ShareKUWAIT: In line with its efforts to support and shed light on life-changing humanitarian causes, Boursa Kuwait lit up its office premises in blue on June 20, 2022, in commemoration of World Refugee Day 2022, an initiative initiated by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The initiative forms part of Boursa Kuwait's efforts to create a lasting meaningful impact on the communities where it operates as part of its Corporate Sustainability strategy and is in line with Goal 1 - No Poverty, Goal 2 - Zero Hunger, Goal 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, Goal 4 - Quality Education, Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 10 - Reduced Inequalities and Goal 17 - Partnership for the Goals - of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe, celebrating the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. Falling on June 20 of every year, it is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for the plight of refugees and recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.
On World Refugee Day 2022, it is important to recognize that whoever they are, people forced to flee should be treated with dignity and that anyone can seek protection, regardless of who they are or what they believe. It is non-negotiable: seeking safety is a human right. This year's theme also aims to raise awareness to the fact that wherever they come from, people forced to flee should be welcomed. Refugees come from all over the globe. To get out of harm's way, they might take a plane, a boat, or travel on foot. What remains universal is the right to seek safety. World Refugee Day 2022 also sheds light on the fact that whenever people are forced to flee, they have a right to be protected, and that everyone deserves protection as well as a right to be safe.
Commenting on the eve of World Refugee Day, Naser Meshari Al-Sanousi, Senior Director of Marketing and Communication at Boursa Kuwait, said: "On World Refugee Day, Boursa Kuwait joins the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, supporting the agency's efforts to help over 100 million refugees and internally displaced people across the globe, who have been forced to flee their homes because of violence and skirmishes in countries like Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and many other places around the world."
On the occasion, the company also announced that it would continue to support initiatives launched by the UNHCR. Boursa Kuwait recently became the first private company in Kuwait to contribute to UNHCR's annual Winterization Assistance Program, which successfully benefited refugees and the internally displaced in the Levant region during 2021. For 2022, Boursa Kuwait will sponsor the UNHCR's initiative to protect refugee and IDP children in the Middle East and North Africa.
Sanousi added: "Boursa Kuwait believes that in can play an important role in achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and create a lasting impact in the communities it operates in. I would like to take the opportunity today to announce our support of the UNHCR's initiative to protect refugee and IDP children, continuing our long-standing relationship with the UN's refugee agency."
Boursa Kuwait has been a staunch supporter of the UNHCR, which relies on the voluntary contributions of government donors, which make up 90 percent of the agency's overall income. The company has contributed unearmarked funding to the UNHCR for the second consecutive year, giving the UNHCR the choice of where to allocate the funding and strengthening results-based management and supporting the agency's core mandate and mission and gives it the ability to have a consistent approach to governments on international protection.
Nisreen RubaianUNHCR Representative in Kuwait Nisreen Rubaian welcomed Boursa Kuwait's support of the agency and its mandate, saying, "On World Refugee Day, I would like to thank Boursa Kuwait for partnering with the UNHCR and supporting the Commission's efforts to help refugees and internally displaced people - specifically children, who make up a large percentage of the refugees around the world - for the second consecutive year. I look forward to strengthening our long-term partnership further to continue to aid those in need and create a better world for all."
Boursa Kuwait's partnership with the UNHCR is the embodiment of the company's sincere desire to raise awareness to the importance of helping those who are in need and have been deprived of their right to live with dignity. This initiative will contribute to greater awareness of the importance of helping the victims of wars, conflicts and persecution build better futures for themselves.
Boursa Kuwait's Corporate Sustainability strategy stipulates ensuring initiatives apply and fall in line with the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR), industry best practice standards and investor expectations, creating strong and sustainable partnerships that ultimately achieve success and allow Boursa Kuwait to leverage the capabilities and strengths of other companies or organizations that have experience in different fields, and integrating sustainability efforts with the company culture, in order to achieve longevity and an ongoing impact that is carried on and instilled in the day-to-day operations of the stock exchange.
As part of the strategy, Boursa Kuwait has launched many initiatives in partnership with local and international organizations, focusing on support for nongovernmental organizations and charity programs, financial literacy and capital market awareness, the empowerment of women, as well as environmental protection.
