Programme for Sports Leadership Development launched

Dubai Sports Council in partnership with Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development (MBRPLD), an innovative leadership programme designed to develop future national leaders capable of promoting the sustainable development of Dubai, today announced at a press conference, the launch of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Sports Leadership Development (HBMPSLD).

At the press conference - held at Raffles Dubai Hotel - MBRPLD also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Sports Council to design and manage the new programme.

The Hamdan Bin Mohammed Programme for Sports Leadership Development, initiated by H.H. Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, is a unique leadership program designed to develop future national leaders by integrating sports' values and ethics.

The programme has been developed based on an approach that aims to achieve all-round development of an individual so as to aid in the formation of visionary leaders who can play a major role in the process of comprehensive sports development. The launch of this program is considered as a milestone for Dubai Sports Council, which, since its establishment in 2005, has made significant strides in the field of regulating and developing the administrative work at sports clubs.

Speaking at the press conference, Eng. Mattar Al Tayer, Vice President of Dubai Sports Council and Chairman of the Executive Office of Dubai Sports Council, said, "The launch of this innovative sports leadership programme in Dubai is a reflection of the emirate's progressive approach to excellence. Building a productive sport society is vital for the all-round development of Dubai, leveraging the emirate's position as one of the prime business, tourism and leisure destinations of the world." The key objectives of the HBMPSLD include ensuring a long-term systematised leadership development in sports; initiating changes for a progressive and productive sport society under the 'Change Agents Programme'; convening an elite group of sports leaders to help participants in the program benefit from their experiences; sharing insights about individual leadership styles and values; and helping Dubai Government to successfully implement the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015.

During the press conference, Adel Al Shared, Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Program for Leadership Development, provided an overview of the HBMPSLD, highlighting the modules, structure and strategies of the program.

"The HBMPSLD is a comprehensive sports leadership development programme that is designed to create sports leaders of international repute. The programme incorporates various elements of management, leadership, sports and communication that are required to provide a well-rounded perspective to future leaders." "The programme is a golden opportunity for members to achieve personal development and hone their skills through comprehensive and innovative means in the field of sports training. The programme addresses topics such as effective communication, community building, sports in Dubai and the UAE, Dubai Sports Strategy, project finance, cross sector support, master planning, role of the government, leading change management, international sport structure, strategic management of sport and organisational design," he added.

Dr. Ahmed Alshareef, General Secretariat of Dubai Sports Council, said, "This programme will help realize the first goal according to the strategic plan of Dubai Sports Council, which states the launch of an initiative for developing and qualifying administrative and technical staff in sports clubs.

Dubai Sports Council has launched many pioneering initiatives including the Dubai International Sports Conference which successfully completed its third year. Regarding the organizational aspects, the Council has introduced the strategic plan, the unified organisational structure and the unified financial system for all clubs.

This programme affirms the scientific methodology adopted by the Council for developing the abilities of nationals, in order to be able to effectively handle responsibilities as they assume various roles." The HBMPSLD will adopt a combination of strategies that include sharing of international best practices and experiences, in addition to studies and projects related to local sports and culture in the UAE, in accordance with the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015.
/WAM/

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Dubai is becoming less attractive for skilled employees

A survey in the UAE has revealed that Dubai is becoming less attractive for skilled employees due to the rising inflation.
The survey conducted by Bayt.com, a leading recruitment portal in the Gulf, and YouGov Siraj, an online research company, with over 50 employers and nearly 400 employees — expatriates and nationals — disclosed that 66 per cent of the employers feel that Dubai is becoming less attractive due to the rising inflation which is adversely affecting their chances of attracting the right talent.

The results, which were disclosed yesterday at the Dubai Economic Council (DEC) forum on The Future of Talent in Dubai, also noted that the residents' challenges included "the high cost of living, high inflation fuelled by obnoxious rents, falling dollar peg, compromising lifestyle to tackle inflation, traffic and parking woes".

Nevertheless, residents liked the emirate for its unprecedented growth, tax-free and crime-free environment.

On the employment front, however, the survey found that an overwhelming 90 per cent of human resources managers in private and public companies think recruiting employees is getting increasingly tougher than it was three years ago.

Some issues in finding the right talent include difficulty in hiring the right people and not being able to afford current salary levels. The biggest problem they face is finding people with leadership skills and passion for work. However, 68 per cent of organisations are ready or getting ready to address talent shortages.

The survey found that UAE nationals produce by far the highest turnover and are the toughest to retain, while Asian expats are the most loyal. They are also the second most likely to switch jobs. Well-qualified and good leadership skills is what employers expect, noted the survey.

Experts, on the other hand, observed at the forum that unless wage discrepancies between the private and public sector are not quickly tackled, companies in the private sector would continue to find it hard to lure young locals to work with them.

