Last night (9th December) to herald the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, the Global Gift Gala joined forces for the first time with the Abu Dhabi Dream Ball – created by a collective of women in the UAE capital who support meaningful charitable causes Sawtouna and Harper’s Bazaar Arabia – to raise funds for The Global Gift Foundation and Lebanese Red Cross.
Held under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Cabinet member and the Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence. The event saw Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid presented with the prestigious Global Gift Excellence Award
The prestigious event was chaired by Global Gift Foundation founder Maria Bravo with co-chairs including the founders of Sawtouna,Nadine Maalouf and Nadia Sehweil, Global Gift ambassadors Huda Kattan and Mona Kattan, and honorary chair, actress and philanthropist Eva Longoria Baston.
The gala benefit the Lebanese Red Cross, a humanitarian organization, and an auxiliary team to the medical service of the Lebanese Army and the Global Gift Foundation.
The Global Gift Gala is a unique international initiative from the Global Gift Foundation, a charity founded by Maria Bravo that is dedicated to philanthropic events worldwide; to help raise funds and make a difference towards children and women across the globe. Maria comments: “I am delighted that we joined forces with one of the most prestigious events in the UAE social calendar, The Abu Dhabi Dream Ball. The annual gala makes a real difference to the lives of refugee women and children in the Middle East, and it was an honour to be a part of the event. Furthermore the generosity of all the global sponsors allows for the funds raised to go directly toward the benefitting causes.”
Guests were entertained by performances from international pop star Anastacia, soprano Angelica de la Riva and International pop sensations, Gipsy Reyes Heritage. The world class event was hosted by TV and radio presenter, Tom Urquhart alongside entrepreneur and influencer, Rosemin Madhavji. Glamorous VIP guests including football legend Clarence Seedorf, Egyptian Hollywood film actor Mohammed Karim and leading social media talents, Mony Helal and Raghad Fahmi, were invited by the official influencer agency partner of the Abu Dhabi Dream Ball, ITP Live.
The Abu Dhabi Dream Ball is a high-profile charity event aimed at making a real difference in the lives of refugee women and children in the Middle East. A key event in the UAE’s social calendar, Abu Dhabi Dream Ball is a brainchild of Sawtouna, a collective of influential women based in Abu Dhabi committed to promoting volunteerism and developing the potential of women and children through supporting meaningful charitable causes, in partnership with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.
Sawtouna and Abu Dhabi Dream Ball co-chairs, Nadine Maalouf and Nadia Sehweil, said: “It is our mission to bring the world’s attention to the rising challenges in the Middle East, which affect the lives of women and children. Collaborating with Global Gift Gala will help create greater awareness on our causes, and through this event, we are able to pave a path for a better future by fostering both hope and stability.”
The Global Gift Foundation formed a partnership with the Rich List Group to bring this event to the W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, with the support of asset owner Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi to help expand Global Gift Gala’s across race weekends globally as they look to add Miami, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore to their existing calendar.
The generosity of all the global sponsors allows for the funds raised on the evening to go directly toward the benefitting causes. This means that the magnificent event of fun, hope and inspiration had covered all costs before opening the doors.
The generous and gracious airline sponsor of the evening was Etihad Airways who by supporting this initiative, ensured all the international talent travelled in true Etihad style.
Among the socially responsible brands that generously sponsored the evening were; Fawaz Gruosi Jewellery celebrating their first-year anniversary. Damacorp “citizenship & residency by investment” and the Global Gift partners EgoGames, Pacaso, Investfy Now, Filtroo , MenteLista and Power 8 .
The stunning venue was filled with beautiful flowers, kindly provided by a Dubai-based florist creator, Alissar, and creating the most spectacular production are the renown Flair Event Services.
Guests enjoyed a lavish 3-course meal designed by prestigious chef from the W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island with beverages provided by Pernod Ricard and Perrier-Jouët.
Aside from a full entertainment program, various awards were presented on the evening. Scott Fletcher MBE was awarded the Global Gift Philanthropist Award, and Rizek Masri received the Global Gift EgoGames Award presented by the EgoGames founder Alejandro Saez.
