Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture ‘&’ Arts Authority, today attended the opening of the “World Peace Awards Forum 2013” in the presence of local, regional and international officials and experts from organizations across the globe working to promote world peace.

During the inaugural speech, Sultan Bin Mejren, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace, the organizers of the forum, said: “The forum comes in line of the Award’s efforts to attract local, regional and international expertise in the field of international peace, bringing them under one roof and sharing the same objectives in setting a role model of entities that promote peace. It is an opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices in the development of standards related to international peace award and its various categories as well as increasing the UAE’s efforts in the establishment of world peace through a range of initiatives.” Bin Mejren highlighted the prominent role played by the UAE as an active member of the international community, where it has been always been proactive in launching initiatives with humanitarian objectives both at the regional or international level, based onthe vision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa binZayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to spread the concepts of peace and the spirit of brotherhood. The UAE’s efforts would contribute to supporting and strengthening the links between nations and deepen the foundations and concepts of freedom, justice and equality, he added.

He noted that the UAE in general and Dubai in particular had all the necessary elements required to help lead this trend, as represented by the peaceful co-existence of people of more than 200 nationalities in complete harmony in the country.

Bin Mejren added that Peace is the title of Islam and its slogan and it is also what it calls for as a religion.

The Forum was attended by Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director General of HH The Dubai Ruler’s Court, Abdulla Al Shaibani, Secretary General of Dubai Executive Council, and Ibrahim Bu Melha, Adviser to the Ruler of Dubai for Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs, as well as other directors and executives from different government bodies in Dubai.

Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum toured the exhibition held alongside the two-day forum. The exhibition has hosted 12 local, regional and international entities, including Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace, International Humanitarian City, Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, Armed Forces, Dubai Sports Council, Noor Dubai, Dubai Cares, Dubai Police, Mohammed bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment, Global Peace Foundation, University of Peace, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). The Exhibition is open to the public from 9am to 4pm during the two days.

The first day of the forum included a discussion session included David Caprara, Vice President, Office of Strategic Partnership at Global Peace Foundation, and Hazaa Mohamed Al Qahtani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Development and International Cooperation in UAE, and Abdulla Al Shaibani, Board member of Dubai International City for Humanitarian Services.

The second session of the first day was attended by Seri Hjh Zaleha Binti Ismail,Chairman, Global Peace Foundation Malaysia and Vice President and Ex-Member of Parliament Association, and Mr. Evariste Karambizi, Manager, Peacekeeping Training Programme at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Abdulla Al Shehhi, Senior Fundraising Specialist, who represented Dubai Cares.

During the second day, the first session will include talks by Dr. Amr Abdulla, Ph.D. Professor and Vice Rector, United Nations-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE), and Dr. Manal Taryam, CEO of Noor Dubai Foundation. The second session will host Dr. Abdulla Al Uthaimeen, Secretary General of King Faisal International Prize and Seung-chae Kim Secretary-General, Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation.