human intelligence

Ahlanwasahlan 🤍 How are you doing? Thank you all for your support this far. Ever since we had to renew our license to operate in the UAE I have had to think again and again of your support and investment in what we do. While this might read as a start to a goodbye letter, it is not. Not yet. We are now registered with Masdar City in Abu Dhabi because we didn’t feel valued by Sharjah Media City. It cost us AED 19,605.43 in total to be registered. The most basic mandatory health insurance to work in Abu Dhabi cost AED 2,945.43. In comparison we only made AED 2,705 in community membership and activity fees last year. I do not pay myself a salary and our financials will be posted. We have managed to finance our licensing and paid outreach public service announcements through our corporate activities; every dirham has been re-invested to keep us going. My family gifted me the new phone, which I use to take videos, when the old phone would no longer record sound, and I live in our family home so I do not have to pay rent or utilities. I am blessed and thankful that doing what I do is an option. I want to stress the fact that I do not have to be in the UAE, so every time I feel weighed down with the responsibility I need to be reminded of why I took this work up in the first place. Coming back to this video helped remind me: I am doing a lot of work now by myself, understandably because I needed to get it done in the way I envisioned it. But, I cannot keep doing what I do until we generate the funding we need to grow and employ a paid team. We need your active participation in more than the community cleanups. An NGO, according to Investopedia “is a non-profit group that functions independently of any government. NGOs, sometimes called civil societies, are organized on community, national and international levels to serve a social or political goal such as humanitarian causes or the environment. Funding sources include membership dues, the sale of goods and services, private sector for-profit companies, philanthropic foundations, grants from local, state and federal agencies, and private donations. Individual private donors comprise a significant portion of NGO funding.” I am happy that we were able to bring “ahlanwasahlan” into existence together but keeping the initiative alive needs a lot of work, and I cannot keep being responsible for everything myself. How can we keep our initiative running? What does having an initiative like this in existence mean to you? How much time can you dedicate to our research, advocacy and campaigning? Safi

Hello ☀️🧊😎🧢 how are you doing? Are you receiving our Whatsapp broadcasts? If you are not, please text this number: +971501510375 We’re not big fans of the Facebook empire, so you can also sign up for our Telegram broadcasts by clicking this link: https://t.me/joinchat/JiQLEHJEHdBmZWI0 Still working on our website. You will be able to log in soon and set up your member profile and get to meet and interact with other members online. And whenever no longer wish to receive our member updates, please let us know by replying to this e-mail or getting in touch via text! Last week we were blessed with your participation at the cleanup in Khorfakkan regardless of the heat and humidity: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CSHmXA2Jmgx/ If climbing Mount Everest is meant to be challenging, try exerting yourself outdoors in the UAE summer. Because you’re up for it, as long as we are taking our precautions and ready to address any complications we’ll keep at it. In a way, those of us who are partaking in this are prepping themselves for the real challenge: global warming. Here’s a one minute video by Irene Lin, one of our interns this summer showcasing what is at stake: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRqfhQhpv2V/ It’s been a tough couple of months logistically. Took a bit longer than expected to finalize the sponsorship for the underwater cleanups, but we’re getting there. But to be able to do these cleanups regularly during the weekends and impose ourselves on an otherwise business-minded recreational industry is an accomplishment in itself. If you are a certified diver or would like to become certified you can still sign up here for updates: https://www.ahlanwasahlan.org/event-info/underwater-cleanups-july-2021 What are your thoughts on recycling ♻️? Ever since we set up, we’ve researched recycling very comprehensively and tried our best to relay the information. We’re in touch with every waste management company operating in the country. If you have questions, get in touch. What are you up to this summer? Would you like to contribute to our work in one way or another? Let us know! ahlanwasahlan.org

