You probably already know that 300,000 people were killed by the Tsunami of 2004, but were you aware that the same number of people die in Africa every MONTH from poverty and disease?!

Did you also know that if you combined the annual income of the 500 richest people in the world, it surpasses the annual income of the poorest 416 million? Today, we are living in a world where the distribution of wealth is severely imbalanced, and where the fortunate few live excessively while the poor majority merely exist.

Islam shows us the way to create societies based on justice and equality where every individual has the opportunity to flourish and reach their potential.  Contributing money to this through Zakat and Sadaqah is second nature to most of us but should that be the end of it?   The Qur’an tells us that Muslims are “the best of people sent forth for mankind.”  As Muslims should we not be leading by example by actively speaking out for change and developing creative and innovative solutions to the world’s problems?  

The resources and opportunities available to young people living in Europe are boundless, and it is our responsibility to make the most of them for those who are less fortunate. There are currently thousands of initiatives and NGOs with which you can get involved in order to make a difference. MADE in Europe is one of these organisations, and we are focusing particularly on young Muslims who have the potential and desire to change the world.

In this seminar, MADE in Europe’s CEO Saif Ahmad will talk about his vision for a mass movement of young Muslims across Europe fighting global poverty and injustice, Giles Lever, Deputy Director Middle East & North Africa from the UK Department for International Development (DfID) will share the perspective of the UK Government and you’ll hear from one of MADE in Europe’s volunteers about what made them stand up and take action by volunteering overseas.

Saif Ahmad, CEO of MADE in Europe, is a leading voice in the UK Muslim community for reform and engagement.  In 2001 he founded Faith Regen, the first Muslim-led inter-faith community regeneration agency in the UK which he led until 2006 when he was head hunted for the post of CEO at Muslim Aid, a UK-based humanitarian and development agency working in over 70 countries worldwide. At Muslim Aid he initiated a ground-breaking partnership with US-based Methodist organisation UMCOR which was recognised by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP at the UN Interfaith Conference in New York (November 2008) as a model for cross-faith action for tackling global poverty.  While working at Muslim Aid, Saif became convinced of the need for an organisation to focus on young Muslims to mobilise a grassroots movement to tackle global issues and to this end he set up MADE in Europe in 2009.

 

Giles Lever is the Deputy Director and Head of Middle East and North Africa at the Department For International Development (DFID).  Prior to DFID, he occupied numerous key roles within the FCO including Acting Consul General, British Embassy Office in Erbil, Deputy Head of Iraq Group, Head of Political Section at the British Embassy in Tokyo, Head of Export Control Policy Section at the Non-Proliferation Department, 2nd Secretary (Political and Vietnamese Migrants) at the British Embassy in Hanoi, and Desk officer for Thailand and Laos, S E Asia Department. Giles is a graduate of the University of Bristol. He speaks Vietnamese and Japanese.