Sheikha Jawaher al-Qasimi

Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, has received The Golden Humanitarian Personality of the Year award by the Watani Emarat Humanitarian Work Award. This is in recognition of her contribution to humanitarian work locally and internationally as well as her unlimited support for cancer patients and refugee children.

The honour came during a ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel Dubai, organised by the Watani Emarat Foundation under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.

The award ceremony, themed, "This is What Sheikh Zayed Loves", was the commemoration of the 11th death anniversary of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The award was first launched in 2013 to coincide with the UAE Humanitarian Work Day on 19th of Ramadan to honour Emiratis who reflect charitable values.

Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, said, "It is a great honour for anyone of us to have their name attached to an award that commemorates a pillar of humanitarian work and the founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the great leader from whom we learnt the love of humanity, philanthropy and helping the underprivileged."

She stressed that the humanitarian approach laid down by the late Sheikh Zayed, which is continued by our current leadership, has resulted in the UAE being ranked first as the world's biggest donor of foreign aid for the second time in 2014, compared to its gross national income.

She added, "I consider this honour to be a new duty and a new challenge. I ask Allah to guide me to continue my humanitarian work, mobilise local and international support and develop plans and strategies in order to help all needy and vulnerable people in all parts of the world. I wish to stand by their side and lend them a helping hand, particularly refugees, cancer patients and vulnerable women."

Sheikha Jawaher is known for her great commitment to helping the needy and advocating for vulnerable people making her one of the most influential figures in the Arab world. This led to her appointment as UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, and the International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC.