HE Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute for Tolerance stressed the pioneering role of the United Arab Emirates represented by its wise Leadership, Government and people on the international arena, to promote the values of tolerance, peace, coexistence and harmony, as well to realize and translate the hopes and aspirations of all its people, nationals and non-nationals, who together live in harmony on this land of goodwill, brotherhood and giving.

In her capacity as the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute for Tolerance, Her Excellency inaugurated the meeting which was recently held at the Union Museum in Dubai with words of highest praise, appreciation and gratitude addressed to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai for His Highness’s great trust bestowed upon her excellency and all members of the Board.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has issued Decree No. (23) of 2017 establishing the Board of Trustees of the International Institute for Tolerance under the chairmanship of Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi and membership of their Excellencies, Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi -Minister of State for Happiness, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi - Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrouei - Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qasim - Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, Dr. Hamad Al-Sheikh Ahmed Al Shaibani -Director General, Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai, Mr. Sultan Butti Bin Mejren -Director General of the Dubai Land Department, Mr. Turki bin

Abdullah Aldakhil -General Manager of Al Arabiya Television News Network, Mr. Mazen Jubran Hayek - MBC Group’s official Spokesperson, Mr. Gerald Francis Lawless - Head of Tourism and Hospitality at Dubai Holding, Mr. Ahmed Ismail Al Abbas - Director of the Department of Strategic and Economic Policies at the Ministry of Cabinet and Future Affairs , Mr. Sunny Varkey-Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education - and Mr. Avishesha Bhojani - Group Chief Executive Officer of BPG Group.

During the meeting, HE emphasized the importance of reflecting the value of tolerance into sustainable institutional work. HE also stressed the importance of converging and coordinating efforts with relevant authorities to endorse these values locally, regionally and globally. The meeting also addressed the strategy adopted by the International Institute for Tolerance and its ambitious vision to become an international house of expertise where policies are rationalized and values of tolerance and coexistence are consolidated, and further beyond to create new ideas and policies that contribute to the consolidation of the values of tolerance, love, brotherhood and friendship, encourage continuous cross-cultural and religious dialogue, and seek practical solutions to the challenges facing the world today.

The participants also discussed the overall picture of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Tolerance in terms of objectives, categories, target audience and award procedures, as well as the series of initiatives of the International Institute for Tolerance to be carried out in the coming period, such organizing an annual international conference in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations, exemplifying the UAE’s model for tolerance at Expo 2020, and promoting the values of tolerance among young generations, mainly through the multitude of modern communication and social networking platforms. These efforts shall be put in place to rationalize the policies aiming at achieving tolerance, coexistence and acceptance of the other, raising awareness on tolerance issues, and exploring the root causes of intolerance, fanaticism and sectarianism, while developing appropriate solutions to address them.