Delegation From The Sheikha Manal Art Exchange Program Returns From Venice Bienalle

Delegates from the Sheikha Manal Art Exchange Program returned today following a successful visit to Venice, Italy for the 54th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale Di Venezia, 2011. The delegation which comprised of the organising committee for the Sheikha Manal Art Exchange Program was lead by Muna Bin Kalli, Executive Director of Sheikha Manal Art Exchange Program and Executive Director of the Dubai Ladies Club, on behalf of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, UAE.

During the Biennale’s opening ceremony on 1st June 2011, Muna Bin Kalli delivered a special message and presentation on behalf of H.H. Sheikha Manal as a key Patron of the Arts in the UAE. The presentation enumerated the various art initiatives and projects sponsored by H.H. Sheikha Manal. The ceremony was attended by VIP guests and key members of the international art community.

Bin Kalli said, “I has been an honour to be able to present the many artistic and cultural initiatives H.H. Sheikha Manal at the 54th Venice Bienalle opening ceremony. Her Highness Sheikha Manal has always attached great importance to the nurturing of creative talents and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community. The overwhelming positive response we received during the event is a testament to the support and patronage provided by H.H. Sheikha Manal for Dubai’s arts and cultural scene.”

As an accomplished artist in her own right and truly visionary in her support of the arts, Her Highness Sheikha Manal has consistently sponsored youth-focused cultural and artistic endeavours in the UAE, through her patronage and the establishment of art projects such as ‘The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award’, ‘The Sheikha Manal Art Exchange Program’; plus international art exhibitions such as the ‘Pieces for Peace’ CITYarts project and ‘The Reflective Mirror’ art exhibition under the theme of ‘Expression of Womanhood’ at the United Nations Head Quarters, New York. She recently extended her patronage to The Nomads Box Project, a moving art space located within a transformed shipping container. In 2009, she was also honoured from CITYArts New York with the ‘Making a Difference through the Arts’ Award. She was also awarded for her contributions to the arts at the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Patrons of the Arts awards ceremony in 2010 and 2011.

The UAE Pavilion has been initiated and supported by His Excellency Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy and the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC). The UAE Pavilion is being developed and presented under the leadership of its Commissioner, Dr. Lamees Hamdan. Serving as curator for the UAE Pavilion for 2011 is Vasif Kortun, an internationally respected curator and Director of Research and Programs, SALT, Istanbul.

The title of the Pavilion this year is ‘Second Time Around’, referring to the UAE’s debut appearance at the Venice Biennale in comparison to its return. In 2009 the UAE was a newcomer in the position of being the subject of much speculation and curiosity. As such, it played an educational role in featuring conversations with key figures in the cultural panorama of the country, architectural models of UAE arts infrastructure, and a showroom of work of several UAE artists, in addition to featured artist, Lamya Gargash.

Established in 1895, the Venice Biennale today encompasses the official pavilions of more than 70 nations. Its International Art Exhibition draws more than 375,000 influential visitors from around the world. It is widely regarded as the most important international art fair.
 

HE Dr Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat And Indian Presidential Delegation Tour Emaar Retail Leisure Components At The Dubai Mall

His Excellency Dr Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, husband of Smt Pratibha Patil, the President of India, and the Presidential Delegation visited the leisure components, managed by Emaar Retail LLC at The Dubai Mall, the largest shopping and entertainment destination in the world.

The dignitary visit, led by Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Retail LLC, commenced with a tour of Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo with two divers displaying the UAE and Indian national flags underwater. The visitors walked through the underwater tunnel of the aquarium which houses over 33,000 aquatic animals and enjoyed the animal diversity at Underwater Zoo.

The visitors also toured the innovative children’s ‘edutainment’ concept, KidZania® followed by a tour of The Dubai Mall. The dignitaries were welcomed by the heads of each attraction.

The leisure attractions in the mall include Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo; the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink; SEGA Republic, the largest of its kind indoor theme park in the Middle East; KidZania®, a unique children’s edutainment destination; and the 22-screen Reel Cinemas.
 

