In line with its Corporate Social Responsibility programme ‘WAGIB’, Gulf International Bank (GIB) announced its plans to organise a beach clean-up “Beauty and the Beach” at Nurana Island on Saturday 12 November, 2016. Members of the public are invited to join GIB staff in spending the morning cleaning Nurana Island beach near Karranah in the Capital Governorate. The initiative is held in partnership with the Capital Municipality Council, Gulf City Cleaning Company and the Bahrain Beachcombers.
To raise awareness on environmental pollution, a steel sculpture figure will be displayed on the beach and used to collect the litter. During the day, local graffiti artists will paint bins that will then stay on the beach to help sustain the change and create a long term impact on the environment. A giant game of snakes and ladders with questions related to the environment will be there for the children, along with a sand sculpture artist.
Children, parents and teachers from the British School of Bahrain, Nadeen International School and St Christopher’s School will be joining in the clean-up. The British School of Bahrain will set up an Eco-Stall to educate and promote sustainability and the three R’s of the environment: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The school’s environmental ambassadors – the Eco-Rangers – will be involved to promote and share their work.
The event is open to the general public and everyone is invited to participate in the activity. The clean-up will be held from 9 am to 12 noon with refreshments available for volunteers to enjoy.
Eng. Mohamed Ali Alkhozaae, Capital Municipality Council Chairman, lauded the bank’s green initiative, saying: “GIB’s efforts in organising this cooperative public initiative are commendable. The Capital Municipality Council is proud to join GIB in bringing focus to the important public issue of environmental pollution and providing a solution with a variety of partners.”
Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Helaissi, GIB’s CEO, commented on the upcoming activity and said: “GIB is proud to organise in collaboration with the partners this beach clean-up which aims to bring different groups of volunteers together for a good cause while raising awareness for the environment and promote public action to keep Bahrain clean.”
Mr Fawzi Nass, the Chairman of Gulf City Cleaning Company, discussed the importance of the beach clean-up, saying: “Initiatives such as GIB’s beach clean-up that promote environmental awareness and encourage public participation and responsibility in keeping Bahrain clean are to be lauded. Gulf City Cleaning Company is pleased to join GIB and other partners to bring focus to this important matter.”
The beach clean-up volunteering event is the latest in a series of charitable initiatives GIB has organised under the umbrella of ‘WAGIB’, including the recent ‘Ayadi Al Amal’ art exhibition with Bahrain Down Syndrome Society, blood donation drive, Tree Planting initiative to commemorate the World Earth Day, and more.
Launched last year, GIB’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme ‘WAGIB’ is committed to supporting local communities in which it operates with a range of sustainable development programmes and local initiatives. ‘WAGIB’ emphasises themes with long-term positive results in the fields of youth and career development, women’s empowerment and health awareness.
GIB is owned by the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund being the major shareholder.
Gulf International Bank (GIB) is a pan-GCC universal bank that specialises in corporate and investment banking and has a growing retail franchise. In addition to its main subsidiaries, London-based Gulf International Bank (UK) Ltd., and Riyadh-based GIB Capital LLC, it has branches in London, New York, Abu Dhabi, Dhahran, Riyadh and Jeddah with a representative office in Dubai.