Ahlanwasahlan How are you doing? I haven’t been updating you in a while and I haven’t written any articles since my last “Who Made America King?” https://www.ahlanwasahlan.org/post/who-made-america-king) so here’s a not-so-brief update on what we have been up to as an entity. Before we begin, a special thank you goes out to every person who employed their position to facilitate and make what we do possible, and to provide us with a platform to share our experience. And thank you to the team from the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi. • Our underwater cleanup campaign is underway. We have now confirmed the date (weather permitting) of the first underwater cleanup, to take place in Ras Al Khaimah this coming Saturday 10 July 2021. We are only limited to 14 participants per trip based on an agreement with our sponsor for this trip First Abu Dhabi Bank, 7 from the bank and 7 other members. When it comes to participation, reserving a spot is prioritized in the following way: our obligation to those who took the PADI Open Water course or a refresher through us > paying members who have expressed their availability to participate in the location specified > certification level and experience in number of dives based on the cleanup dive site requirements. • Scheduling our weekly land-based cleanups alongside coordinating the diving course has been a bit of a hassle. Almost all course takers so far have been available exclusively on Fridays and most of those who connect with me regarding the cleanups prefer Fridays. We can’t be in different Emirates at the same time but our activities are regular so there is bound to be a day in the month (or the year) which is convenient for you. We would have already moved on to underwater cleanups exclusively by now, but seeing the continued interest in land-based cleanups, despite the hot weather, we’ll try our best to accommodate a couple more. • If you are an early riser and live close by, you can get in touch (+971501510375) to participate in a beach cleanup in Ras Al Khaimah at 7am on Saturday. Our underwater cleanup in RAK is scheduled to take place later on the same day. • Our vegan and non-vegan friendly Sorbet Socials will debut on Wednesday 14 July at 7pm and we plan to have one every other Wednesday around the Emirates. Participation is limited and you can sign up for the upcoming one in Dubai here: https://ahlanwasahlan.org/event-info/sorbet-social-14-july-2021 • Our website and member portal is being updated to help connect us and inform us better. Our interns for the summer are pitching in with ideas and suggestions. You are welcome to do the same! • We are due to renew our licensing end of this month, and are exploring our options outside Sharjah Media City since they have not been accommodating nor appreciative of our feedback. If you have suggestions do get in touch! • Thanks to our new paying members and paid community activities held for Ajman Football Club, DHL Express, du, Hellmann and Boy Scouts of America, we now barely have the financial capacity to renew our license. Details on our finances will be shared soon. One important note to make is that out of 1278 members, we only have 126 paying members (and these include corporate backed members). That’s less than 10%. With everyone’s support we would make enough to hire help, invest in resources and expand our reach. Our paid membership options start at an annual plan of AED 40 (ahlanwasahlan.org/membership). • If you have not figured it out, I have been trying my best not to rely on anyone to get things done because I understand that it is no one’s job, and that if I want things done I am the one who is invested in making sure they get done. Luckily, I am able to confidently say now, that we have been successful in attracting people who genuinely care and who are available and willing to take on responsibility. On the advocacy front: • It’s time to revisit our New Year Resolution: https://www.ahlanwasahlan.org/2022 We are a 177 days away from not making it happen. Given how out of our own hands our goal is, this will not come as a surprise. We have been repeatedly instructed to “pick our battles” by those who do not understand that we are not “fighting”. We have made a conscious decision to address issues which others fail to address locally. And we are doing it creatively, and legally taking a stand backed by research. Sign up for campaign updates using the link above, and if you like to read, you can read this related article, “The real fireworks are up there!”: https://www.ahlanwasahlan.org/post/the-real-fireworks-are-up-there • A number of apps are popping up to “reward” you for recycling. We are very confident to tell you that their efforts will fail. Successful “reverse-vending” initiatives worldwide reward you with cash back, not a chance to win. Unless you are visiting us from Mars, you will know that the UAE is an oil-producing country. Plastic is made new from oil very cheaply, so cash back on used plastic which requires processing to “downcycle” (the plastic bottles will NOT be recycled into new plastic bottles) is not feasible. The apps touting “environmental” claims and at the same time partnering with water-packaging companies like environmentally infamous Nestlé, can dance around the cash back system all they want and greenwash us into believing we are making a difference, but they will fail despite being promoted by business-at-all-cost waste management companies. How would waste management companies differentiate themselves in a saturated Dubai market if they didn’t convince you or mislead you into thinking that they “recycle”? • Access to premium quality water filtration is simpler than any water filter broker disguised as (and self-proclaimed as) a sustainability expert would have you believe. If you need help figuring out what you need, get in touch. We do not respect any company which will charge a premium in return for making you believe that their version of water is the liquid of life, and we avoid any commission-backed conflict of interest. • Product brokers seem to be confused about who they are, and chameleon their way into proclaiming themselves as “social enterprises”, “think tanks,” “grassroots” and “experts” whenever they come across a term they think they can claim. We will coin this phenomenon as “brokertise.” • Why do pre-existing “environmental” initiatives expect us to reach out to them by virtue of their seniority? We have obviously made a splash and drenched them in their own inaction or lethargy and will not be acquiescing to a misguided superiority complex. We will continue to radiate through their condescension. We show our work, not claim it. • On the other hand, a company which is in the business of making companies "look" good (https://www.ahlanwasahlan.org/post/think-before-you-do-good) got in touch with us in April to "join forces for the planet" offering us "income" in return for organizing activities. Our reply was: "May the force be with us". • It’s no secret that local English language newspapers cater to PR professionals and will work brand/person placement into an article when paid, without disclosing that they have been paid by said brand or person or PR professional. This is a shameless unethical perpetration on journalism. We take local English newspaper articles with a grain of salt. How is it that in a country that is only 83,600 sq km in size, not a single news reporter will take it upon him/herself to cover work that is being done in the community or public interest? The only thing Arab about local Arabic language newspapers, we might add, is the language in which they are produced. • We will continue to see how far we can go without resorting to printing marketing collateral or producing merchandise to sell in an effort not to create waste. We have a couple of creative plans to implement soon. Alright, take care for now and let’s make the most of the privilege we have! Safi