Dubai Customs Receives Middle East Award Of Global Competitiveness

Dubai Customs has received the Middle East Award of Global Competitiveness for government and economic organizations. The Award is annually presented by the Middle East Excellence Award Institute and aims to further the concepts of Quality and Excellence through the quality of services offered to clients.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Juma Al Maktoum, Head of UAE Billiards and Snooker Federation handed the Award to Mr. Yousif Al Sahlawi, Executive Director of the Legislations and Policies Division at Dubai Customs during a ceremony held yesterday Monday, June 16th,2009 at Burj Al Arab Hotel and on the sidelines of the 3rd UAE 2015 Government Organizations and Leaders Global Competitiveness Strategy Conference.

Mr. Al Sahlawi expressed Dubai Customs appreciation for the Middle East Excellence Award Institute for organizing such an event. He also stated that Dubai Customs takes pride in this Award that urges the Department to pursue more progress by obtaining competitive quality services for its clients and partners locally, regionally and internationally.

He stated that:" Dubai Customs is currently implementing a five-year plan for 2007-2011, whose pillars are economic and social development for the Emirate of Dubai, fostering clients’ satisfaction, adopting best work practices as well as providing the best human resources".

"Dubai Customs celebrates a prosperous place in regards to global competitiveness among customs entities worldwide. It also had a leading role in implementing electronic systems for completing customs clearances. The systems are very instrumental in saving time and effort and are now functioning with 100% efficiency", he added.

Moreover, Mr. Al Sahlawi said:" Reinforcing its presence in the field of global competitiveness, the Department is constantly developing electronic services that have now reached over 80 services in total. Dubai Customs always seeks to implement the best international customs practices in order to meet the Department’s strategic objectives".

Raffles International School Umm Suqeim South Campus Opens Admissions For New Nursery

Dubai, UAE; May 9, 2009: Raffles International School Umm Suqeim South Campus has commenced admissions for the Montessori programme. The nursery for two- to four-year-olds will open in September bringing in a world-class early learning programme for tiny tots.  Located centrally in Umm Suqeim, opposite Burj Al Arab, Raffles International School Umm Suqeim South Campus is an established educational facility that already offers educational programmes for children from Grades 1 to 9 (Girls only from Grade 5) in the Cambridge International curricula. The new nursery will have an initial intake of only 80 students with 20 children per class, grouped according to age.  To function from 8am to 2pm, the nursery’s Montessori Programme focuses on early learning with emphasis on hands-on learning in a friendly, encouraging and interactive environment. Custom-designed to instill creativity and promote all-round development, the nursery has colourful classrooms, outdoor play area, fully-equipped medical room and child-sized bathrooms.  Ms Lynn Nolan, Head of Nurseries, Raffles International School, said: “The nursery follows Raffles’ vision of unlocking the creative potential of children and maximising learning. This process of learning is lead through a sensory, visual and auditory experience within a carefully designed environment which is furnished with high quality educational equipment.  Mrs Zorina Wigglesworth, Principal, Umm Suqeim South Campus, added: “With the commencement of the nursery offering the Montessori Programme, the Umm Sequim South Campus school now offers a broader spectrum of educational opportunities for children. This meets our objective of partnering in the all-round development of children by providing them individualised educational opportunities from a young age.” The focus of the Nursery is to develop a solid learning foundation which will prepare the child, not only for kindergarten but for lifelong learning. The Montessori programme incorporates practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics, and cultural activities, which serve in enhancing both the physical and cognitive development of the child. Self-esteem, and independence are also nurtured through creative activities and self help skills.   “As caregivers in the Montessori toddler environment, our work is to follow and allow children the freedom and independence to learn at their own pace. This is offered in a safe and well-planned environment. Only at the child’s request shall the caregiver in the child’s environment intervene,” explains Mrs Wigglesworth.  For nursery admissions, priority will be given to siblings of students in Raffles International School. Parents can visit the school campus for more details or call 04-427 1200 or email: enquiries@rafflesis.com. Raffles International School, the educational subsidiary of Emaar Properties, started two other nurseries in Old Town, Downtown Burj Dubai; and The Springs Town Centre this year, taking the total number of nurseries under the RIS portfolio in Dubai to seven.  Emaar Education has a portfolio of international schools and nurseries in Dubai; one international school each in Singapore and India; The Raffles Campus School of Hospitality in Dubai, Singapore and Vietnam; and plans to open several new institutions in the region. 