Dr Samer Kherfi, Assistant Professor of Economics at the American University of Sharjah, who gave a presentation on the wage structure in Dubai, said, "There is a large gap between the public and the private sector wages, where the private sector pays lesser. For equity purposes, Emiratis are paid more in the public sector. Besides, the pay structure is not linked to productivity."

He noted these are the reasons why the private sector finds it difficult to get Emiratis. "A lot of well-educated Emirati women are not part of the labour force and if they are, it could help deal with issues of labour shortage," he noted.

Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Executive Committee, DEC, said that if the skewed balance has to be corrected, incentives in the private sector have to be restructured and balanced. He noted that pay scales should match productivity, which needs to be assessed.

Dr John McHale, Associate Professor of Economics and Toller Family Research Fellow at the Queen's School of Business, Ireland, said, "The competition for talent is increasing in Dubai. The strength of the emirate is that it is employer driven. Highly skilled professionals are coming here to work."

/Khaleej Times/

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Dubai Dolphinarium opens

Four seals and three dolphins splashed around their new home in Dubai Wednesday on their first public appearance.

The performers include three bottle-neck dolphins - Senya, Marfa, and Kysusha brought in from Ukraine, aged between 18 to 22. Dolphins live for up to 35 years.

The four seals - Gosha, Marx, Fila and Lusha - aged between six and 10, were from the Commodore Islands.

The Dh33-million Dubai Dolphinarium at the Creek Park is the first-of-its-kind project in the UAE. Members of media witnessed the first show at the 5,000 sqm sea-water pool on Wednesday.

Three choreographed shows daily start at 10am. Entrance fee starts from Dh20 and goes up to Dh200, depending on seating, age and day. Ahmed Abdul Karim, Director of Public Parks and Horticulture Department at Dubai Municipality, said: “It is important for us to provide entertainment as well as educate the children about conservation. This centre will provide entertainment, education, therapy and research.”

The 19,000-sqm facility will offer dolphin sighting excursions, 10-30 minutes ‘swim with dolphin’ programme and a water circus show.

Moreover, dolphin theraphy for special need people will begin this summer, said Karim. “We will receive four dolphins specialised to deal with such cases. They will help provide treatment, especially for kids.”

The Dolphinarium is in talks with various special need schools in Dubai and will bring an expert from Mexico to provide treatment.

When the project was first announced in 2005, animal welfare campaigners raised concerns about the cruelty of keeping dolphins in captivity.

However, Mohammad Al Fardan, head of promotions and recreational office at Dubai Municipality said: “These dolphins are not captured from the sea. They are second generation trained dolphins. There is a lot of cruelty facing marine life like whale and dolphin hunting. We are conserving these animals and educating our children.”

Christopher Richardson, managing director of Dubai Dolphinarium, said that one of the dolphins, Marfa, was actually stuck in fishing net in Ukraine and was a rescued. “Even the four seals were for slaughter. But our marine specialist managed to negotiate saving them.”

The other two dolphins were born in a dolphinarium.

Richardson said the activity revolves around caring for the mammals in the dolphinarium. “4.5 million litres of sea water is filtered eight times a day. We have a trainer, a veterinarian, special management teams and round the clock supervision."

“Dolphins require specialised care but they are friendly mammals and enjoy interacting with the public. They are show offs, especially when it is a full-house.”


For visitors

* Show timings: 10 am, 6pm, and 9pm
* 1,250: the number visitors Dubai Dolphinarium can accommodate
* 200 – The number of dolphinariums in the world (40 are in Japan)
* $50,000-$60,000 – expenditure on each dolphin per month
* $30,000 – expenditure to keep seals per month

Ticket price

* Monday for all shows: Dh 20 for kids, Dh 30 for adults
* Tuesday-Saturday- Dh 80 for kids, Dh 120 for adults
* Sunday- off day
* Friday morning and afternoon shows-Dh25 for kids, Dh 30 for adults
* Family packages also available

/XPRESS/

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Partitioning rooms is illegal

The recent inspections by the Dubai Municipality (DM) of accommodations have shown a big rise in the practice of many families sharing a single apartment by erecting partitions, said a senior DM official.

Engineer Omar Mohammed Abdul Rahman, Head of the Building Inspection Section, said the inspectors are coming across a lot of cases in which two or more families are sharing one accommodation by putting up partitions, which was an “unhealthy practice”.

The official pointed out that it was illegal for more than one family to stay in a single accommodation after putting partitions without the permission of the civic body.

“At this moment, we are facing a lot of problems due to this. During the many raids, we have seen a steep rise in this particular phenomenon. We have come across a lot of apartments and villas where people have put several partitions in a single room. There are many families staying in one room. And this is being done without the permission of the municipality. We cannot allow this to happen,” he said.

