and cultural exchanges. These awards are intended to recognise individuals and companies that have made great achievements in furthering that mission, and are bridging the gap between our two countries.
What do your awards categories mean?
The most prominent award is the falcon award. That’s the one that goes to both an individual and to an organisation. And we’re looking to recognise somebody that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to sustaining US and UAE business relations. Then we have what we call the Bridge of Excellence award. We’re looking there for an organisation that bridges the gap in bilateral relationships and demonstrates commitment to cross-border business alliances. This award picks out the truly successful joint ventures, where a company brings together the assets that the UAE have and the assets that the US have, and puts them together in a way where everybody benefits. When a joint venture really clicks, the payoff isn’t just good returns for the joint venture parties, but also in terms of exposing people to new cultures so that they begin to call Abu Dhabi their home, or where people in Abu Dhabi learn more about the US.
Ok, in that vein it makes perfect sense for a company like Exxon Al Khalij Inc. to take home an award, but how does Bodyworx’s Sophia Al Awadhi winning the Young Achievers award last year fit in?
The Young Achievers award is more about entrepreneurship. What gets all the attention in the business press are the multimillion dollar deals that take place in the oil and gas sector, the big construction sector and the defence and security sectors. But we also want promote entrepreneurship in the UAE, which is important because the UAE is looking to develop a private sector, where you don’t have a large percentage of the population doing government jobs but where people are getting entrepreneurial experience that we value so much in the American business world. And so we’re looking to recognise people here in our community who have demonstrated success in professional practice, who have taken a risk and launched new businesses. Sometimes these are small or medium sized enterprises but that doesn’t make them any less significant. And the young woman who won our inaugural award last year was a pretty compelling story. She didn’t come from a large Emirati merchant family, with a lot of funds behind her. This was a young woman who, on her own, took a risk and launched her own business. So the young achievers are the people that we’ll be seeing in the papers 20 or 30 years from now.
The AmCham Excellence Award Charity Gala is on January 27 from 7pm at the Park Rotana, Abu Dhabi. Tickets are Dhs500 per person. To make a reservation contact events@amchamabudhabi.org (02 631 3604).
