Dubai World stresses commitment to Dubai Leaders Program’s excellence

The global economic turmoil offers an excellent opportunity for Dubai’s emerging generation of corporate executives to study and understand the complexities of crisis management and decision-making, according to HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World.The Dubai World Chairman made the remarks while addressing the 3rd intake of the group’s senior management executives who are undergoing custom-made leadership development under the Dubai Leaders Program (DLP) in partnership with the Wharton Business School. The 44 participants are currently in the final phase of the year-long programme.  One of the participants is from the Dubai Autism Center, and has been included as part of Dubai World’s commitment to reach out to the wider UAE community.Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman Dubai World, said:"We believe that nurturing talent plays an important role in achieving corporate success. The development of leadership skills at a personal level contributes to the growth of the company as well. This is the basis of our commitment to the Dubai Leaders Program. We believe the global economic turmoil offers an excellent opportunity for this emerging generation of corporate executives to study and understand the complexities of crisis management and decision-making. This initiative furthers our contribution to grooming the country’s future business leaders to the highest level of excellence."Abdul Qader Obaid Ali, Director of Dubai World Leadership Center (DWLC), said:"We are pleased to announce that Dubai Leaders Program has progressed as planned. The programme will help participants further develop their leadership perspective, and better equip them to face any crisis.  Dubai World management has enthusiastically supported DWLC, further strengthening Dubai Leaders Program’s outcome, which is designed to create a cadre of world-class leaders who are able to maintain the pace of Dubai’s growth."Bedoor Khouri, Manager of Dubai World Leadership Center, said:"The commencement of the final phase of Dubai Leaders Program marks an important step in our development matrix. We have developed a carefully tailored matrix in partnership with Wharton School that takes the participants through various case studies and action learning experiences in order to fine-tune their leadership skills."This year Dubai World Leadership Center is bringing Wharton School’s faculty to Dubai exclusively for the final phase sessions. The DLP participants have already spent three weeks at the Wharton campus in Philadelphia, USA. Earlier this year they also travelled on a Global Learning Journey to Hong Kong, Singapore and China.Faisal Al Raisi, Deputy Head of Development of Arabian Canal at Dubai World’s global, integrated real estate master developer Limitless and one of the DLP participants, said:"The study matrices were challenging, but it is a great learning experience. The theoretical and practical sessions we underwent at Wharton opened our eyes to new ideas and concepts of crisis evaluation and decision-making. The Global Learning Journey that followed brought us face-to-face with booming economies and different cultures. I am proud to be part of DLP, which has helped me develop not only my leadership skills, but also my overall capabilities."Dubai Leaders Program is custom-made to suit Dubai World’s corporate national leadership development goals. The participants are handpicked after a careful screening process. The chief executives of Dubai World companies nominate the list of senior emirati executives based on their job track record for the year long programme. Every year DWLC assesses around 400 applications out of which 45 are finally chosen.The previous two DLP intakes, comprising a total of 70 senior executives from all Dubai World business units, graduated in 2007 and 2008. The graduation of the third group will be held in June, 2009.

H. H. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Inaugurates Arab Health 2008

UAE vice president and prime minister and ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the four-day event and toured the exhibition, in which more than 2,200 exhibitors are taking part.

The exhibition showcases the latest medical breakthroughs and technological developments from over 65 countries. Arab Health is expected to set new records by attracting nearly 50,000 visitors from all over the world, said Minister of Health Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qutami.

The minister described the event as “the greatest science gathering in the Middle East and the Arab world and the second largest healthcare exhibition worldwide. Arab Health is a world class medical and healthcare event where the latest medical technologies are revealed and healthcare achievements are addressed,” he pointed out.
“I am confident that all the expertise brought to Arab Health by the global health industry and the scientists will benefit the development of the medical sector and health knowledge which will eventually serve entire humanity,” he stated.
 

First ’Dubai Statistics Center Award’ Announced

Dubai Statistics Center (DSC) yesterday (Tuesday, May 05, 2009) announced the winners of the first ‘Dubai Statistics Center Award’ during a ceremony held at the Dubai Police Officers’ Club. Awards were given in four categories – Government Institutions; Private Organisations; the Media; and Households – which have demonstrated their support towards statistical work.

