Sheikh Mohammed to honour 'Arab Hope Makers' on May 18

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will honour the winner of the Arab Hope Makers initiative at a ceremony on May 18 at the Sound Stage in Dubai Studio City.

The Arab Hope Makers initiative aims to shed light on the inspirational stories of people who provide hope and spread it among communities throughout the Arab World. It seeks to honour them, highlight their achievements in society and reward their journey, which leads to contributing to social prosperity in a number of fields, according to a release issued by Sheikh Mohammed's office.

Arab Hope Makers initiative received over 65,000 submission from 22 countries. The ceremony will honour the greatest Hope Maker, who will be awarded Dh1 million for his or her commitment to spreading hope.

Tickets to attend the award ceremony are available free of charge to those who wish to attend the event through registration at Arab Hope Makers website. Various distinguished dignitaries and representatives from local and regional media will attend the event.

The Arab Hope Makers initiative, which was launched on March 1, garnered 65,489 nominations in just one month.

Volunteer-based initiatives were most common, with 29 per cent of nominations, followed by youth-focused initiatives at 19.6 per cent, education at 19.1 per cent, health-sector at 9.1 per cent, media initiatives at 7.3 per cent, and the remaining 15.9 per cent dispersed across a range of different sectors.

Twenty-two Arab countries nominated people in their communities with the highest number of nominations coming from:

- Egypt with 22.3 per cent

- Saudi Arabia with 17 per cent

- UAE with 10.9 per cent

- Jordan with 9 per cent

- Morocco with 6.5 per cent

- Palestine with 4.8 per cent

- Iraq with 4.5 per cent

- Syria with 4.4 per cent

- Algeria with 4.2 per cent

- Kuwait with 3.6 per cent

The remaining 12.8 per cent were distributed between Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan, Oman, Tunisia, Bahrain, Libya, Qatar, Mauritania, Somalia, Comoros and Djibouti.

Many of the submitted nominations revealed the stories of individuals who profoundly improved the lives of others in their communities. The stories also reveal the dire challenges that many people in the Arab World face, as well as the commitment and humanitarian spirit of others who generously give their time and effort to overcome these obstacles and spread optimism and hope.

Arab Hope Makers was launched under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives, MBRGI, as part of the Year of Giving campaign.

The year 2017 was announced as The Year of Giving by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan