Ministry launches Takaful Social Account

MUSCAT, April 29 - The Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) on Monday launched the “Takaful Social Account in cooperation with Arab Bank of Oman.  The ministry also held a workshop to discuss the proposals for developing the Sultan Qaboos Award for Volunteerism and celebrated the culmination of the Association of Dar Al Atta ISO 9001 certification for its efforts to preserve the environment and its resources. The event was held under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammed al Kalbani, Minister of Social Development. Dr Yahya al Mawali, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development, said the launch is an opportunity to introduce this account, with blessings of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and aims to support many aspects of social work. The first is related to insuring a good living to women, their children and families while the second aim of the Takaful Account is to support the charity associations and volunteerism. “This is an important pillar of the comprehensive development and the partnership between the government and the private sectors is certainly fruitful,” Al Mawali said, adding that the third aspect relates to supporting the services of persons with disabilities. This sector requires concerted efforts and cooperation. There is a need to develop the services aimed at this category in terms of quality and quantity to meet their needs. Al Mawali concluded by saying that the account will be resourced by donations and contributions from the private sector within the framework of social responsibility, and the investment of existing resources in the account. He also added that Arab Oman Bank, which manages the portfolio of the account, will conduct marketing campaigns as the account aims to build bridges of fruitful cooperation between the public and private sectors and various civil, charitable, professional institutions and individuals, and to create bonds of cohesion among the members. Dr Mohammed al Saadi, Director-General of Social Welfare, highlighted targets of the Sultan Qaboos Award for Volunteerism. The award promotes the culture of volunteerism as an integral part of the Omani society evolving culture, and to activate cooperation and social responsibility among all civil society organisations. It also encourages voluntary and private institutions to increase their contribution to supporting quality volunteer projects to contribute to the development process. The award targets directing the attitudes of young generation to the practice of volunteering and public benefit, and the formation of a structure capable of supporting and following up projects related to volunteer work. The participating groups in the workshop studied a number of proposals to develop the award. They suggested introduction of volunteerism in the study curriculum of schools, specifying a “core” for the award every year, adopting the ideas of elderly in this side depending on their experience in the field, and expanding the period of participation in the award from one year to three years so that other initiatives could prove their efforts better.