The official added that one needed to take proper permission from the civic body for partitioning the rooms. “It depends on the size of the room. If the municipality finds that the room is big enough to be partitioned into two, we would allow it. We look at a lot of aspects before giving the permission. The room should be big enough, there should be more than one washroom, the partition should be done with a material that is not harmful, the rooms should have proper ventilation facilities, etc. Right now, what we are witnessing is something very unhealthy and unhygienic,” Eng. Omar opined.

People have divided very small rooms into three spaces with three families living in each, he claimed.

“The same can be said about apartments and villas. The partitions are being done by harmful material like asbestos. The rooms tend to get even more dingy due to this. We have seen rooms with three to four families living in it. There is just one washroom and toilet and inadequate ventilation. The municipality has now started an intensive inspection campaign to bring this menace under control,” he added.

Engineer Omar pointed out that once violations are detected, the municipality begins the process of disconnecting power and water supply to such accommodations.

“We also summon the owner of the flat or the real estate company. This practice must be stopped,” he said.

People though are an unhappy lot. “The rents in Dubai are such that it is impossible for a normal middle class family to afford a studio or a one-bedroom hall. We have no choice but to live like this. The authorities must first concentrate in controlling the rents so that people could afford to live in a healthy way. A majority of people will have no place to go if the authorities concerned just talk about rules and laws without fixing the core problems,” remarked Ashwini Sachdeva, who works in a bank.
/Khaleej Times/

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Congratulations to Olympique Lyonnais

Founded in 1958, Al Shabab Al Arabi club is celebrating under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum its 50th anniversary and has seized this opportunity to launch a full year of celebrations.

The celebrations will start with a gala game on the 30th of May 2008 between Al Shabab Club and Olympique Lyonnais.

Olympique Lyonnais clinched yesterday their seventh French League title in a row after its win against Auxerre (3-1) – a performance no European club managed to achieve. The French club is also qualified for the National Cup Final that will take place on the 24th of May in Paris.

The chairman of the club H.E Dr.Ahmad Saeed bin Hazeem expresses his congratulations to Olympique Lyonnais for these achievements and says: “Olympique Lyonnais is a club we have to be inspired by and we hope to be as successful as they are. It would be great for our anniversary game to have both clubs champions”.

Olympique Lyonnais sealed their seventh successive Ligue 1 crown after winning 3-1 at AJ Auxerre to hold off the challenge of second-placed FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Lyon went into the game with a two-point cushion over Bordeaux, but it was a lead that had been whittled away over recent weeks after being a lot more commanding for most of the season. Goals in the first ten minutes from Karim Benzema and Fred settled any nerves Lyon might have had before the season's final round of fixtures kicked off. Kim Källström added a third six minutes after half-time and not even a late Frédéric Thomas effort could take the gloss off the win and title triumph. Lyon now have the chance to complete the first double in their history against Paris Saint-Germain FC next weekend.

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UAE has highest private sector salaries in the region

UAE private sector employees are well-paid as compared to their counterparts in the rest of GCC countries, according to a study.
The study, conducted by a Dubai-based company found that salary increase in UAE's private sector companies rose to 14 per cent as compared to 12 per cent in Oman, 10 per cent in Qatar, 9 per cent in Bahrain, 9 per cent in Kuwait and 8 per cent in Saudi Arabia.

According to the study which was conducted by Fursan Al Hayat Company, the private sector salaries are the best in the region.

Conducted between June 2006 to June 2007, the study covered a number of companies in the service, banking and finance, insurance, real-estate and oil sectors.

Dr. Ali Sharab, a management consultant and CEO of Al Fursan Company, attributed these high salaries to stiff competition for qualified cadres, especially in the services sector. Other factors include, rising costs of living and rapid economic growth.

"Companies should embark on long-term plans to maintain their employees because these employees are constantly changing jobs in search of better salaries." he said.

To avoid constant mobility of experienced labour, companies should keep their employees by offering them shares in the company and providing them with training opportunities. In other words, they should be made to feel as part of the company.
/WAM/

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Mosques call for averting chances of divorce

Imams of mosques in UAE has called on the society to overcome momentary temperaments and avoid chances of divorce to protect family integration.
In the Friday sermon delivered at mosques across the country, the state preachers asked Muslims to show great amount of self restraint at times of family disagreements, and avoid jumping into divorce decisions.

They also called on men to patiently accept many of the trifle mistakes and harsh words spoken by their spouses, in order to perpetuate the family integration and the marital bliss.

Citing verses from the Holy Quran, the preachers reminded Muslims to resort to milder temporary solutions than taking the ultimate step of marital separation.

