"Social Service 16" calls for a unified system among entities

The conference was inaugurated by Sheikh Majid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the of Districts Affairs Department; Mariam Majid Al Shamsi, Chairperson of Sharjah Social Services Department; Aisha Yousef, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Community Empowerment; Abdullah Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Human Resources; Khalid bin Butti Al Muhairi, Chairman of the Department of Housing; and a large number of leaders, employees, and those interested in social affairs from across the UAE.

The conference was held at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park and continued from May 13-14.

The events began with sessions and workshops entitled “Social Service in Professional Practice to a Proactive Leadership System”, in which governmental, academic and security bodies participated. Maitha Al Shamsi, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment Sector, stated that the social sector impacts individuals, families, and society, making it crucial for decision-makers to understand people's needs and ensure integrated services from relevant authorities.

The principle of empowerment

Aisha Yousef, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Community Empowerment, stressed the principle of empowerment rather than dependency, thereby creating an individual capable of independence. This matter requires significant effort and integration among the institutions involved in the social sector, so that efforts do not remain distributed and separate but rather work through a unified social work system.

The difficulty of raising awareness about early intervention

Dr Hanadi Al Suwaidi, Director of the Sharjah Center for Learning Difficulties, highlighted in her presentation the necessity of raising awareness about the importance of early intervention, especially among some families who reject this principle. She pointed out that this condition is often not obvious and usually comes to light when a child begins school. It's at this stage that the differences between them and their classmates start to stand out.

The center has developed an app to help parents identify early risk indicators through the Indicators Observatory project.

Governance and its role

Dr Mona Al-Bahr, who advises the Chairman of the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi, shared her insights on the importance of integration and governance in social work. She emphasized that a key solution is creating a single platform to improve the social work system. Many organizations face similar problems, so it's not just about counting how many people received help; the focus should be on preventing issues before they arise, as prevention is more cost-effective than dealing with problems after they happen. Hence, there must be effective partnerships that produce a tangible impact. She also stressed that governance plays a major role in achieving and strengthening this community system.

Making an impact

The last participant in the session was Wafaa Al Ali, Director of the Family Development Department at the Family Development Foundation in Abu Dhabi, affirmed that the family play crucial role in making an impact, and called for changing some terminologies, concepts and community culture in social work, stressing that proactivity is a basic principle of social work.

The second session

The second session, “Social Investment as a Model for Leading Change and Creating Opportunities,” focused on how social investment fosters sustainability and delivers developmental solutions to address societal change, featuring insights from local and international officials and experts.

Innovative models for social investment

During a video conference, Alistair Mason, New Zealand Social Investment Agency Acting CEO, talked about the agency’s social investment models. The models use data analysis to assess community impact and help governments allocate resources effectively based on regional needs.

Mason highlighted that New Zealand focuses on building resilient social systems that adapt to societal changes by monitoring community responses. This approach has strengthened government-society integration and has successfully reduced various social challenges by up to 60% in some areas.

Advanced model

Dr Mohammed Salem Al Junaibi, Director of the Emirates Red Crescent Center in Sharjah, pointed to the importance of involving the community in all its categories in humanitarian and development initiatives. He explained that partnerships with government agencies and other institutions have contributed to rapid response and flexibility in providing services to beneficiaries, as well as to proactivity and readiness to face challenges and reduce losses.

Achieving social solidarity

Dr Hisham Ahmed Al Zahrani, Director of the Zakat and Social Services Department, affirmed that zakat is a fundamental pillar in achieving social solidarity. The objective of Islamic law regarding zakat is to ensure the individual's sufficiency and enable them to live a dignified and stable life.

He noted that social investment in zakat goes beyond direct support to include the development of projects and initiatives tailored to beneficiaries' needs.

Community investment

Hessa Mohammed Al Hammadi, Director of the Community Cohesion Department, stated that community investment starts with the family and involves all societal segments. She stated that the significance of community awareness and collaborations between government and private sectors to improve quality of life and achieve sustainable development.

According to Al Hammadi, the Social Observatory's role is to analyze community indicators and detecting critical cases, stressing the importance of data in developing social initiatives, His Highness the Sharjah Ruler’s highlighting the "Knowledge is Light" initiative to provide educational opportunities for uneducated senior citizens.

Monitoring systems

Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Ali Mohammed Al Matroushi, Director of the Child and Women Protection Department at the General Department of Human Rights in Dubai Police, presented a paper titled "Protection and Preventive Monitoring Systems."

He stated that modern protection systems rely on early risk detection and the analysis of behavioral and social indicators before they escalate, pointing out that Dubai Police has developed a cohesive preventive protection model that includes child and women protection services and digital community initiatives, which enhance the response speed and the quality of social and security interventions.

Shifting towards prevention requires integrating roles among security, social, educational, and health entities. It also requires smart systems for data analysis and early risk detection.

The paper also reviewed performance indicators for protection services, which showed increased beneficiary satisfaction rates, expanded awareness and community initiatives, and the development of specialized training programs in child and women protection, behavioral monitoring, and dealing with the most vulnerable groups.