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Sultan bin Ahmed announces establishment of Jawaher Al Qasimi Humanitarian Innovation Centre in Indonesia with $1.6m funding (Photo: AETOSWire) |
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- Sharjah Deputy Ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi has announced the establishment of the Jawaher Al Qasimi Humanitarian Innovation Centre at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The centre has received total funding of US$1.6 million and will connect academic research and innovation with humanitarian field expertise to develop, test and implement practical responses to humanitarian challenges. (US$1=RM4.06)
It is being established through a partnership between The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF), NAMA Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA) and Universitas Gadjah Mada. TBHF will contribute US$1 million, NAMA US$500,000 and the university US$100,000.
According to a statement, the announcement was made during a visit to Indonesia by a TBHF delegation led by Sheikh Sultan, who is also the humanitarian envoy of TBHF, as part of the foundation’s efforts to expand its humanitarian and development partnerships.
The centre will use research to address challenges ranging from food security and climate change to livelihoods, economic opportunities, disaster risk reduction, and maternal and child wellbeing, particularly in communities with limited access to services and opportunities.
The agreement includes an investment endowment fund to provide long-term financing for the centre’s programmes, which will focus on multidisciplinary research, policy studies and researcher residencies, innovation challenges and humanitarian project incubators, field testing and impact assessment, as well as public engagement and community empowerment.
The centre will operate through two facilities at Universitas Gadjah Mada. The first will serve as its main base for research, collaboration and community events, while the second, known as the “Living Humanitarian Lab”, will occupy about two hectares allocated by the university for agricultural innovation, field trials and community participation, supporting food security, sustainable agriculture and community empowerment.
The visit is part of TBHF’s efforts to expand partnerships across South and Southeast Asia and draw on local expertise to develop initiatives that respond to community needs.
Sheikh Sultan also reviewed several humanitarian and community programmes during the visit, including services for people with disabilities, education and family empowerment initiatives, and family care and child protection programmes in Bali. In Central Java, he visited a coffee farm supported by NAMA under a programme aimed at equipping about 2,800 women with the skills and knowledge needed to participate in coffee farming.
The visit concluded in Gunung Kidul, where Sheikh Sultan reviewed the “Home for a Home” initiative, which plans to build 250 homes, adapt 50 others for people with disabilities and provide clean-water infrastructure, benefiting more than 3,700 people. He also visited Universitas Gadjah Mada and the site of the centre in Yogyakarta.
-- BERNAMA
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