BENEFITING FOUNDATIONS
Global Gift Foundation is an international non-profit organization, based and registered in Marbella, Spain. Created in 2013 by Spanish entrepreneur and philanthropist Maria Bravo, the Foundation supports social projects of different organizations around the world whose values coincide with theirs. The Global Gift Foundation Platform organizes Global Gift Galas, one of the most important International Philanthro- pic events, to raise funds and awareness for its cause and other non-profit organizations’ cause. Global Gift Foundation also carries out their own projects such as Casa Global Gift, a multifunctional centre for children with special needs that is located in the city of Marbella, Spain, and benefits particular cases of children and families in need.
The Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) is a humanitarian organization and an auxiliary team to the medical service of the Lebanese Army. Its headquarters is in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut. Founded in 1945, the organization comprises a number of approximately 7,000 members/volunteers and 200 staff personnel. The society works with the International Federation and the ICRC, and on a bilateral basis with the Norwegian and the French Red Cross. The LRC also works with the relevant components of the Lebanese authorities, with UN agencies and NGOs. The mission of the LRC is to spread and promote peace, serve the society, alleviate human pain without any discrimination as to nationality, political commitments or social class. The National Society has a leading national role in first aid and ambulance services, as well as providing blood, primary health, and social services. The Lebanese Red Cross Society is led by volunteers, whose mission is to provide relief to victims of natural and human made disasters, and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies, and to mitigate the suffering of the most vulnerable. The LRC’s mission includes the following programs and units:
▪ 50 Medical – Social Center
▪ 46 First Aid centers
▪ 30 Chapters or local committee
▪ 33 Youth Clubs
▪ 13 Mobile Clinics
▪ 13 Blood Transfusion centers
▪ 6 Nursing Institutes
▪ 2 Health Assistant schools
▪ 1 Safety & Security Unit
▪ 1 Orthopedic workshop
About THE GLOBAL GIFT GALA
The Global Gift Gala, created by Maria Bravo, is the main event of the Global Gift Foundation and one of the most important charity celebrations in the world. This event takes place in different countries and cities such as Tokyo, Paris, London, Dubai, Cannes, Marbella, Madrid, Miami, Ibiza , Manchester Dubai , Mexico , Los Angeles and Althorp. At each Global Gift Gala, we partner, and benefit, different local Charities, as we believe uniting forces allows us to make a bigger impact improving children’s and women’s lives across the world. This signature event is distinguished by its “GlobalGifters” Ambassadors – some of the most admired personalities in the world – such as Eva Longoria Bastón, Huda and Mona Kattan, Victoria Beckham, Ricky Martin, Adrien Brody or Luis Fonsi among many others.
Bringing together socially responsible companies, celebrities and philanthropists we ensure a huge media repercussion for Global Gift Foundation’s Sponsors, as well as giving visibility to the beneficiary charities.
About ABU DHABI DREAM BALL
The Abu Dhabi Dream Ball was founded by Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and Sawtouna, a group of women in Abu Dhabi committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and children and supporting meaningful charitable causes through effective action and philanthropic leadership.
In 2019, Abu Dhabi Dream Ball was held at the Emirates Palace where the event honored H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and H.E. Noora Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture. And remarkably, Sawtouna also raised a total of AED 3.28 million after expenses from 500 guests in attendance to support to UNICEF’s No Lost Generation Program in Zaatari Refugee Camp to help 5,000 vulnerable and conflict-affected children in Jordan.
In 2020, the high-profile charity ball also took place at the Emirates Palace where the founders chose to honor the CEO of Etihad, Tony Douglas, and support UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Emirates Red Crescent to help provide refugee women and children with preventative and curative healthcare at 10 primary healthcare facilities in Lebanon by paying for routine childhood vaccinations, antenatal care and essential medication for acute disorders, and chronic illnesses. Under the patronage of Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the 2020 Abu Dhabi Dream Ball raised a total of AED 1,396,132.
