ABU DHABI, 29th November, 2017 (WAM) — On the occasion of the UAE’s 46th National Day celebrations, the Emirates News Agency, WAM, has compiled a series of reports regarding the achievements of the state over the past year. In part thirteen, we look at the steps undertaken by the UAE to promote the role of young people during the course of the past year.
Youth are the cornerstone of any development plan, and their active contribution is not only necessary but integral to the development process. The UAE has, therefore, made youth the focus of its attention in almost every aspect of the country’s future policy for the future. The following paragraphs summarise some of the steps undertaken to promote the role of young people during the course of the past year.
On 9th January, 2017, Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Chairwoman of the Emirates Youth Council, announced that the Council had joined forces with the Emirates Mars Mission team to launch a report on Youth and the Hope Spacecraft as part of the Youth Data hub.
On 7th February, 2017, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, toured the Youth Achievements Exhibition, declaring that the UAE supports its youth in the releasing of their potential to serve the country.
On 13th February, 2017, H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Emirates Youth Council and the Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Foundation, which provides for cooperation to empower talents and to encourage Saudi and Emirati youth to innovate in the areas of education, knowledge, entrepreneurship and social work.
On 13th March, 2017, the Emirates Youth Council and the National Service and Reserve Authority launched the Youth National Service Council, as part of efforts to build the capacity of youth and enable them to participate actively in achieving the objectives of comprehensive national development, community development and prosperity.
On 25th March, 2017, Dubai Holding announced the launch of its dedicated Youth Council, formed to empower young people across the organisation while seeking to capture their unique talents and voices.
On 26th March, 2017, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Emirates Foundation, launched the nationwide ‘Youth Development and Wellbeing Index Survey’ to help the country design smarter policies and investments to improve opportunities for young people.
On 26th April, 2017, The Emirates Youth Council and Mubadala Development Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at developing the nation’s youth and equipping them with the skills required to become future leaders.
On 1st May, 2017, Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, launched the new Arab Youth Media Initiative, which aims to train a generation of young media professionals to disseminate Arab media content worldwide.
On 3rd May, 2017, The ninth annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2017 findings revealed that the UAE, once again, for the sixth year in a row, had topped the list of the world’s countries where most young Arabs wish to live. The survey found that 35 per cent of young Arabs cited the UAE as their first preference as a place to live, a significant increase over previous years.
On 7th May, 2017, Shamma Al Mazrui participated in the Youth Circle’s first workshop in Kuwait, “Youth Entrepreneurship: Challenges of the Tech Sector”, in cooperation with Kuwait’s Youth Empowerment Organisation, Tamkeen, and the Arab Youth Centre.
On 15th May, 2017, Shamma Al Mazrui announced the formation of the Emirates Global Youth Council, EGYC, in the United States, in collaboration with the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, as part of the Emirati Youth Council’s initiatives to establish international councils in various countries around the world.
On 17th May, 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, addressed Arab youth in an open letter in the inaugural issue of ‘Popular Science Arabia’ magazine, a joint venture of the Dubai Future Foundation, DFF, and Haykal Media. The letter has so far been seen over 32 million times on Facebook and over 17 million times on Twitter and has been published by more than 30 media channels and publications around the Arab World.
On 5th June, 2017, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Emirates Foundation, said that the Foundation’s ‘Think Science’ programme saw a 34 percent increase in the number of youth participants, while the number of projects presented to the programme had increased by 51 percent compared to last year. The programme aims to inspire, encourage, and empower Emirati youth to choose science as a field of study and career path and respond to the nation’s demand for science talents.
On 18th June, 2017, Sandooq Al Watan, a national philanthropic fund launched by prominent Emirati businessmen to support research projects, announced a landmark initiative entitled “Our Future” to prepare the UAE for a post-oil era by supporting the establishment of Emirati start-ups.
On 21st June, 2017, the National Media Council, NMC, announced the formation of the ‘Youth Media Council’, aimed at boosting participation of young media professionals in the mainstream media of the country.
On 9th August, 2017, The General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, GAYSW, organised the country’s official “International Youth Day” celebrations, under the slogan “Youth Building Peace”.
On 17th, September 2017, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, inaugurated a youth centre in Dubai with all-inclusive services for young people below the age of 30.
From 3rd to 5th October, 2017, on the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the Arab Youth Centre organised the ‘Arab Youth Start-up Marketplace’, AYSM, an annual event that sheds light on creative Arab youth start-ups, at the Emirates Towers in Dubai.
On 11th October, 2017, Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Ajman Municipality and Planning Department, was a guest of the ‘100 Mentors’ programme. Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the programme aims to build national youth experts in all fields by establishing direct links to mentors, so that young people can play an active role in the nation’s sustainable development goals and future industries.
On 14th October, 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid approved the new Board for the Emirates Youth Council with Shamma AlMazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, as Chairperson.
On 24th October, 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launched the “One Million Arab Coders” initiative, as part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation. The initiative will equip young Arabs with the tools to build their future, starting with fluency in coding and programming. It will also provide Arabs with employment opportunities and empower them with the skills needed to contribute to the development of the digital economy.
WAM/Mohd Aamir/Chris Moran