Sleeping on a separate bed until the wife regrets her mistake and repairs with the husband is one of them; noted the Imams.

The preachers reminded Muslims that there are several ways to mend each other after a quarrel, and divorce is permissible only when a life together is extremely impossible for both.

The permission to divorce is given only to set both partners free when a family life together becomes really impossible; UAE's Arabic newspapers quoted Imams as saying. WAM

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Shaikh Mohammed on Time’s 100 heroes list

Time, the American magazine, has named His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as one of the most influential individuals in the world.

“Residents call him the ‘Nelson Mandela of the region’ and say featuring good role models like Shaikh Mohammed would help change perceptions worldwide of Muslims,” the magazine says.

Figuring on the Time’s 100 list under the ‘Heroes and Pioneers’ section, Time calls Shaikh Mohammed ‘Dubai’s visionary’, who wants youthful Arab minds to reach for the skies. It says, “When the Burj Dubai is completed next year, the 160-plus-story spire of offices and luxury apartments will be the latest jewel in the impressive crown that Shaikh Mohammed, 58, has been steadily assembling for a quarter-century.”

It goes on to say, “Working first as a deputy to his father, the late Shaikh Rashid, and since 2006 ruling the emirate on his own, Sheik Mo (as some of his subjects fondly call him) has transformed the petroleum-poor desert emirate into a major global hub for business, finance, trade and tourism.”

Shaikh Mohammed has made Dubai an internationally recognised synonym for success in a Middle East that has been plagued by war, civil discontent and religious extremism.

“His pursuit of excellence extends from business to sports: a champion equestrian, Sheik Mo owns leading stud farms and hosts the world’s richest horse race. And it has made him a role model for a new generation of Arab leaders. Last year he set up the Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Foundation with a $10 billion endowment; it aims to inspire knowledge, ideas and innovation among the builders of tomorrow’s Arab world.

Dubai’s visionary wants young Arab minds, too, to reach for the skies,” the Time magazine says.

UAE residents, on the other hand, believe that featuring Shaikh Mohammed and the UAE has only forced a re-examination of many stereotypes that exist in the West about the Middle East.

Expatriates say that he is a leader as “popular as a pop star among the youth.”

Elizabeth Loadwick, Principal of the Uptown School, who has been in the UAE since 1974 and has seen the late Shaikh Rashid rule, said, “Shaikh Mohammed has inherited his father’s vision and he is not just a follower but a leader. It is forcing people to open their eyes to the region. Good role models like Shaikh Mohammed will change perceptions worldwide.”

She added, “America needs visionaries like him since they don’t have one of their own.

“He is like the Nelson Mandela of this part of the world. The students of our school feel very inspired by him.”

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, said, “There is no doubt that the example set by His Highness for tolerance, diversity and a focus on the quality of people’s lives has forced a re-examination of many stereotypes.”

He noted that it wasn’t surprising that Shaikh Mohammed had been noticed for the role he plays in leading the region and help the world in critical issues of health, education and healthy economies./Khaleej Times/

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Controversy: The Jews of Arabia

Many of us have heard of the famous advertising empire known as Saatchi and Saatchi, laughed at the jokes of Jerry Seinfeld, tapped our feet to the beats of Paula Abdul and shopped at Max Azria’s BCBG stores. So what do all these successful people from various industries have in common?

They are all of Arab origins.

The Jewish presence in what is now the Arab world dates back thousands of years; in fact, the very religion was founded in this region. Arab Muslims, Christians and Jews have been living in peace and harmony for centuries, so what happened? In short, after the violent wave of European anti-Semitism in the mid-20th century there was an exodus of European Jewry into historic Palestine, much of it forced, armed and violent, lead by groups such as the Hagana and the Irgun (who were responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel).

Unfortunately, many Muslim Arabs from across the region reacted violently to these developments and decided to reciprocate; as a result, Jews who were living amongst them were shunned and assaulted. In Iraq, for example, about 120,000 Jews were compelled to emigrate to Israel, the US and Europe in just less than three years.

The streets of Cairo, the historic neighbourhoods of Syria, the mountainous terrains of Lebanon and the bustling markets of Baghdad were, for the first time in thousands of years, emptied of one of the most successful ethnic minorities living within their communities. Doctors, architects, businessmen, scientists, poets and writers started to pack up and leave, some with good reason and some to avoid the repercussions of the founding of the state of Israel.

