Qatar Charity kicks off annual forum for its offices worldwide

Qatar Charity kicked off an annual forum for its field offices worldwide in Doha under the theme "The Challenges of Governance and Risk Management in Charitable Work". The forum will continue until  the 9^th of April.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Yousef Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, CEO of Qatar Charity, Ambassador Taq Bin Ali Al Ansari, director of International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Saad Al Mahmoud from the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA), many officials from Qatar Charity and representatives of its 26 fields offices worldwide.

The forum aims at creating harmony between the headquarters and its field offices, presenting the modern work systems prepared by the headquarters and discussing the ways of applying them by the field offices, reviewing the annual plans of the field offices and consulting on the general framework of the future strategic plan of Qatar Charity.

Mr. Yousif Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Qatar Charity's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Qatar Charity has witnessed a significant development in its governance system by applying relevant policies, guidelines and procedures that manage its work and contribute to achieving the highest level of responsibility, integrity, transparency and accountability, based on international humanitarian laws, standards and principles, best practices, and Qatari rules and regulations governing charitable activities in the country. "

He considered Qatar Charity’s field offices across the globe as one of the most important elements of its strength, as they help it identify the needs and implement projects and programs to fight poverty and promote sustainable development.

Al-Kuwari praised the great role played by RACA in supporting and developing the charity sector and greatly empowering the Qatari humanitarian and charitable organizations. He also noted that coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD) has positively contributed to increasing Qatar Charity’s projects implemented globally in line with international development plans.

For his part, Ambassador Tariq bin Ali Al Ansari, director of the Department of International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the importance of this forum to improve practices and keep up with the new international standards relating to the development work.

He also underlined the need to carry out charity work abroad in accordance with international standards and practices consistent with the Qatari development policy, as this will contribute to the implementation of the international cooperation strategy and the achievement of Qatar's National Vision (QNV) 2030.

For his part, Mr. Saad Al-Mahmoud from RACA showed his appreciation to Qatar Charity for organizing this distinguished forum for the directors of its offices outside Qatar. He also said that raising awareness to understand the risks associated with financial crimes would protect this sector from the hazards and threats.

Mr. Mohammed Al Ghamdi, assistant to QC's CEO in the Governance and Institutional Development Sector, said, "Qatar Charity is the first Arab organization to have an integrated system of policies, guidelines and procedures that manage and govern its charitable and humanitarian activities.”

According to Al Ghamid, investing this system in entering into new memberships and getting international financing opportunities will positively affect the effectiveness of Qatar Charity at the local, regional and international levels.

He also pointed out that Start Network welcomed Qatar Charity into its full membership at a meeting last year. It has recently joined the CHS Alliance. It is the only Arab organization in this alliance.

Al-Ghamdi pointed out that Qatar Charity has created an effective risk management system to govern its activities. He also noted that the e-link between Qatar Charity Gate and Thomson Reuters’ World Check was earlier launched to continuously apply the best practices and boost its adherence to internationally-recognized standards in the field of humanitarian and development work. 

Faisal Rashid AlFehaida, assistant to the CEO in the Operations and International Partnerships Sector at Qatar Charity, praised the efforts of the participants in the annual forum for field offices. He hoped that the meeting would be successful, achieve the objectives set for it, and contribute to the improvement of Qatar Charity’s development programs and projects.

He also said that the number of Qatar Charity’s field offices increased to 28 offices and 4 representatives across 30 countries, pointing out that six new offices would be opened in Senegal, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Togo and Tajikistan, after the approval from Qatar Charity’s Board of Directors and RACA. This indicates Qatar’s good relations with the world.

He pointed out that this expansion comes in response to the growing developmental and humanitarian needs in poor countries and regions suffering from chronic disasters and emerging crises. Opening its offices worldwide by Qatar Charity aim to directly supervise its various programs, projects, humanitarian interventions and social services, AlFehaida said, thanking benefactors in Qatar for their continuous and generous support to implement humanitarian work globally.