Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of the UAE Girl Guides (UAEGG), called for more support for the UAE’s guiding movement, and highlighted its essential role in creating a charitable and socially responsible future generation.

She made the statements while chairing a meeting, with members of the newly restructured UAEGG board of directors at the Sharjah Girl Guides (SGG) headquarters. During the meeting, they discussed the prospect of a new strategy for increasing the reach and participation of girl guides across the country, which draws upon Sharjah’s experience of the guiding movement, the UAE’s first in 1973.

Supporting the movement is a national responsibility, due to the qualities, values and principles it instils, Sheikha Jawaher said.

"The guiding movement plays a major role in developing the abilities and aspirations of children and young people by fostering their self-belief, confidence, love of exploration and the desire to give and serve the community. It inspires a sense of national pride, a desire to help society develop and at the same time, provides the practical skills and experience to turn these girls and young ladies into the leaders of the future," she added.

"I extend my profound thanks to H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairperson of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood and the Patron of the UAE Girl Guides Association, for her ongoing efforts and for uplifting community institutions in the UAE," she further added.

She also extended her appreciation to Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development and Chairman of General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, for supporting the UAE's guiding movement, and the UAE Girl Guides in particular.

"The UAE's future strategy and far-reaching approach is based on investment in young men and women. Emirati girls are given special attention by the country's leadership, and this requires us to begin to develop and invest in their abilities in various aspects of life at an early age, by providing and supporting their own organisations," she concluded.