ABU DHABI, 20th June, 2023 (WAM) — The Department of Community development (DCD) held its first workshop in a series of workshops planned for this year on Self-Assessment Awareness, with the active participation of licensed entities involves volunteers in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. In line with its role as a regulator, the department’s workshop was part of its efforts to regulate the licencing of volunteers and create an efficient and effective volunteering environment. The workshop was attended by Mubarak Salem Al Ameri, Executive Director of the Social Licensing and Control Sector at DCD, and a number of representatives from the licensing entities that use volunteers in Abu Dhabi. At the start of the workshop, Saeed Mubarak bin Amro, Director of the Social Control Division at DCD, welcomed attendees and expressed appreciation for the important role they play in progressing community development in Abu Dhabi. He also stressed that the workshop was just the beginning of a series of upcoming events that will be organised in order to provide relevant authorities with comprehensive details and awareness about the DCD’s role in licensing volunteers. He also mentioned the importance of organising volunteer work and promoting community participation in a way that contributes to empowering society and enhancing cohesion. He added that the volunteer licensing service is an extension of DCD’s organisational efforts to achieve the targeted goals of volunteer work, while also ensuring that the regulations and legislation around volunteering in Abu Dhabi are correctly followed. The workshop included a visual presentation that shed light on legislation related to volunteer work in the UAE, such as the Federal Law of 2018 regarding volunteer work, and the Cabinet Resolution of 2020 regarding the executive regulations of the federal law on volunteer work, in addition to the launch of the volunteer work policy in 2021, which aims to promote volunteer work by raising awareness among segments of society. The policies motivate and encourage volunteers to obtain licenses that enable them to form independent teams without being affiliated with an entity or institution, in addition to the licensing of individuals and institutions. An explanatory overview was also provided, covering topics such as volunteer licensing services, registration steps for individuals, teams or agencies, as well as steps for publishing volunteer opportunities, and an explanation of the guidelines and requirements for volunteering vests for these categories. Moreover, the presentation highlighted the control and inspection procedures conducted by DCD for agencies that use volunteers, clarifying their rights and the extent of their commitment to providing health and safety requirements for volunteers, and during field visits by the monitoring and inspection team. The presentation also touched on reviewing legislation provisions regarding penalties and complaints. Additionally, the workshop also shed light on the self-assessment form, which is one of the most important elements of the control and inspection framework developed by the DCD, which works as a guide for inspection procedures of entities under the umbrella of its organisation. Through the self-assessment form, entities can proactively evaluate themselves and check their compliance with the law.

Source: Emirates News Agency