DECDC Receives Delegation From Scott Autism Centre In The US

 Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre (DECDC), a key initiative of the Community Development Authority in Dubai (CDA), recently welcomed a delegation from Scott Autism Centre at Florida Institute of Technology, USA and discussed areas of cooperation, partnership and exchange of experience in the field of disability and autism.

Dr. Bushra Al Mulla, Director of DECDC and her team of specialists received the delegation and briefed them on the services provided by the Centre to children with disabilities and their families. The delegation also heard about the Centre’s role in enhancing community awareness on children with disability and ways to integrate them into the society.

During the week-long visit the US delegation learned about the state-of-the-art equipment, facilities and advanced technologies available at DECDC in addition to global best practice adopted at the Centre and its future plans. Both parties also discussed possible exchange of knowledge and experience in many fields relevant to autism and disability.

The Scott Autism Centre has extensive facilities and a distinguished track record in the treatment of children with disability, autism and in early intervention techniques. The delegation was impressed with the services available in DECDC, particularly in the field of early intervention and rehabilitation and said they would be happy to visit Dubai again and help in developing and elevating the existing services at DECDC.

"We welcome our partners from Scott Autism Centre, which is a world-leading centre of its kind, and look forward to working with them sharing knowledge and best practices in providing support for children with disability," said Dr. Bushra.

The Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre (DECDC) is a unique early intervention programme, to provide state-of-the-art, comprehensive, family-focused, community-based, trans-disciplinary services to children (from birth to six years) with disability or are at risk for developmental delays and their families. DECDC was established after a long and extensive benchmarking exercise in disability training, including review and research of best practices in early intervention across the world.

US Delegation Visits Dubai Womens College

A delegation of 23 faculty members from 14 leading universities in the USA recently visited the Dubai Women’s College campus as part of a faculty development program.

The academics– who are part of a study tour to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)– are all from the Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) funded by the United States Department of Education. These institutions are playing a critical role in internationalizing the curricula of American business schools and the mindset of American faculty and students.

The purpose of the visit was to provide a greater understanding of the business practices, economic policies, political structures, and cultural environment of UAE, GCC and Egypt. Faculty members can then incorporate this information in US classrooms and develop research networks on topics that bridge the US and MENA countries.

Dr. Monica Gallant, Chair of the DWC Business Department, gave a presentation on the role of Emirati women in society based on her doctoral research. “It was a pleasure to share my knowledge with such a prestigious group of educators who are truly interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the culture of the UAE”, Monica pointed out. Wael Al Sayegh, renowned UAE poet and cultural intelligence consultant, also addressed the group on Islam, local culture and values.

The group then had the opportunity to see some of the films produced by DWC Applied Communications students that were shown at the Dubai International Film Festival and at Cannes Film Festival. Alia Shamlan, DWC Applied Communications student and member of DWC Student Parliament said “the US faculty took a keen interest in two movies, namely The Second Wife and Mr. and Mrs. Right. They told us of how the stories somewhat related to them. This gave us an understanding of how similar we might be to our peers across the globe.”
 

Dubai Financial Market Welcomes High Level Delegation From Chinas Major Financial Services

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) received a high level delegation of major Financial Services and asset management companies from China, who met DFM’s senior management to share knowledge and explore opportunities for collaboration.

The visit is part of the continued efforts to promote and expand the presence of international investors in the market. This is the second visit by financial services and asset management in China to DFM over the last 5 months.

The 22 senior delegates representing 19 companies attended a presentation on the market operations, development initiatives and future plans in the presence of Fahima Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President, Head of Business Development Division, Jamal Ibrahim Alkhadhar, Senior Vice President, Head of Human Resources and Strategic Planning Division and Ali Al Hashimi, Executive Vice President, Borse Dubai Limited, along with other DFM officials.

Members of the delegation representing leading financial services companies based in China included General Managers, Vice Presidents and analysts from several companies.