It wasn’t all bad blood between the Arabs and the Jews; in fact, there were stories of heroism that have gone unreported and unnoticed in the Arab media. In the midst of the horrors of the Nazi occupation of France in the 1940s, the imam of the Paris Mosque saved the lives of scores of Jews by issuing certificates stating their faith to be Muslim. In Tunis, entire Jewish families were saved by a local hero, Khaled Abdelwahhab, who hid them in his farm at great risk to himself and his family; he was honoured posthumously for his bravery. As a result of such actions fewer than one per cent of the Jews of Arabia — who numbered in their hundreds of thousands — perished compared to more than 50 per cent of the Jews of Europe.

Since then, there has been predominantly negative coverage of Judeo-Arab relations. Europe, after the Second World War, was able to turn the page almost immediately, yet many Arabs still paint all Jews with the same brush used for Israelis.

In 1975, after the death of the Egyptian revolutionary leader Jamal Abdul Nasser, many countries in which he financed and encouraged revolutions were free from his pan-Arab nationalism and scaremongering and decided to take action in order to restore the social unity of their countries. The pre-Saddam Iraqi Revolution Command Council issued advertisements in The New York Times and elsewhere inviting Jews to return to their home countries and guaranteeing their rights. Sadat’s Egypt and Hafez Al Assad’s Syria also issued such statements.

In recent history it has only been two forward-thinking Middle Eastern kingdoms of Morocco and Bahrain that have broken the mould of suspicion towards their Jewish citizens and integrated them into the social and political spheres. The first with the case of André Azoulay, an adviser to the previous and current kings; and the latter with the recent appointment of Huda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo as the new Bahraini ambassador to America.

Today in New York City alone there are more than 75,000 Jews of Syrian origin, many of them educated in the best schools, speaking or understanding Arabic and still having an affinity for Syria. Is it not possible to imagine that such persons have the right, if they so choose, to be full citizens of Syria?

Is it not time to reassure the Jews of Arab origin that their ancestral homes are mature enough to welcome them back if they decide to invest, visit or even take up citizenship? If football players who spend a few months in the Middle East are given citizenship, shouldn’t people who have a natural birth-right, tremendous wealth and valuable education and skills be given the same?

Of course such statements will be met with criticisms and reminders of what the Israelis are doing to our Palestinian brothers and sisters. To that one can say that in the Middle East, no one has been more cruel and violent to Arabs, more exploitive of the Palestinians and more manipulative of their cause than Arabs themselves. Do we forget it was Iraq that invaded Kuwait, Egypt that encouraged bloody revolutions throughout the region and mostly militants from the Arabian Peninsula responsible for atrocious crimes of terrorism in Iraq? We ourselves have been the victims of unfair generalisations by the Western media, but should we learn from past lessons, or should we continue to reciprocate?/By Sultan Al Qassemi/

The author is a Sharjah-based businessman and graduate of the American University of Paris. He is founder of Barjeel Securities, Dubai.

Source

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EIDA postpones expatriates registration

The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) has postponed registration of foreign residents in the UAE to June, according to its Director General Darwish Al Zarouni.

"Registration of foreign residents has been postponed to complete registration of UAE citizens," Al Zarouni said.

Al Zarouni said it is compulsory for both UAE citizens and expatriates to register under the UAE identity programme.

"People should differentiate between registration and applying for identity card. While registration is compulsory for every national and foreign resident, the ID card is optional for children below 15," he added. WAM

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Expats occupy 99pc of private sector staff

Expatriates workers occupy 99 per cent of jobs in the private sector and 91 per cent in the public sector out of a total 3.1 million employees in the UAE, said a Dubai Municipality official.

"Going by the trend, by 2009 UAE nationals will account for less than eight per cent of the workforce and by 2020 UAE nationals will account for less than four per cent," said Jasem Ahmad Al Ali, a human resource specialist at the Human Resources Department of Dubai Municipality. He said the private sector accounts for more than 52 per cent of the total jobs in the UAE.
"As much as 10 per cent of UAE nationals resign per year due to social and cultural factors because low trust is an impediment to employment for UAE nationals. This is in addition to gender inequality in terms of position and salary. Nepotism, or what is called locally as 'wasta', also prevails in the workforce," he said.

Emiratisation

Al Ali presented a research paper on 'Structural Barriers to Emiratisation: Analysis and Policy Recommendations' at the Eighth International Business Research Conference recently held in Dubai and was conferred with the best paper and the best presenter awards among participants from 32 countries.

He also suggested a set of measures to boost emiratisation in the country asserting that there is a need to enact policies and legislation to ensure the representation and participation of UAE nationals in the country's workforce.

Al Ali found there were no accurate statistics available for unemployed Emiratis.

He said the unemployment rate for UAE nationals is around 13 per cent. However, not all job-seekers are registered with Tanmia (The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority) and those registered may not be prepared to take up work, but are seeking better opportunities.

Number of reasons

He listed a number of reasons for UAE nationals' decreased participation in the workforce in the private sector.

