Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Arabic: سمو الشيخ ماجد محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم; {{{2}}}), (born 16 October 1987), also referred to as Sheikh Majid, is the fifth son of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of UAE and Emir of Dubai.

Early life and education

Sheikh Majid started his education in Dubai where he graduated from Rashid School For Boys in 2005. According to Sheikh Majid, his prime influence and greatest role model has been his father Sheikh Mohammed. After graduating from Rashid School For Boys, Sheikh Majid joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. He was honored with Sword of Honour upon his graduation from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2007 among 484 cadets.

Sheikh Majid participated in a series of military camps and leadership seminars before enrolling in Dubai Police Academy where he studied security crisis management. His thesis, "Ingenuity in Crisis Management in line with the Vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum," was informed by his studies at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Dubai Police Academy and by the ideology of his father Sheikh Mohammed. He graduated from Dubai Police Academy on 18 November 2009.

Sheikh Majid belongs to the Al Maktoum family, the ruling family of UAE. The net worth of the Al Maktoum family is estimated at more than 20 billion dollars. According to Forbes, they are the fifth richest royals in the world.

Dubai Culture and Arts Authority

In March 2008, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (DCAA) was established by a decree issued by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum and Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed was appointed as Chairman of the entity on the basis of the leadership capabilities showed by him and his definite interest in culture from a very young age.

DCAA's goal under Sheikh Majid leadership is to achieve the vision of Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 and to be a cultural center point for all communities and individuals in Dubai to showcase their artistic and cultural talent and to assert Dubai's role as a multi-ethnic city which unites everyone under its umbrella.

Philanthropy

Dubai Cares

Sheikh Majid became an ambassador of the Dubai Cares campaign along with his siblings, where he was a representative diplomat on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in several Islamic countries in Africa and Asia where the campaign's framework included providing education and knowledge infrastructure for over one million children in both Arabic and Islamic countries.

Sheikh Majid said: "Dubai Cares teaches the children in Dubai how to care for deprived and unfortunate children across the world, strengthening attributes of care and concern for others makes them better people and makes our future bright and hopeful. There are significant lessons to be learned from such an initiative and we should make sure that our children in Dubai learn how to give, communicate, share and contribute to a good cause".

Dubai Public Library

There are eight libraries located in the Dubai Culture Centre, that have a valuable holding of books about history, heritage and culture in the UAE. As a Chairman of The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Sheikh Majid assumed ownership of these libraries and aims to improve services and introduce new initiatives to meet the growing demand for reading and literature. He actively supports amongst others various educational programmes, organization of book readings and signings, training sessions and cross-cultural exhibits, and recognises the importance of public libraries in bringing Dubai's eclectic mix of cultures and as a way of holding them closer together.

Majid Bin Mohammed initiatives

Youth Media Awards

The Youth Media Award aims to stimulate creative energies of emerging media talents in the UAE.

UAE Nationals Training Initiative

The goal of this initiative is to develop employment skills for UAE national youth to be able to handle executive and managerial positions.

Dubai Calligraphy Centre

It is considered the first of its kind in the city of Dubai. A special institution to highlight everything related to the art of calligraphy, as part of a process to bringing this art form to the fore and introduce to the world.

Al Ajer Initiative

"Al Ajer" initiative takes place during Ramadan.

Wa Sahebhoma Initiative

This initiative was launched in order to allow young citizens of the UAE to be able to perform Umrah (pilgrimage) with their parents; this was in collaboration with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment.

Sporting interests

Sheikh Majid is a sportsman and is interested in the traditional sports of horse riding and camel riding as well as football (soccer), swimming and shooting and actively pursues his interests in these sports.

CrossFit

CrossFit is an elite fitness-training program, which is used in training military and police personnel. Recently it become more mainstream and is now considered a sport or a way of living. Sheikh Majid is considered a pioneer and a guru of introducing CrossFit to the UAE.

Dubai Fitness Competition

Dubai Fitness Competition comes in line with the vision and directions of Sheikh Majid to raise awareness on the importance of exercising, health, and promoting fitness across the UAE to individuals and in particular Emirati citizens.

Horse racing

Sheikh Majid has a love for horse and horse riding. His love can be understood by his participation in many different horse endurance races.

• He led the UAE endurance team to victory at the 11th Pan Arab Games in Cairo in 2007, winning two gold medals in the individual and team events.
• In November 2008, he once again led the UAE endurance team to victory in the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) World Endurance Championship that took place in Malaysia and brought back the gold medal.

In the presence of Sheikh Majid and under his guidance, the horse marathon takes place in Dubai Riders meet once a year for the marathon. The committee works in close coordination with the Dubai Endurance Race Club, which supervises all the preparations, from registering the horse riders to conducting tests before and after the race, in addition to setting the rules and regulations and ensuring every rider's safety and well-being. The committee works towards getting the maximum number of UAE participants to attend the marathon.

Camel racing

Sheikh Majid admires and love his traditional culture and roots, hence his love for camel racing. Every year the Majid bin Mohammed Camel Marathon is organised under his auspices. The aim of this marathon is to promote the traditional folklore sports and to raise the interests amongst the younger Emirati generation in the sports. The Dubai Camel Racing Club is organised at Al Hibab Camel Racecourse.

Sheikh Majid wants to make camel riding as a mainstream sport and want to educate the world about camel racing. He is the first on to start Camel Racing World Championship as an international event open to riders all around the world. He himself is an excellent camel rider and occasionally personally participates in the event.

Al Wasl FC

Al Wasl Football Club is a United Arab Emirates Football League club based in Dubai. It is a part of the multi-sports club Al Wasl Sports Club. Al Wasl FC is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE in all sports; therefore, it has one of the largest fan bases in the Arabian Peninsula. As Sheikh Majid interest in sports extended to football; he was appointed Vice President of Al Wasl Sports Club.

Majid bin Mohammed Futsal Championship

Since summer of 2011, the Majid bin Mohammed Futsal Championship is being organised with the participation of sixteen teams divided into four groups. Many of the games are hosted in schools and university gymnasiums. The month of June was chosen to be the official start of the championship because it is the end of the academic year in Dubai.

Futsal's popularity grew with every passing year and it is considered a special sport as it combines intense challenges and extreme excitement among its players. The organizing committee ensures that there is a clear set of rules that players abide by which guarantees the success of the championship and the safety of young Emirati participants.

The success of this championship was largely due to the support of several governmental departments such as the UAE Football Association, the UAE Committee of Futsal and Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Media Incorporated, Dubai Police, and Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, in addition to Al Wasl Sports and Cultural Club that hosted the final games on their fields.

Sea Dubai Festival

Sea Dubai is a water sports festival that takes place in December of each year, and is one of the most important marine sports festival in the region as it attracts the attention of water sports fans around the globe. The festival hosts final rounds for the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship and the International Canoe Race, as well as traditional sailing races. Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, patron of the event officially announced the launch of the festival during the prize distribution ceremony of the 2008 season, marking the beginning of the chain of events that have been organized by Mina Seyahi. "Sea Dubai" has grown to be one of the leading international sea festivals in the world and is very well-attended.

Gulf Film Festival

Gulf Film Festival is an annual festival celebrating international films in UAE. It happens annually held under the patronage of Sheikh Majid.

The festival champions creativity and originality by showcasing a week of public screenings of unique, cutting-edge regional and international cinema to audiences in the UAE. The main purpose of the festival is to encourage youth of UAE to participate in the art of film making.

Ancestry