Arif Obaid Al Muhairi, Executive Director of DSC, said that the award comes within the Center’s strategic framework which aims to activate the role of statistical work and raise awareness in different categories, and added that the award creates an environment of healthy competition. He pointed out that all levels of society, including the government departments and organisations, private institutions, individuals, families and the media have a role to play in supporting statistical work and enhance its direct contribution to planning activities and decision making.

Al Muhairi explained that organisations and individuals can contribute to statistical work, by providing timely, accurate and comprehensive data to the Center when it conducts census and statistical surveys. He said that accurate statistics are also important when issuing statistical indicators about Dubai, which form the basis for future estimates and forecasts, and for planning and decision making. Al Muhairi also revealed that the award will be presented annually as the Center continues its focus on developing the assessment standards of the candidates.

Winners of category 1 – Government institutions supporting statistical work:Five government departments and organisations won the ‘Dubai Statistics Center Award’ for the category ‘Government institutions supporting statistical work’ for the year 2008, these include: Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD), Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai Municipality, Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities (DICD) and Dubai eGovernment.

Director of DNRD, Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri received the award on behalf of DNRD, which was recognised for its continuous focus on providing statistical data, despite the complexity of Dubai’s demographic profile. DNRD, whose statistics are regularly used by planners, decision makers and strategic committees, is also an active member of the Statistical Coordination Committee in Dubai.

The award for the Department of Economic Development (DED) was received by Khalid Al Kassim, Deputy Director General for Planning and Development at DED. The department was recognised for its support of statistical work as it is the first department to provide its statistics for electronic upload, which gave DSC access to latest statistical frameworks that are used as a basis for conducting economic surveys in the emirate and for the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The department is also an active member of the Statistical Coordination Committee in Dubai.

The award for Dubai Municipality was received by H.E. Eng. Issa Al Hajj Al Midor, Assistant General Manager, General Project Affairs at Dubai Municipality. Dubai Municipality is regarded as the pioneering government department to support statistical work in the emirate as it hosted DSC when it was set up and has continuously supported the Center ever since. Dubai Municipality is also an active member of the Statistical Coordination Committee in Dubai.

The award for the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities was received by H.E. Saeed Khamis Al Marhoumi, Assistant Director General of Technical Support at DICD. The department was honoured for its initiatives in collaborating with non-profit organisations and providing statistical data for these partner agencies of long standing. DICD provided data on financial resources quickly and accurately; the information was to be used in a specialised survey as part of the calculation of the GDP.

Dubai eGovernment was also a recipient, with Matar Saeed Al Humairi, Head of Application Management Unit, Government Information Resources Planning Department, receiving the award. Dubai eGovernment was recognized for its exceptional support in providing the technical infrastructure for electronic statistical linking. It was particularly cited for enabling departments and organisations of the Dubai Government such as the Dubai Statistics Center (DSC) to participate at GITEX 2008. DSC’s portal (www.dsc.gov.ae) was launched during the event by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Dubai eGovernment’s activities during GITEX helped the government save on related expenditures.

Winners of category 2 – Private institutions supporting statistical work: Majid Al Futtaim Group, Etisalat and Emaar Properties received the ‘Dubai Statistics Center Award’ under the category “Private institutions supporting statistical work.” The cooperation of the three organisations in the Center’s 2008 economic surveys was highly commended, as they provided their required data in an accurate and comprehensive manner in record time. The award was received by Obeid Mohammed Al Shared, Financial Director, Etisalat; Mohammed Malek, Vice President, Human Resources, Majid Al Futtaim Group; and Essam Galadari, CEO of Emaar Properties. It is worth noting that these surveys provide basic data that are included as inputs for assessing the GDP of the emirate and considered important economic indicators.