The discussions touched upon various topics related to the Asian and Middle Eastern financial markets, the DFM and the key role of financial services and asset management companies. The visit also included a tour of DFM’s trading floor.

Fahima Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President, Head of Business Development Division, Dubai Financial Market said: "DFM is delighted to welcome the delegation from China. We are always keen to develop close relationship with international financial companies, keep them updated with our latest developments and attract international investments to our market. The visit was a great opportunity to update the Chinese delegation on the sound economic fundamentals in Dubai and the role of the emirate as a gateway to the Middle East markets."

 

A Delegation Of Al Ain Municipality Reviews RTA Administrative Services, Facility Operation

Roads & Transport Authority – Nashwan Attaa’ee: A delegation from Al Ain Municipality (Facilities & Security Division, Support Services Sector) has recently visited the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai to review the leading and advanced practices adopted by the RTA in the field of administrative services as well as the management and operation of facilities.

Nabeel Yousef Al Ali, Director of Administrative Services, RTA Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector, reiterated RTA’s readiness to share its pioneer practices in various administrative and organizational fields with all government and semi-government entities with the aim of assisting them emulate the successes and contribute to the development drive witnessed by the UAE in all areas.

“We have briefed the visiting delegation on the best practices adopted by the RTA in various domains of administrative services including employee services, public services, administrative control, office services and e-archiving where the RTA has made significant advancements enabling it to deliver best-in-class services to both employees and customers,” said Nabeel.

For his part the Director of Buildings and Facilities, RTA Corporate Technical Support Services Sector Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali stated that the visiting delegation reviewed the Organizational Chart of the Dep’t as well as the detailed Roles & Responsibilities of each Section of the Department namely; Projects designing and Planning Section, Projects Implementation, and Facility Maintenance.

“The systems and policies adopted by the Dep’t are aligned with RTA Strategic Plan, Key Performance Indicators and the Strategic Initiatives of the Corporate Technical Support Services Sector. The Dep’t is drawing up and implementing an operational plan and KPIs, individual performance follow-up plans & systems, project management policies, project performance tracking system, uniform specifications & standards of RTA premises & facilities, plans & procedures of preventive maintenance, various types of maintenance contracts, maintenance works management system, and the automatic unified control system,” said Al Ali. He also reviewed the key projects completed over the past period such as the Bus Depots at Al Rawiyya and Al Khawaneej in addition to other projects in hand such as the Police communal houses at Oud Al Mateena, RTA Central Stores at Al Awir and some future projects.

Members of Al Ain Municipality delegation thanked RTA Building & Facilities Dep’t as well as the Administrative Services Dep’t for familiarizing them with the successful practices of the RTA with a view to introducing effective practices & strategies pursued by the RTA in these two important fields.
 

Delegation Of Organizing Committee Of UITP Congress In Dubai Takes Part In UITP Meetings In Switzerland

Roads and Transport Authority – Nashwan Attaa’ee:

A delegation of the Higher Organizing Committee of the 59th UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Congress took part in the meetings of the UITP recently in Geneva, Switzerland where a host of issues and topics of common concern were discussed.

The delegation was headed by Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, Board Member of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) and Chairperson of the Higher Organizing Committee of the 59th UITP Congress and Exhibition, and included as members the CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation and Vice-Chairperson of the Organizing Committee Abdul Aziz Malik, and Director of RTA Customers Service and Director of the Congress Hosting Project Dr. Aysha Al Busmait.
“During our participation in the said meeting, we have confirmed RTA’s full readiness to organize the 59th UITP Congress and Exhibition on due time (10-14 April 2011), and that all arrangements are now in place for receiving the participating delegations, transport ministers, chairpersons of authorities and entities supervising the operation of public transport sector and visitors of the event from all over the world.

The delegation made a visual presentation to Davos World Economic Forum to highlight the importance of listing public transport issue as an important topic to be discussed and for the Forum to examine the funding of public transport projects worldwide.