Firstly, the private sector's business model is largely dependent on the creation of low wage jobs.

Secondly, there is a lack of understanding among job-seekers of a commitment-based work culture; a lack of opportunity for training and development; negative stereotypes of UAE nationals held by employers and Human Rights Management policies.

Al Ali's paper also identified an open-door communication policy and measures to reinforce and retain talented employees as the best organisational culture that will attract UAE nationals.

Study: Ensure equality

Jasem Ahmad Al Ali, a human resource specialist at the Human Resources Department of Dubai Municipality, has listed a number of recommendations for attracting young nationals to both public and private sector jobs addressing crucial issues such as remuneration, gender inequality, trust, nepotism, and organisation culture.

With regard to remuneration, Al Ali suggested that there is a need to introduce a pay scale higher than the current market rates to satisfy UAE nationals. For this, the type of remuneration that attracts them should be identified. There is also a need to introduce programmes that propel UAE nationals as the employers' first choice.

To address gender inequality, Al Ali said policies and legislation should be enacted to ensure the representation and participation of UAE women in management positions. The labour law, he said, prohibits gender-based discrimination in terms of salary packages and career development opportunities.

"However, this must be monitored to ensure that organisations adhere to them in practice," said Al Ali.

He said treating UAE national employees fairly, justly and consistently, and encouraging their participation in decision-making, acting on their creative suggestions, giving them feedback on performance, empowerment and recognition can win their trust.

With regard to nepotism, Al Ali suggested encouraging the use of systematic criteria in employee selection such as psychometric, learning and aptitude tests, and establishing an arbitration commission with the powers to investigate and manage complaints of nepotism, including demanding evidence of transparent recruitment and promotion practices from all employers. Source

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Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department offiicers get promotion

Vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has ordered the promotion of 470 officers of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) in appreciation of their efforts and dedication to their duties.

According to DNRD director, Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Mirri, Sheikh Mohammed has ordered the immediate promotion of the officers. He seized the opportunity to express profound gratitude to H.H. Sheikh Mohammed and the UAE leadership in general for the trust reposed in the personnel of the DNRD.

He reiterated the loyalty and allegiance of all the DNRD personnel to the country's leadership, who, he said, had provided the sons and daughters of this country all the means of comfortable life.

He urged all DNRD personnel to double their efforts and work relentlessly for the progress and development of the country and its people. (WAM)

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Mall calls to observe decency code

Residents are divided in their opinion of courtesy policy notices posted by Mall of the Emirates recently which calls for respectful clothing and ‘no kissing’.
While some visitors to Mall of the Emirates yesterday said the policy was common sense, others said it went against Dubai presenting itself as cosmopolitan and open-minded.

Elaine said the policy should go without saying.

“It’s quite reasonable,” Elaine said. “I think it’s a good idea. People should fit with the general behaviour.”

She said the motivation for posting the notices recently could be for a number of reasons.

“Some people are inconsiderate and some just don’t know,” Elaine said.

Jaffer Ali agreed. “It should be there so people will know, but it should really be known,” he said.

Officials from Mall of the Emirates and its owner, Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls, did not comment yesterday but sources said the policy had always existed.

Daily calls and complaints from shoppers and visitors about people in offence of Dubai’s culture, prompted the mall to raise awareness through the posters.

The posters ask visitors to “wear respectful clothing”, “no kissing or overt displays of affection” and also not to smoke, drink alcohol or skateboard or roller blade.

However, Elie said it was a contradiction of Dubai’s ideals of being open-minded.

“They want to be cosmopolitan but it’s not Europe,” he said. “Either they want to be a Muslim country or open-minded.”

Filomena Laudonio said Dubai was becoming increasingly strict on issues relating to its culture.

“Everyone should be free to wear what they want but now (in Dubai) people wearing offensive T-shirts were put in jail,” she said. “Dubai is changing.”

But more visitors approached by Khaleej Times agreed with the poster.

Shaun Heredie said visitors had to be culturally sensitive. “That’s cool, it’s their country. It’s mainly public displays of affection.”

Ellen Manalastas said the notice should be posted in other malls, too.

“I think it’s fine,” she said. “At least there are instructions to follow.” Source

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Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment releases list of beneficiaries

As per directives from Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment has announced the names of beneficiaries who have been allocated plots of land for building homes.

The establishment will distribute 150 plots of land each week for the beneficiaries, whose names will be announced prior to the allotment of land.

The first batch of beneficiaries includes those who have already availed housing grants from the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment or Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme. (WAM)

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Chinese New Year celebrations at Dragon Mart

Dragon Mart, Dubai, has organised a week-long celebration for the Chinese New Year, starting on Thursday.

According to a Press release, it has planned the biggest festivities, including spectacular entertainment by Chinese popstars and pyrotechnic displays until February 14.