Winners of category 3 – Households supporting statistical work: ‘Dubai Statistics Center Award’ for “Households Supporting Statistical Work” is intended to motivate families and individuals to fully cooperate with the Center and respond quickly to censuses and statistical surveys that require accurate and comprehensive data on families. The two households that won the award were those of Mr. Rashed Masoud and Mr. Khalid Hussein Harb.

Winners of category 4 – Media supporting statistical work:Al Bayan Newspaper was chosen as the most supportive of statistical work in Dubai, winning under the category ‘Media supporting statistical work’. The award was received by Hamad Salmeen, Head of Local Affairs at Al Bayan. The TV channel and radio station of Noor Dubai was named the most exclusive and supportive channel/radio. The event honoured distinguished journalists who have achieved their goals with regard to statistical works in accordance with the highest levels of professionalism.

During the ceremony, Al Muhairi also gave tribute to exclusive suppliers in line with the Center’s efforts to build partnerships and promote mutual interests between them. The Center’s outstanding employees for 2008 were also recognized and commended for their efforts and achievements.

UAE Sets Up Temporary Decent Housing Complex For Workers Who Violated Labour Laws

A decent housing complex will be set up to accommodate workers who violated the UAE laws of labour and residency, said Commander General of the Dubai Police Lt. Gen Dhahi Khalfan Tamim.The decision was made by the national level higher committee for labour crises management which brought together representatives of the Ministry of Labour and municipalities of all emirates.Tamim who chaired the meeting said the complex will continue to give those workers access to all decent services and amenities of dignified life, including medical care and food until all issues and disputes with their sponsors are settled in accordance with the provisions of the UAE labour law.All these problems will be amicably settled in a civilized manner by the concerned parties, i.e. the workers and owners of the companies.Tamim made these remarks in presence of Deputy Commander General of Abu Dhabi Police Maj. Gen. Obaid al-Heri al-Ketbi, Commander of Special Security Forces Maj. Gen. Salim Mohammed al-Mazrouei, Director General of National Media Council Ibrahim al-Abed.The decision was made as per the directives of the Minister of Interior H.H Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed al-Nahyan.Tamim underscored the importance of promoting a relevant security and social culture as well as of raising the awareness of owners of businesses and companies to fulfill the teachings of Islam which urge for the protection of the workers’ rights as per the UAE’s policies and the directives of the country’s leadership.The committee discussed the problems of non-payment of over-time wages, deduction of the workers’ sick leaves and weekly off-days from their annual leaves as well as the denying them the right to annual leaves.Tamim discussed the need to conduct inspection campaigns to enforce the labour laws, punish violators of labour laws and force fines on owners of accommodation units that do not comply with public safety and cleanness standards.He further reviewed reports by heads of the teams form each emirate on procedures and the outcome of inspections.
 

Al Tayer Inaugurates The Trial Run Of Water Bus Hi Tech Propellers

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads & Transport Agency inaugurated the trial run of the hi tech propellers of the Water Bus, in coordination with the German Voith Turbo Marine Co.The propulsion system, known as Vector-Prop, is a highly technological system based on fiber carbon-manufactured propulsion fans, with a high capacity to absorb vibration and shocks, and linked to a smart control system ensuring high propulsion and maneuverability while conserving energy consumption.Accompanied by the CEO of Marine Agency Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, and several departmental directors at the Agency as well as representatives of the German Co., Al Tayer boarded the Water Bus in a tour across Dubai Creek, where he attended to a briefing from the concerned individuals about the features of the new technology; which is being applied for the first time worldwide. The new technology is set to enhance the operational efficiency of the Water Bus by 75%, reduce fuel consumption by 45%, suppress noise level by 70% and reduce carbon emission by 35%. Moreover, it contributes to an enhanced mooring and docking process, better control in the event of sudden stopping, lower operational costs, and better environmental conservation levels.RTA is teaming up with the German Co. to embark on experimental operation of a Water Bus to match its operation results to the ordinary Water Bus.Al Tayer then boarded a boat of Marine Security & Safety Services, which provides services stretching along Dubai beaches. This project is one of the key projects undertaken to upgrade marine safety services and is viewed as a crucial project across the globe as it provides marine security and safety service as part of the efforts to fulfill the vision of the RTA of providing Safe and Smooth Transport for All.This excellent and unique service across local, regional and global level seeks to realize the comprehensive concept of marine safety. Marine safety services feature training, academic and executive programs; thereby elevating the Agency to a leading position worldwide by offering maritime support services. It enables the delivery of diverse and extensive maritime safety services such as tugging & towing, refueling, emergency repairs, buttery inspection and all matters related to maritime safety. Marine Agency will be profiled as a key driving body of a project that serves all seamen and stages awareness & qualification programs as well.
 