RTA Board Member of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) and Chairperson of the Higher Organizing Committee of the 59th UITP Congress and Exhibition 2011 made another presentation about the developments and arrangements taken by the Committee Team under the supervision of the RTA; which were warmly received by all officials concerned with the event in the UITP.

In another development, the delegation paid a visit to the Sultanate of Oman where it took part in a gathering held at Sohar University under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Council of Higher Education in Oman Salim Bin Nasser Al Maskari. The event, which was organized by the Faculty of Business Administration at the University, was attended by the Vice Chancellor of University and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Saudi Arabia.

During the event, Al Mulla delivered a work paper in which he reviewed the public transport in general as well as the challenges and potentials of the region. He also updated the audience on the latest development of the UITP Congress and called on the participants to come to Dubai and take part in the event. The invitation was well received by the audience who expressed their interest in attending the event.
 

RTA Receives A Delegation Of Abu Dhabi Dot, Reviews Successful Practices

Engineer Maitha bin Udai, CEO of Traffic & Roads Agency, Road & Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai, has recently received a delegation from the Department of Transport (DoT), Abu Dhabi headed by engineer Badr Al Qamzi, Director of Integrated Planning of the Department in the presence of the concerned Directors at the Agency.

During the meeting, bin Udai expressed the readiness of Traffic & Roads Agency to share all facilities and successful practices with the DoT. “The successes made by the Agency in engineering and traffic fields render it fully capable of delivering an advanced model of how to benefit from modern technologies and harnessing the global practices in achieving the intended objectives,” she said.

During the meeting the specialist engineers of the Traffic & Roads Agency reviewed before the visiting delegation, in the presence of engineer Maitha, the huge potentials of the ENOC system in use for the issuance of electronic no objection certificates for mega projects and companies in Dubai. The program processes transactions online without requiring beneficiaries to report to the premises of the Agency; which saves paper use and alleviates the pressure on employees attending to serve customers applying for such service.

The Agency’s engineers also reviewed the inspection system applicable at Roads Maintenance Dep’t along with the systems in use tailored to detect damage, and plan & run inspection campaigns to identify the applicable work procedures and unified procedures and ensure the integrity and quality of inspection processes.

For his part engineer Badr Al Qamzi was thankful to the Traffic & Roads Agency and expressed the keen attention of the DoT, Abu Dhabi to cooperate with the RTA to benefit from the pioneer practices introduced by the Traffic & Roads Agency, particularly with regard to the use of electronic programs in customer service as well as the inspection of Right Of Way systems.
 

Al Tayer Briefs Spanish Delegation On RTA Road Projects, Mass Transit Systems

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), has recently received a Spanish delegation headed by HE Fernando Salazar, Vice President of the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade. The meeting was also attended by Abdul Mohsin Ibrahim, CEO of RTA Strategy & Corporate Governance Sector.

Al Tayer opened the meeting by praising the excellent relations between the UAE and the Kingdom of Spain under the wise leadership of both governments.

The meeting reviewed RTA’s experience in the move from using private vehicles to public transport means saying:
“From inception, RTA has been keen on developing mass transit systems to make them the first choice of commuters in the Emirate under a plan envisaging an increase of public transport ridership from 6% in 2006 to 34% by 2020. Under this drive, RTA has constructed the Dubai Metro project, the longest driverless metro line undertaken as a single project worldwide, and the first phase was opened on 09/09/2009. Likewise, RTA bus fleet was beefed up from 619 buses at the time of establishing the RTA to more than 1593 buses in 2010, besides operating about 800 air-conditioned bus shelters. RTA had also completed the construction of Bus Depots at Al Awir, Al Rawiyya and Al Khawaneej, while construction works are up and running in the Jebel Ali Bus Depot. In the marine transport, RTA operated the Water Bus and the Water Taxi besides renovating 154 abras.”

