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ABU DHABI, 1st September, 2021 – The third virtual session of the “Digital Next Leadership Series” will convene with global industry experts and leaders on Wednesday, 8th September 2021, to discuss the role of governments worldwide in shaping the future of data.
To be held under the theme “Future of Data”, the session will be hosted by the Department of Government Support, represented by Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, and organised by Messe Frankfurt Middle East.
Renowned industry experts from the global public and private sectors will take part in a panel discussion titled “The Future of Data: How Can Governments Create Data-Driven Ecosystems?”
The panel speakers comprise Dr. Mohamed Abdulhameed Al Askar, Director-General – Abu Dhabi Digital Authority; Dan Hu, CEO, G42 Cloud; Kristian Møller, Director-General, Agency for Data Supply and Efficiency, Denmark; John Sheridan, Digital Director, National Archives, United Kingdom, and Dr. Monsak Socharoentum, Vice President of Data Solutions, Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), Thailand.
Before the panel discussion, Dr. Al Askar will present a case study focusing on “Future of Data”. The session will be concluded by a presentation on “The Hidden Data Economy” by Michael Connaughton, Head of Data Innovation, EMEA, Oracle.
Dr. Al Askar said, “Through our discussions, we will endeavour to identify current challenges and maximise opportunities to build an inclusive and sustainable society. The third leadership forum will provide us with a platform to further reinforce our cooperation and quickly start building the necessary foundations, especially at a government level, for a future where data is the most valuable asset.”
The session is part of the four-sessions “Digital Next Leadership Series”, which will be hosted until December 2021. It will lead up to the 2022 Digital Next Summit slated to take place on 22nd and 23rd February, 2022, under the theme “Enabling Government of the Future”.
The summit will focus on fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors to deliver government services.
This year, the forum’s objectives are to create a unique platform for ongoing dialogue on enabling the government of the future; explore new ideas by bringing together the public and private sectors to harness the power of digital technologies that are reshaping the future of society, and dive deep into the key pillars of government digital transformation.
Furthermore, the sessions will discuss how thought leadership and international perspectives affect various aspects of government services, digital government solutions, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital ecosystem and public-private partnerships. The topics are selected based on the Digital Next Summit’s content pillars of Gx Next, Data Next, Government of the future, and Cyber Next.

DUBAI, 1st September, 2021 – Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) revealed that its contracts with Dubai SMEs in 2020 amounted to AED101 million, and AED334 million in total in the last three years.
The RTA reiterated its support to national enterprises affiliated with Dubai SMEs. Such support is reflected in the Government Procurement Programme, and concessions granted in contractual procedures of several projects and services required by the RTA.
“The RTA is one of the leading government entities in supporting the business of national enterprises affiliated to Dubai SMEs since 2014. Once again, it was the top supporter of Dubai SMEs through the Government Procurement Programme. It has now maintained this position for the third time running (2018-2020),” said Saeed Al Marri, Director of Contracts and Procurement, Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector, RTA.
“The RTA’s contracts with Dubai SMEs amounted to AED119 million in 2018, AED114 million in 2019, and AED101 million in 2020, which means contracts worth AED334 million in total. It also celebrated Dubai SMEs as part of an annual event to felicitate three categories of entities engaged with the RTA namely outsourcing firms, vendors and investors,” Al Marri added.
Commenting on the activities and initiatives in support of Dubai SMEs in the first half of this year, Al Marri reported that the authority granted concessions to Dubai SMEs and used to invite them for the release of several tenders. Three contracts and 34 purchase orders had been assigned to those enterprises.
“The RTA charted out a plan involving seven initiatives comprising seven aspects in support of Dubai SMEs. Namely, it formed an internal team to support Dubai SMEs, exempted all affiliated enterprises from the initial guarantees of contracts and services worth less than AED500,000 while keeping final guarantees, and designated projects to SMEs in a way that the list of invitees would be restricted exclusively to them. The RTA also waived 50 percent of bidding fees for Dubai SMEs and set up a dedicated communication channel (SME.Procurement@rta.ae) to lend support to them in screening their needs and extending all possible facilities to them,” he stated.
“The RTA recognised the best agency or sector in supporting Dubai SMEs during the annual vendor felicitation event. It also launched an initiative to honour companies, such as subcontractors, that conducted the highest number of transactions with Dubai SMEs, during the annual event for honouring the best vendors,” he further added.

ABU DHABI, 1st September, 2021 – Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), will head an FNC delegation that will travel to Austria from 7th to 10th September, 2021, to participate in the fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament and the first Global Parliamentary Summit on Counter-Terrorism.
The two events, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in collaboration with the Austrian Government and the United Nations (UN), will be attended by over 100 speakers of parliaments.
The FNC delegation will include Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Head of the FNC’s Parliamentary Division at the IPU and Member of the IPU’s Executive Committee, Sarah Falkinaz, Member of the Division at the IPU and Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Committee with European Parliaments, Mariam bin Thaniya, Head of the Parliamentary Division at the Mediterranean Parliamentary Association, and Afraa Rashid Al Busti, Assistant Secretary-General for Parliamentary Communication.
Ghobash will participate in the World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, held on 7th and 8th September, under the theme, “Parliaments for Peace, People and Planet.” He will be a keynote speaker in a panel discussion on the topic, “Parliamentary Openness and Transparency in Return for Security: How to Achieve the Balance.”
Ghobash and speakers of other parliaments will then discuss key topics on the event’s agenda, and he will deliver a speech, entitled, “Combatting Misleading Information and Hate Speech on the Internet and Elsewhere requires Stronger Regulations.”
The event will also discuss other topics that include the international response to COVID-19, the collective capacity to work for the interests of communities, achieving sustainable development while prioritising human wellbeing and the environment, cancelling laws that discriminate against women to achieve gender equality and emergency measures adopted by governments requiring parliamentary approval.
The general topics of the event will coincide with panel discussions on creating a new world charter for gender equality, the need to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on democracy, recovery after the pandemic, the need to address climate change and support sustainable development, and parliaments and global governance.
In the closing session, the IPU will present reports on the discussions and issue the final declaration of the conference.