RTA 2nd Customers Council Explores Upgrading Mass Marine Transit Modes in Dubai

Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) held the second gathering of RTA Customers Council at the main auditorium of the premises RTA Public Transport Agency, under the chairmanship of Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, CEO of RTA Marine Agency and Chairperson of RTA Customers Council.

Al Mulla stated that RTA was seeking to proceed ahead with its ongoing policy of adopting the best practices to upgrade & broaden the scope of services rendered to clients and all sectors of the community by all RTA affiliated agencies. “These include marine mass transit services by means of motorized & rowing abras, water bus, water taxi and ferry Dubai. RTA is also concerned with developing navigation lines and waterways to keep up with the best global practices in this regard” he added.

Al Mulla praised the contribution of RTA customers and strategic partners in propping up the projects and initiatives launched by the RTA to achieve the intended integration of marine mass transit modes, and attract more customers to use them. “This will in turn ease traffic congestion, reduce traffic accidents, and minimize pollution; thus adds to the fulfillment of RTA vision of providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All” he stated.

The gathering was attended by the members of RTA Customers Council which comprises of: Jawad Sajwani, Director of Franchise and Enforcement Dep’t at Public Transport Agency; Omer Al Naqbi, Manager of Customer Relations Development; and Nayla Fekri, Director of the CEO of Marine Agency Office. From Marine Agency attended Hussain Al Saffar, Director of Operation & Maintenance Dep’t; Khaled Al Zahed, Director of Marine Projects Dep’t; and Sultan Al Kutbi, Director of Registration & Licensing Dep’t in addition to several RTA customers from hotels, malls, property developers, Nakheel, Emaar, Dubai Cultural & Arts Authority and Dubai Customs.

The gathering discussed a host of issues of common concern and ways of tackling them in the interest of all parties; who are keen to uplift the profile of the emirate of Dubai as a premier business, financial and tourist hub in the region.

The gathering was interceded by two video presentations. The first one was delivered by Ms. Sara Ishaaq, Senior Engineer at Marine Projects Dep’t at the Agency where she reviewed the key current and planned marine projects. She also reviewed the fleet spanning motorized abras, rowing abras, water bus, water taxi and ferry Dubai. She also spoke about the means of upgrading the mechanism of delivering the best marine mass transit services according to the highest global practices applicable in this regard, and screened the Model Stations Project, Security & Safety Services Project and Jet Ski Project.

The second video presentation, delivered by Hussain Al Saffar, Director of Operation & Maintenance Dep’t at the Agency, provided a definition of the general marine mass transit lines, fares applicable to each marine mode, working hours, trip time and technical specifications of marine mass transit modes. He also elaborated on the service of the tourist water bus and the extent of benefiting from this service.

The gathering discussed the possibility of using marine mass transit modes (motorized & rowing abra, water bus, and water taxi as well as the biggest project of Ferry Dubai) in providing transit services to passengers. The representative of Nakheel stated that the Co. would wish to benefit from this service in transporting its employees, and also showed interest in water taxi service; which was welcomed by hotels with water fronts, particularly during the festivities held by the emirate in winter season. The attendants explored the possibility of establishing a common water taxi station to serve the hotels which have water fronts.

At the end of the gathering, mementos were presented to the participants in demonstration of RTA thanks for attending and participating in the event. For their part, the attendants praised the assiduous efforts of the RTA to upgrade the level of services rendered to the public at world-class standards applicable in this regard.