Al Tayer went further to say: “As a result of these efforts, mass transit in Dubai has become a dynamic system in the daily travel of residents and visitors. The number of people who used mass transit modes in 2009 has exceeded 288.777 million and the daily ridership is hovering around one million passengers. As such the contribution of public transport means to the movement of population is currently around 11 percent; which compares favourably with the 6% prevailing during 2006.”

RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director touched briefly on RTA road projects saying: “The number of lanes crossing over Dubai Creek has also soared sharply from 19 to 48 lanes; reflecting 153 per cent rise. Equally, the length of roads network increased from 8715 km in 2006 to 11217 km in 2010 in addition to the construction of 25 key interchanges.”

The Spanish delegation members hailed RTA speed delivery of infrastructure projects comprising roads, metro, upgrading public bus fleet and the integration of mass transit systems. They specifically praised the Dubai Metro project with such a stunning design as well as the high quality finishes and excellent services characterizing the project.

HE Fernando Salazar, Vice President of the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade, expressed his aspiration for boosting the cooperative and partnership relations between the two parties towards exchanging expertise and benefiting from their individual practices in the fields of public transport and rail systems. He also stated that the Spanish private sector would be interested in taking part in the projects and programs intended to be carried out by the RTA in future.
 

Dubai Customs Receives Delegation From Dubai Municipality

Inline with the mutual cooperation and exchanging expertise among the different government departments, Dubai Customs received a delegation from Dubai Municipality to learn about the Department’s HR systems especially the employment procedures, the career performance assessment, planning manpower and the available training programs for the employees.

Mr. Khalifa Abu Jamhoor, HR Manager at Dubai Customs said that the visit comes as part of the HR Department’s keenness to exchange expertise with the different government departments and authorities through making mutual visits inline with the governmental directives towards reinforcing partnership and exchanging expertise among the government departments as well as the utmost implementation of the business practices.

Mr. Abu Jamhoor stated that the Department gives much attention to the Emirati human resources and attracting them to work in the different business domains. The nationalization rate amounted to 80% at the end of October 2010 of the total 3000 employees. It is also expected to reach 81% by the end of this year as opposed to the 78% in 2009. This rate is considered among the highest rates for the government departments in
Dubai.

He also pointed out that the nationalization rate is currently 100% for the customs inspection cadre. This cadre carries out a very important national duty and constitutes the forefront in protecting the community from the dangers of smuggling narcotics and internationally illegal and prohibited items besides providing the necessary facilitations to accelerate trade and individuals movement inline with the compliance and facilitation policy.

Mrs. Amna Hmood Al Suwaidy, Senior Manager of Talent Management Section at the HR Department at Dubai Customs gave a detailed explanatory about the HR strategy at Dubai Customs as part of the general strategic vision that is stemmed from Dubai Government strategic plan. The vision of the HR strategy at Dubai Customs stands on “seeking to transform from managing human resources to managing human capital.” It also incorporates building and developing the national cadres among its objectives as well as fostering the culture of excellence and distinguished performance and developing HR systems and services.

Mrs. Al Suwaidy also introduced the Dubai Municipality delegation to the organizational structure of the HR Department which includes the Organizational Development Section, HR Support, Talent Management Section, Employee Relations Section and the Training and Development Section. She highlighted as well the responsibilities of the Talent Management Section which includes planning and specifying manpower, employment and nationalization, performance and behavioral skills assessment at the Assessment Center, career path and successive planning.

She also shed light on the Department’s employment methodology and the procedures of hiring inspectors starting from assessing the candidates and performing psychological and behavioral assessments based on the set standards including the communication ability, confronting challenges, teamwork, problem solving and other skills and educational levels.

At the end of the visit, the Dubai Municipality delegation expressed their satisfaction for the implemented HR systems at Dubai Customs. Mr. Mohammed Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Head of HR Employment Department said that the visit was very beneficial as both parties learnt about the HR systems and employment procedures at each. “the candidate assessment methodology psychologically and in terms of their behaviors and skills before they are hired is a very advanced methodology and is worth to be taken at the other government departments according to the nature of each one’s business.” He added.