Every day at 5 pm, 7 pm and 9 pm, displays of acrobats, martial artists, Beijing Opera acts, cultural dancers and Chinese popstars will take place in the complex. Visitors to Dragon Mart can also enjoy vibrant seven- minute firework shows at 8.30pm.

In addition, a lively concert for tenants will be held on Monday in the main galleria.

Dragon Mart is flying in famous Chinese pop sensations Yu Jun Jian, Hai Ming Wei and Alf to Dubai to perform exclusively at the event, with VIP guests including Chinese Consul General Gao You Zhen. Source

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Hi-tech checking of passports planned

The Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency Department (ADNRD) is planning to use new technology to check passports at the country’s borders and airports, a top official has said.

Colonel Nassir Al Awadi Al Minhali, director of the ADNRD, said the UAE was seeking to import new equipment, technologies, and systems to check the people entering the country.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on telephone from Germany, where he is currently with the UAE’s ADNRD delegation, he said, “We are now attending training courses to get all the required information to modernise the ADNRD’s system country-wide.”

The delegation is studying the latest technology used at the airports in Germany. Source

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EIDA open registration centre at DNRD

Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA), has announced the opening of a new registration center at the Dubai Department of Naturalisation and Residency (DNRD), taking to 14 the total number of regsitration centres across the country.

Darwish Al Zarouni, general director of EIDA, who inaugurated the centre along with DNRD Director Brigadier Mohammed Al Murri, told reporters that :''Opening of the DNRD centre comes in line with EIDA 2007 - 2010 strategy, which includes the opening of more registration centres throughout the UAE in order to facilitate enrolment in the Population Register and ID Card Program for all UAE nationals and residents, saving them the difficulties of moving to registration centres far from their places of residence".

He said this was the 14th registration centre and more are on the pipeline in the emirates of Umm Al Qaiwain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

''The centre is fully equipped and comprises four registration lines, two of them for women,''he added.

''According to our strategy, we plan to complete registration of UAE nationals before May. A stage for residents' registration will follow,''he explained.

Brigadier Al Murri said the move was a fruit of six-month extensive discussions with EIDA. (WAM)

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‘Prepare nationals for jobs, rather than create jobs for nationals’

An official from Emaar Properties PJSC, Dubai, urged the Arab world to “prepare nationals for jobs rather than create jobs for nationals,” at a panel discussion on Tuesday.

Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Director-General of the Department of Economic Development and chairman of Emaar Properties PJSC said this could be done by nurturing ambition, optimism and self-belief among young Arabs.

He was speaking at the ‘Global Talent of the Future’ at the Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF) in Riyadh.

Alabbar said that unless the Arab nations make a concerted and sustained effort to develop their human capital, the region would be a bystander to the global economy.

The Middle East as a whole, he pointed out, has one of the fastest growing and youngest population in the world, with around 65 per cent of the population under the age of 25, which comes to 200 million young people.

“If we can nurture this enormous resource, we’ll enter into an era of peace and prosperity. If we cannot, we face a future of dissatisfaction, unrest and economic decline,” he said.

Alabbar said the key to progress in the region is the participation of Arab youth. “We have large reserves of young talent in the region, a pent-up spirit of creativity and productivity. The extent to which we can tap into our most precious resource will determine our future success.”

Governments, he said, must first make investments in schools, universities and research facilities, while also creating the economic conditions for entrepreneurship to flourish.

The forum was held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, of Saudi Arabia, and was organised by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).

This year, more than 1,000 delegates attended the event. Source

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Citizens from 200 countries live and co-exist peacefully in UAE

The first Alliance of Civilisations Forum was concluded here Wednesday with emotional call for promoting and fostering interfaith and cross-culture dialogue.
Having a high-profile presence in the meeting, the United Arab Emirates considers the concept of the "Alliance of Civilizations" initiative as one of the most important global initiatives of recent years.

"We offer our sincere thanks to the Governments of Spain and of Turkey for having launched this initiative, and we pledge our full support for the alliance and its objectives," said UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and community Development, Abdul Rahman Al Owais in an address he delivered at conference.

He said the promotion of dialogue between cultures and between faiths "is something to which we must all pay attention, if we are to hope for a peaceful world, where tolerance, rather than bigotry, prevails, and where misunderstandings based on ignorance are removed".

"For us in the Emirates, tolerance, of different faiths, different cultures and different races, is fundamental to our way of life and the world as a whole. People from nearly 200 countries live and co-exist peacefully and harmoniously together within our borders. Peoples of all religions, Muslim, Christian, Hindu and others, practice their faiths, side-by-side.

