Latest / DEWA Podcasts / Quote by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, on International Volunteer Day 2025
Transcript
- 0:00Hello, and welcome to Catalyst, the podcast exploring
- 0:03impactful ideas. So in the UAE's designated year
- 0:07of community, the spotlight is really on how
- 0:09organizations contribute to the nation's social
- 0:12fabric. And a powerful example, I think, comes
- 0:15from the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority,
- 0:17DIWA. Yeah. Its MD and CEO, His Excellency Saeed
- 0:21Mohammed Altair, recently articulated a vision
- 0:24that Well, it just perfectly aligns with this
- 0:26national priority. He put it this way, and we're
- 0:29sharing his words exactly as stated. So listen
- 0:32to this. Okay. He said, Inspired by the profound
- 0:36and farsighted commitment of His Highness Sheikh
- 0:38Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the
- 0:41UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
- 0:45Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister
- 0:47of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, to consolidate
- 0:50the UAE's global leadership in volunteerism and
- 0:53humanitarian service. We embrace and promote
- 0:57these values as reflecting the authentic Emirati
- 1:00spirit. Volunteerism is not only a noble human
- 1:03value, but a vital force in advancing sustainable
- 1:06and comprehensive development. As we mark the
- 1:09UAE's Year of Community, we reaffirm our commitment
- 1:13to expanding volunteer opportunities and deepening
- 1:16a culture where every act of giving strengthens
- 1:19the social fabric and brings us closer together.
- 1:23At Diwa, we proactively support efforts aimed
- 1:26at building a more cohesive, compassionate, and
- 1:29resilient society. As a socially responsible
- 1:31organization, we encourage our employees and
- 1:36stakeholders to embrace volunteerism at an institutional
- 1:39level and individually, and to contribute meaningfully
- 1:42through inclusive humanitarian programs that
- 1:45uplift communities and elevate quality of life,
- 1:48particularly for the most vulnerable. That's
- 1:51a really profound mission statement. And, you
- 1:55know, the phrase that stands out to me is a vital
- 1:58force in advancing sustainable and comprehensive
- 2:01development. Yes. It frames volunteerism as a
- 2:04strategic tool for progress, not just an act
- 2:08of goodwill. And he didn't stop. At the philosophy,
- 2:11he delivered Bahar data. Exactly. So Altair added
- 2:16that between 2013 and 2024, Diwa launched 465
- 2:21social initiatives, through which its employees
- 2:24recorded, get this, 249 ,843 volunteer hours
- 2:30in humanitarian and community initiatives. Wow,
- 2:33that's a lot of hours. Benefiting many countries
- 2:35around the world. And then there's this. The
- 2:38society's happiness rate with DOA services reached
- 2:4294 .51 % this year. So over a decade, that's
- 2:46an average of nearly 25 ,000 hours of service
- 2:49per year. It's huge. It's a testament to a deep
- 2:52institutional commitment. And tying it to a society
- 2:55happiness rate of over 94%, it suggests a really...
- 3:00powerful connection between that corporate responsibility
- 3:03and the public's perception. It truly redefines
- 3:07the role of a public utility. So here's a question
- 3:09we'd like to leave our listeners with. How might
- 3:12our communities change if every major organization
- 3:15viewed building a compassionate society as a
- 3:18core, central part of its mission?