The UAE Office for the Coordination of Foreign Aid (OCFA) is holding a three-day training workshop on basic humanitarian needs assessments, from 2-4 March at Abu Dhabi University in Abu Dhabi.
Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi and President of OCFA, the workshop underlines OCFA’s commitment to building the capacities of local humanitarian personnel, helping to ensure that the country’s foreign humanitarian and developmental assistance is as effective as possible.
“Building the response capacities of UAE-based aid workers is one of OCFA’s key mandates, and since its inception the organisation has been working on a number of fronts towards enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the UAE’s international humanitarian response,” said H.E. Hazza Mohammed Falah Al Qahtani, OCFA Director General. “Needs’ assessments are a vital component of the planning and implementation of relief programmes, and the three-day interactive workshop will cover both theoretical and practical knowledge aimed at familiarizing participants with international humanitarian response tools and services, on-the-ground skills, and writing assessments, situation reports and project proposals based on needs’ assessments.”
The venue for the workshop is provided by Abu Dhabi University which signed an MoU in September 2009 with OCFA aimed at offering training support to UAE-based donor organizations. “Abu Dhabi University is committed to contributing to society in the UAE and further afield, and we are delighted to support OCFA in their work to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the UAE humanitarian response,” said Dr. Nabil Ibrahim, Chancellor, Abu Dhabi University. “ADU's students already have a strong ethos of responsibility towards society and many of them undertake voluntary work within charities and aid organizations in the nation. This event will highlight the wider perspective to them and it is hoped that it will also inspire and encourage students to consider international humanitarian assistance as a career.”
The workshop is designed for UAE-based aid workers whose roles involve field work, and conducted in Arabic. The needs’ assessment workshop will also include presentations by the UAE Red Crescent Authority and UAE Search and Rescue Team (Abu Dhabi Police) and a simulation exercise. The workshop provides a common platform for aid workers in the UAE to share their experiences and best practices, strengthen their resource network and help foster greater cooperation in the field.
OCFA was set up by UAE Cabinet decree no. 36 for the year 2008 and has been operational since early 2009 to help UAE foreign aid donors improve delivery of humanitarian and development programmes worldwide. With HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, presiding as the office’s President, OCFA is assessing foreign aid donor needs; providing appropriate training programmes and knowledge transfers; and, building and strengthening ties between the UAE foreign aid sector and the international aid community by providing multiple platforms that bring international and local aid organizations together.