Dubai Customs Website Wins The Golden And Bronze Awards

Dubai Customs website has won the golden award within the government sector category for being the best website from the technical aspect at the Arab Countries level and the bronze award within the Arabic Government websites category on behalf of the "Pan Arab Web Awards" academy, during the opening ceremony held at the Burj Al Arab Hotel on Saturday, April 25th, 2009.Mr.Ahmad Mahboob Mousbeh, Executive Director of the Clients Departments at Dubai Customs has been granted the awards. He stated that "Dubai Customs winning those awards comes as part of its contribution in achieving some of Customs strategic objectives such as providing state of the art technical resources, and hence is the result of a thorough work and great efforts exerted in order to develop and modernize the Customs website as well as other sectors and the Communication Department. That hard work had inevitably a great impact on developing and modernizing the website and qualifying it for receiving such considerate awards at the Arab level”.Dubai Customs website http://www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae is considered one of the most important websites in the Arab world and worldwide, it is provided in both Arabic and English and offers within its links and different pages a wide range of information about all services being offered by Dubai Customs as well as laws and systems in force at Customs, Dubai, the UAE and the areas of relevance to Customs business. It also offers e-clearance (i.e. electronic customs clearance) through Mirsal System which is used in Dubai Customs.The portal also offers comprehensive information for travelers and visitors making it easy for them to know more about the procedures they need to go through whether financial, commercial, or otherwise.Wide-ranging news updates about the department’s events and activities can also be found on the Dubai Customs portal. That includes customs related, social, cultural, or even economic events which are regularly held by the department as it continuously strives towards excellence and ongoing development.Moreover, Dubai Customs gives great prominence to developing the IT sector within it, and was undeniably successful in becoming completely electronic which naturally saved its clients time and effort and made international trade transactions a lot more faster and simpler.Pan Arab Web Awards allocates special annual prizes to the best Arabic electronic portal in a bid to encourage Arab web designers and inspire them to be more creative to compete with worldwide professionals. The Awards also aim at enhancing the technological development of different sectors in the Arab world.The judges’ panel consists of a team of professionals who are mainly wed design experts and the competitors are usually evaluated as per international standards. This happens over two stages in order to ensure transparency and accuracy.
 

6th Middle East CEO Of The Year Awards 2009

6th Middle East CEO of the Year Awards 2009 – Salah Tahlak wins the ‘Young CEO of the Year Award’

At the 6th Middle East CEO of the Year Awards held recently at the Burj Al Arab Hotel, Salah Tahlak, Director of Corporate Communications, Dubai Duty Free was presented with the ‘Young CEO of the Year’ award by His Excellency Dr. Hanif Hassan, UAE Minister of Education.

Speaking at the Award Ceremony Mr. Ali Al Kamali, Chairman, Middle East Excellence Awards Institute and Managing Director Datamatix Group said: “Recognizing leadership is important because not only does it give credit where it is due, the recognition also motivates many others to strive for excellence.

The Middle East Awards was founded with the objective of meriting outstanding CEOs from different fields in the region and also inspiring others to make their own mark in regional leadership”.

Salah Tahlak accepting the award at the ceremony paid tribute to the President of Department of Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and to Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director, Dubai Duty Free for their guidance and support over the years.

“I am delighted to accept this award,” said Tahlak. “At Dubai Duty Free I have been fortunate to work for an organization that encourages growth and personal development. I extend my thanks also to Ali Kamali and his team at Datamatix for organizing these important awards”.

Dr. Hanif Hassan commended the Institute for establishing an awards program that advocates leadership excellence and said: “At a time when the region and the world are facing many challenges, it is only proper that we recognize exemplary leadership that motivates and inspires others to work towards achieving their goals. I extend my congratulations and admiration to this year’s winners for their achievements and hope that they will serve as role models to others.”

The Middle East CEO Awards recognize CEOs and C-level managers who demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities and commitment to advancing their organizations’ strategic goals. This world-class awards program is the first of its kind in the region, with nominees selected through a professional process and judged according to internationally accepted standards.

ENOC Wins The Bizz Award For Business Excellence

Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) has won The Bizz Award, one of the most prestigious business awards world-wide, for achieving the highest standards in business excellence.

Organised by The World Confederation of Businesses (WORLD COB), the internationally renowned awards were given to 18 Arab companies, this year, for the first time since their inception. The initiative aimed at honouring the most distinguished businesses and fostering healthy competition in the dynamic business market in the Middle East.

At a ceremony held recently in Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, Noaman Al Saleh, ENOC CSR & Media Relations Manager, received the award from Jesus J. Moran, CEO of the World Confederation of Businesses.

Commenting on the award, Khalid Hadi, ENOC Group Brand and Marketing Manager said: “It is a great honour to win this prestigious award as it reiterates our commitment to excellence across business practices. This recognition will motivate us to continue excelling in our line of business, while also providing us to position ourselves globally and thus further develop our business relations.”

The World Confederation of Businesses was supported by an Evaluation Committee, an independent entity comprising professionals from different business sectors, to qualify the evaluation parameters for the awards.

The evaluation was based on six points that measure the commitment level and quality as well as the development of a good management system and business excellence. The six points are Managerial Leadership, Management Systems, Quality in Goods and/or Services, Managerial Creativity and Innovation, Social Responsibility, and Obtained Results.

Best Dubai Structures

• Best Hotel Tower:
Burj Al Arab. Designed to resemble the billowing sail of an Arabian dhow, the iconic Burj Al Arab extends 321m (1,053 ft.) to the sky.

• Best Skyscraper:
Burj Dubai. The world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai dominates the skyline with its thin silver steel structure and can be seen for miles.

• Best Man-Made Islands:
The Palm Islands. The three artificial islands shaped like palm trees sit off the coast of Dubai and are considered by some to be an Eighth Wonder of the World.

• Best Traditional House:
Heritage House. Like other structures of its time, this 1890 Arabian home was made with coral and gypsum and has a central courtyard surrounded by rooms, some of which face the sea.