In 2003, Mr. Amr Khaled – head of Right Start’s board of trustees – launched an awarness campaign against the wide spread of cigarettes, the hookah, cannabis , alcohols and drugs) in his famous TV show “The Makers of Life” on Iqraa satellite channel. Hundreds of thousands of young people of both sexes across the Middle East as well as in some parts of Europe and North American responded to the initiative and demonstrated their willingness to volunteer for propagating the idea of a society free of drugs. Results surpassed all expectations and millions of brochures were printed in a unique experiment that revealed young people’s enthusiasm and ability to effectively take parts in activities that serve their communities with the hope of developing and raising their capacity. Coming from a TV show and allowing people for the first time to communicate through a website www.amrkhaled.net , this experiment set a precedent in this field. 

From the very beginning, The World Health Organization (Middle East Office) encouraged the experiment, and it awarded Mr. Amr Khaled an honorary award, out of its belief that this experiment falls under the umbrella of the kind of volunteer work the organization has always supported. Hence, the initiative of the Future Guardians Program was launched in its current form to promote young people’s role in raising the awareness of drugs in their societies. The partnership has grown with such parties as  Dubai Police’s initiative to adopt the awareness-raising campaign and train the first generation of trainers in Future Guardians. The UN Office for Fighting Drugs and Crime (UNODC) joined in, which gave the project a big boost and helped it spread to several Middle Eastern countries. Accompanying this start was the desire of the international institution, such as Mentor, to exert efforts in the field of raising the awareness against the dangers of drugs in the Arab world.

In 2005, Mentor held an international conference with the aim of getting acquainted with the existing efforts before deciding on the kind of contributions it would make in the Arab region. Mentor was welcomed by the original partners as a new partner that shares the same vision and objectives. Currently the Future Guardians programme includes the following partners. 

Right Start Foundation International
Life Makers International
United Nations Organization against Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
World Health Organization (WHO)
Mentor Arabia
Dubia Police