Muscat: Continuing its commitment towards community development and empowering individuals for a promising future, Oman Avenues Mall, the most prominent lifestyle & retail destination in the Sultanate, has launched its social responsibility wing, Tafa’ul – a beacon for community engagement.

Aimed at positively touching the lives of the citizens and residents of Oman, Tafa’ul will collaborate with community development and societal wellbeing programs to drive meaningful impact.

The mall operator seeks to provide a much-needed platform for showcasing and enhancing Omani citizens and residents in playing the role of an aggregator for standalone community enterprises.

“We are pleased and proud to launch our CSR program Tafa’ul at Oman Avenues Mall, which strengthens our pioneering role in contributing to social causes, environmental sustainability, empowering Omani talent, promoting awareness about education, and participating in community-oriented initiatives. The community outreach arm will effectively utilize the mall’s reach and position to support and contribute to the society, by consolidating efforts of various individuals and philanthropic entities,” Mr. Ananth A.V – Director – Oman, India, Malaysia and Indonesia for Lulu Group International said on the occasion of launching Tafa’ul.

Five key initiatives are planned to be implemented as part of Tafa’ul this year. This includes the on-going support program for Oman Cancer Association executed through Art Beats, which has been undertaken as part of Tafa’ul’s debut initiative. Hosted by renowned artist Ibrahim Gailani, Art Beats is dedicated to showcasing art across various media, wherein, Gailani will talk about different forms of art including painting, sculpture, pottery, photography, installation, and more.

The program will also feature artists from Oman through interviews and their works. At the core of Art Beats is a social initiative – Studio.t has collaborated with Oman Cancer Association for a noble cause.

At the end of the first season of Art Beats, Studio.t will host a special art-themed event to support the altruistic work being done by Oman Cancer Association. As part of the initiative, Tafa’ul will acquire an artwork each from all artists featured on Art Beats.

These artworks will be collated into a digital portfolio and shared with prospective buyers. All proceeds from the sale of the artworks will be donated to Oman Cancer Association to support the work done towards cancer awareness. To further promote the cause, the artworks of the artists will be up for sale at a special showcase at Oman Avenues Mall as a run up to the art event.

Additionally, under Tafa’ul, the ‘Let’s read’ library program is being upscaled to host the Ministry of Awqaf dedicated center for Islamic literature as part of the malls “lets read’’ library project which is scheduled to be launched during the holy month of Ramadan. Along with these initiatives, there will be an environmental support program which will be launched this year as part of Tafa’ul’s support initiatives.

Oman Avenues Mall’s community outreach arm will also reach out to aspiring as well as established Omani Fashion designers to provide them an exhibit and showcase platform within the mall’s premises. Furthermore, a robust Omani entrepreneur support program is being planned under Tafa’ul and will be actioned towards the end of 2021.

Mr. Ananth A.V further stated: “With the launch of Tafa’ul, Oman Avenues Mall further cements its position as Oman’s premier retail destination. This unique and first-of-its-kind social responsibility program in Oman’s retail sector builds on the mall’s belief of ‘Together, for a Better Future’, including a variety of targeted initiatives and events to be held in collaboration with various government and private institutions. Tafa’ul has been conceptualized to address and support contemporary issues and affairs, enabling the development, and prosperity of the Sultanate’s diverse talents.”

The launch of the CSR program, Tafa’ul, follows the wide success of ‘Tafa’ul’ video series titled ‘Optimism key to overcome challenges’, in which Oman Avenues Mall presented a group of Omani personalities as recognition and motivation for their giving and active role in promoting the development of the country in their respective areas of competence.

These personalities shared their opinions and experiences that focused on the concept of optimism, and how they managed to maintain their positivity and optimism even during the most difficult circumstances.

Tafa’ul as the name suggests means optimism or hope and the design of ‘Tafa’ul’ symbol is characterized by overlapping rings, which represent the letters of the program’s name in Arabic. The colors of the symbol vary between pink, green, blue and yellow, to reflect in its content the existence of diversity and integration between individuals who work with dedication with each other in different areas of life.

They support each other in order to achieve growth and happiness in society and contribute by their roles in various vital sectors to advance the future of the country for the better.