ROME: The UAE’s Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak has been awarded Florence’s highest honor for her substantial financial support of a COVID-19 medical facility during the peak of the pandemic.
Sheikha Fatima — president of the General Union of Women, president of the Supreme Council for Maternity and Childhood, and first president of the Foundation for Family Development of the UAE — received the keys of the Italian city from Florence’s Deputy Mayor Alessia Bettini.
The ceremony took place at Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s city hall. Rym Abdulla Al-Falasy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, received the award on her behalf.
The UAE’s Ambassador to Italy Omar Obaid Alshamsi, Fatima Al-Ameri, director of the Rouya Center, and Randa Eid, secretary-general of the Arab Italian Women Association, also attended the event.
Sheikha Fatima made a donation to ASP Firenze Montedomini, the city’s healthcare authority, through AIWA to support the first intermediate care facility for COVID-19-positive elderly patients.
Bettini said the award was “recognition for her constant commitment to support the enhancement and emancipation of women and for activities aimed at encouraging female participation in political and public life.
“But also for her humanitarian commitment and engagement to promote cultural and social development and the growth of civil society in the light of principles of equality, social justice and peace among peoples.”
She also praised “the intense humanitarian activity of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, and the attachment to those values inspiring her acts of generosity.”
A commemorative plaque has been installed at the ASP Firenze Montedomini headquarters.