About Sawtouna
A collective of women based in Abu Dhabi committed to promoting voluntarism and developing the potential of women and children through supporting meaningful charitable causes. They aim to empower their local community and make a difference in the Gulf region through effective action and philanthropic leadership. https://www.instagram.com/sawtouna/
About Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
Harper’s Bazaar Arabia is the Gulf region’s first English-language international luxury fashion magazine. Along with its high-profile sister publications around the world, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia is the arbiter of fashion and good taste for the educated, elegant and refined women of the region. www.harpersbazaararabia.com
About ITP Live
Launched in 2017, ITP Live is the region’s largest full service social media and influencer marketing agency. From exclusively managing digital content creators in the region to conceptualising and executing 360-degree influencer marketing campaigns for international and local brands. In addition to creating ROI focused influencer campaigns for its clients, ITP Live is also responsible for organising bespoke events with global influencers including influencer marketing conferences with industry experts and hosting social media workshops for up-and-coming content creators in the region. www.ITP.Live
About Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE and a division of the Etihad Aviation Group, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world’s leading airlines. Etihad Airways flies to over 84 destinations with a fleet of 100 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, serving 18.6 million passengers a year and carrying 682,100 tonnes of cargo in 2018. In recent years, the organisation has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty programme, aviation training and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) service.
About W Hotels
Born from the bold attitude and 24/7 culture of New York City, W Hotels, part of Marriott International Inc., has disrupted and redefined the hospitality scene for nearly two decades. Trailblazing its way around the globe, with more than 50 hotels, W is defying expectations and breaking the norms of traditional luxury wherever the iconic W sign lands. With a mission to fuel guests’ lust for life, W ignites an obsessive desire to soak it in, live it up and hit repeat. The brand’s provocative design, iconic Whatever/Whenever service and buzzing Living Rooms create an experience that is often copied but never matched. Innovative, inspiring and infectious, the brand’s super-charged energy celebrates guests’ endless appetite to discover what’s new/next in each destination, to see more, feel more, go longer, stay later. For more information on W Hotels and W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, visit whotels.com/theangle or follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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About eGoGames
eGoGames is the leading eSports platform for mobile games in Europe, it has a proprietary algorithm capable of matching players with the same skill level, creating a real competition between users from all over the world, with similar level of experience. eGoGames was born to disrupt the mobile game industry, creating a new monetization ecosystem that replaces Ads and IAPs with eSports competitions. This also creates the figure of the professional mobile eSports athlete that can practice for free and make a living out of these competitions from their phones. eGoGames now works closely with two big charity organizations: Global Gift Foundation (with Maria Bravo and Eva Longoria) and Unicef Spain. The partnership with these organizations is based on creating Charity eSports competitions where talents from all over the world join to provide prices and experiences for their fans, achieving a massive, combined reach and thus, collecting funds for the philanthropic initiatives of the organizations. These tournaments are taking place under ‘Gaming for Global Gift’ (Global Gift Foundation) or ‘Gaming For Good’(Unicef) initiatives. https://www.egogames.com/
About Filtroo
Filtroo is an Augmented Reality App that lets Instagram and Facebook users monetize their Stories by sharing branded AR filters. Its use is simple: users upload filters by scanning QR codes located at restaurants, shops and events, or directly from the Filtroo App, and then tag friends, places, and share. With each filter shared, users earn virtual coins which are redeemable for thousands of rewards such as experiences, free products or even donations on their behalf. As a Global Gift Foundation Partner, Filtroo develops personalized filters for celebrities to use and help raise awareness and funds for the Global Gift causes all around the world.
About Damacorp
Headquartered in Dubai – UAE, Damacorp is an elite Citizenship and Residency by Investment advisory boutique focused on the needs of the 1%, yet committed to giving back to the less fortunate via different charitable efforts.
Founded by Count Alexandre de Damas, Damacorp is managed in consortium with former government officials, experts from the tech and investment fields and a sophisticated board of advisors.
It focuses on two main pillars: client advisory and government advisory.
Damacorp provides their clients access to multiple citizenship and residency programs around the world – including Caribbean countries and the European Union. It also advises governments on how to design and implement successful investment programs to attract foreign direct investment and elevate the countries’ global ranking.
As the first firm in the industry to incorporate artificial Intelligence into the full customer journey, and an exclusive members portal for their like minded and trusted individuals to connect, Damacorp aims to provide not only the residency/passport required by clients but also to guide them in their future journeys as global investors by introducing them to a new world of similarly successful individuals to generate new investment synergies.
With an innovative tech approach, Damacorp aims to transform the way current citizenship and residency applications are executed and looks forward to digitalizing the industry, opening up the world, and making a positive difference.
For more information on Damacorp, visit www.damacorp.com