Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel Receives ITP’s Special “Humanitarian Award” on Behalf of Alwaleed Foundation   

Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel, the spouse of HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud and Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation that is chaired by HRH, received the special “Humanitarian Award” on behalf of Alwaleed Foundation at the 2010 Arabian Business Achievement Awards ceremony in Dubai on Tuesday November 30th. The event was organized by ITP Publishing Group. The Princess was a guest of honor at the ceremony.

The prestigious award was given in recognition of the Foundation’s three decades of outstanding contributions across the globe for women empowerment, disaster relief, poverty alleviation and the promotion of a greater dialogue between cultures.

The Princess delivered an acceptance speech before an audience of 350 business leaders, dignitaries and media representatives. She thanked the ITP Group for this prestigious award adding that the foundation, has been delivering on HRH Prince Alwaleed’s firm belief and commitment, embodied in his often expressed mantra “that every human being is entitled to four rights: nourishment, shelter, healthcare and education.” The Princess also said that it has been a privilege for both Prince Alwaleed and her “to have visited so many places and met many admirable and strong people who, with the right assistance, can achieve their dreams, fulfil their destiny and regain their dignity.”

The Princess added that the foundation’s mission is to contribute to improving the quality of human life, “irrespective of religion, nationality or ethnic origin” as evidenced by both her and the princes’ belief “in commitment without boundaries.” She further clarified together with the passionate leadership of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Muna AbuSulayman (the foundation’s Secretary General) and the dedicated team at the foundations, both the Prince and she “aspire to bring positive change in the lives of people and to help make the world a better place.”

HRH’s philanthropic grants and donations have spanned over 60 countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe; from Gaza to The Gambia, totaling more than $2.4 billion over the last 30 years. HRH has established three Foundations to handle his philanthropic activities across the globe under the slogan “Commitment Without Boundaries”: Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation in Saudi Arabia Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation in Lebanon, and Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation in Lebanon. His foundations work locally, regionally and internationally to combat poverty, strengthen interfaith and intercultural dialogue and empower women and youth.

The Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation, Registration no. 77 in Riyadh was inaugurated in August 2009. “Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation” which is the largest in the Middle East, is a charitable and philanthropic organization with a mission to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s development.

The foundation encourages and supports organizations, studies, and academic centers focusing on empowering Saudi women, alleviating poverty, upgrading services provided to the population, and other social infrastructure issues that face the country. The foundation is also directly involved in major projects that provide direct aid to the citizens of Saudi Arabia ranging from medical aid to housing where hundreds of housing units have been provided to poor families as part of a 10 year project. Other projects the foundation is involved in include the distribution of electric generators to remote villages and, printing and the translation of the holy Quran into13 languages.

The “Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation” is the third foundation that is chaired by Prince Alwaleed, the 2 other foundations are located in Lebanon:

Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation – Lebanon works internationally to tackle poverty, provide rapid aid in cases of natural disasters and provide women and youth in the MENA region with economic and educational opportunities through strategic philanthropic investments in sustainable projects of the Foundation’s various partner organizations. The Foundation also reframes perceptions of Islam and the West through dialogue, programs and educational centers around the world in order to promote a greater understanding between the different faiths and world views.

The “Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation”, in Lebanon is Vice Chaired H.E. Ms. Leila El Solh covers all the Lebanese humanitarian issues and provides medical and health assistance, social assistance to orphanages, infirmaries, prisoners and the disabled and educational and cultivation assistance for the development of projects in the economical and agricultural sectors across all communities in the Lebanon. The foundation was awarded the Pontifical Medal by Pope Benedict XVI during a ceremony to mark the occasion held at the Vatican in 2008. The medal was in recognition of the achievement and efforts made by the Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation for encouraging tolerance between the different religious faiths and social groups in Lebanon, and promoting religious dialogue. Moreover, the medal acknowledged the foundation’s philanthropic activities and support to those in need regardless of their background and creed. Ms. El Solh personally received the medal from the Pope at the Vatican.

Furthermore, HRH has been acknowledged for his active philanthropy on many occasion and received the 2010 “Humanitarian of the Year” the Arabian Business KSA awards event held by ITP and received on his behalf by Ms. Muna AbuSulayman, Secretary General of Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation. The Prince also received the ‘Knight of Giving Award’ during the Abu Dhabi CSR Conference that was held at the Emirates Palace on May 9th 2010, was featured among 500 Most Influential Muslims List in Islamica Magazine, 2009, the magazine described the Prince as: “…an entrepreneur and investor who has built up a fortune through real estate and the stock market…His philanthropic clout comes from his position among the richest in the world.” Moreover,  HRH was awarded the Special Award for Philanthropy by Arabian Business during the Arabian Business Saudi Achievement Awards event in 2007. In addition, the Prince is an advocate for the promotion of East-West cultural and religious dialogue for tolerance and understanding in line with the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. In recognition of this, Time magazine listed Prince Alwaleed on the Time 100 issue and among the 12 Power Givers around the world for raising the profile of Islamic history and culture around the world in 2007.