''Indeed, in our capital city of Abu Dhabi, one of the largest mosques is immediately adjacent to the Catholic Cathedral, the Coptic Cathedral and the Anglican Church symbolizing our respect to all faiths and commitment to inter-faith understanding," he stated.

"That is how we wish it to be. That basis of tolerance and dialogue is an essential part of the religion of Islam," he added.

He said through tolerance and dialogue comes understanding - and a recognition that a stereotyping of other cultures and other faiths can only lead to misunderstanding and a breakdown in harmony.

"Part of our understanding and of the way in which we practice tolerance in these matters is that we recognise that people of each and every culture, each and every faith, hold certain things dear to their hearts.

''As a corollary, we believe that it is incumbent upon us to ensure that persons who claim to be a part of other cultures and other faiths do not deliberately set out to cause offence, or to poke fun at those aspects of culture and belief that are so important to others, which might inflame public opinion and of further creating distrust and animosity.

''While we recognise, and value, the right to the freedom of expression, it is our view that there is a need for a greater acceptance of responsibility in the way that freedom is used, particularly by the mass media," he stated He said such freedoms should not be used to permit and to justify the publication of inflammatory material that can not only lead to a deepening of misunderstanding between cultures and faiths, but also to violence and death.

He pointed out that the promotion of dialogue and understanding, indeed the promotion of an alliance of civilizations, can only hope to be successful "if we all exert continuous and sincere efforts to build bridges, rather than to divide, to foster friendship, rather than hostility, to explain, rather than to disseminate views designed to deepen misunderstandings." "We in the United Arab Emirates will continue to play our part, both at home and elsewhere, in the pursuit of the goal to which we all aspire - a greater belief in the concept of global community and of the unity of mankind. We look forward to working with others in the effort to reach that goal," he stated.

"We hope that this meeting will succeed in laying down a framework for continuing activity that will allow concrete steps to be taken towards our shared goals, with such a framework being designed to encourage and facilitate the participation of each and every state that is represented here," he concluded.

The two-day international gathering was opened by Spanish Spanish Prime Minister Jose Rodriguez Zapatero and addressed by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. It brought together political leaders, the media, corporate and film industry executives, and grassroots and civil society leaders. Created in 2005 at the initiative of Spain and Turkey and under UN auspices, the Alliance seeks to tackle fear and suspicion, bridge divides and overcome prejudices and polarizations between Islam and the West. (WAM)

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UAE residents top spenders in the Arab world

People in the UAE spend about US$20,000 (Dh73,400) a year each on consumer goods and services – the highest average of all the Arab nations, according to a new report. Bankers said the figure was a result of the country's high per capita income, rapid economic growth, liberalism and socio-economic stability. The UAE has also emerged as the second largest investor in the Arab world after Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, providing more than 12 per cent of total investment.

In 2006 the UAE's private consumption – covering spending by individuals and families on goods and services – totalled US$84 billion. The figure works out as US$19,761 per individual for a population of 4.25 million, according to the 2007 economic report issued this week by the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund.
The level is far higher than spending in all other Arab countries. The total for second-placed Qatar was around US$10.07bn, or an average of US$12,500 per person. "There are several factors that have made the UAE the top spender in the Arab world,” said an Abu Dhabi-based banker. "They include its high per capita income, liberal system, steady growth in the economy, and financial, economic and social stability. Another factor that has to be taken into account is high inflation.”
Kuwait ranked third, with its private consumption totalling US$27.8bn or an individual average of nearly US$9,266. Bahrain emerged as the fourth largest spender despite its relatively low oil wealth, with private consumption standing at US$5.6bn or average of US$7,587 per person. Oman and Lebanon were ahead of Saudi Arabia – even though the Kingdom controls nearly a quarter of the world's oil and has the fourth largest gas reserves.
Despite Saudi Arabia's high total consumption of nearly US$88.8bn, which surpassed that of the UAE, average individual spending stood at around US$3,764 for a population of nearly 23.6m, almost six times that of the UAE. The report showed Mauritania, one of the poorest Arab nations, had the lowest individual spending, standing at just US$362. Djibouti also had a low average of around US$795, while the report gives no figures for Somalia and the Palestinians.
In investment, where the UAE ranked second, the total figure including both private and public capital was around US$34.7bn. This amounted to approximately 12.7 per cent of the total Arab investment of nearly US$267bn in 2006. Saudi Arabia was the largest investor, with around US$62.4bn. But in terms of investment-to-GDP ratio the UAE was the Arab world's number one. The report gives no figures for 2007 but the UAE is expected to have maintained its position given the surge in the economy and income levels. Other key investors include Egypt with US$20bn, Morocco with US$19.8bn, Kuwait with US$19.1bn, and Qatar with nearly 18.7bn. - Emirates Business 247

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