DUBAI, 1st September, 2021 – The Environment Business Majlis held a session dedicated to exploring viable opportunities with private sector partners related to the food and beverage sector, farming, agricultural technologies, and food safety and sustainability.
Hosted at the Capital Club Dubai, the meeting brought together stakeholders from the UAE’s food sector. These included KRISPR, an urban indoor vertical farming start-up, The Futurist Company, an agri-tech start-up, Trust with Trade Group, an international services, manufacturing, and trading company, Pure Harvest Smart Farms, a regional innovator in sustainable agriculture, Caviarri, a provider of high-end caviar products, and SAP EMEA South, a leading software developer for the management of business processes.
The session aimed to address the challenges of food security through leveraging innovative technologies to revolutionise the food sector.
The meeting kicked off with opening remarks by Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, followed by presentations from the stakeholders that highlighted the core operations of their businesses and potential areas of collaboration with the Majlis.
Dr Al Nuaimi said, “Given the UAE’s limited arable land and water shortage, developing new agricultural technologies that are sustainable as well as economically viable is the only way we can enhance the country’s food production and boost national food security. At the same time, these innovations must address the critical water-energy-food nexus, reduce the carbon footprint of the agricultural sector, and optimise resource use.”
Emphasising the important role of the private sector in strengthening the UAE’s food security, he added, “In addition to the government’s many past, present, and future initiatives, one fact is clear: The private sector is our long-standing partner in action. If we are to tackle food security challenges and deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need everyone to come on board.”
The minister noted that sustainable food systems support three of the SDGs – Goal 2: Zero Hunger, Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and Goal 13: Climate Action.
In conclusion, he said, “We are looking to build solid partnerships with prominent businesses that promote responsible agriculture investment, develop climate-smart farming technologies, run food waste reduction initiatives, and operate food safety and smart labs.”
Established in 2016, the Environment Business Majlis serves as a platform to encourage private sector entities to invest in various environmental and economic domains and become dynamic contributors to the UAE’s sustainability agenda.

DUBAI, 1st September, 2021 – Following the huge success of the first DXB Snow Run, Dubai Sports Council and Majid Al Futtaim are back promising more thrills and chills when the second edition of the novel run takes place on the slopes of Ski Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates, in -4C, on September 17.
Registration for the 2nd DXB Snow Run is open now, and men and women of all nationalities – Emiratis, expatriates as well as tourists – aged 16 and above can participate. This year, the organisers have added a second 5km category to the original 3km Run, thus doubling the fun, and those interested can register through the official website of Dubai Sports Council, www.dubaisc.ae or the PremierOnline website (https://www.premieronline.com/event/dxb_snow_run_5567).
The inaugural DXB Snow Run, organised as part of Dubai Sports Council and Ski Dubai’s ‘DXB Snow Week’, attracted participants from 46 different nations, with a big number of them being Emiratis and tourists, and Buti Al Nuaimi of the UAE topped the timesheet in the men’s category, while Pia Hansske of Germany was fastest among the ladies.
The 2020 DXB Snow Run was the first such event to be staged in this part of the world, and most certainly, it was the world’s first snow running competition to take place in the summer, and that too in a desert.
Organised in the early weeks of the reopening of Dubai’s sports sector last summer, the 2020 DXB Snow Run took place with an all-encompassing sanitisation and physical distancing plan in place, alongside other precautionary measures.
To ensure guests can enjoy a comfortable experience with added peace of mind, Ski Dubai is exceeding the recommended health and safety guidelines.
The 2nd DXB Snow Run is being organised under the framework of Dubai Sports Council’s plan to popularise snow sports in Dubai, in cooperation with Ski Dubai, and provide all the necessary means for its growth and development, based on the Council’s desire to create a diverse sports environment, which caters to the needs of every members of Dubai’s community.
Under this framework, Ski Dubai has hosted a number of events recently, including the world’s first indoor edition of Red Bull Jump & Freeze on July 9 this year. It is going to be a busy venue this year with more than 10 events scheduled to take place at the venue, including national and international tournaments like the UAE Alpine Ski Championship, UAE National Ski and Snowboard Freestyle Championship and the 12th edition of Ice Warrior Challenge, which is one of the favourite events of the country’s obstacle-challenge enthusiasts.

The process of manpower planning remains vital to any organisation to effectively plan for the people, the Ogun State Head of Service, Alhaja Selimot Ottun has said.

Alhaja Ottun who stated this in Abeokuta while declaring open a day capacity training programme put together by the Bureau of Establishments and Training for Establishments Desk Officers drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), said it is important to build capacity to further assist the government in manpower planning for accurate estimate on employees needed to accomplish set targets.

Speaking on the theme; ‘Mastering the intricacies of preparation of Establishments Proposal’ Alhaja Ottun explained that proper utilisation of human resources would eliminate challenges associated with unemployment and intricacies involved in staffing.

“The importance of personnel and manpower estimates, as a component of the annual budget cannot be over-emphasised. Government needs accurate data inputs from different quarters and sectors for proper planning”, she said.

The Head of Service charged the participating officers to ensure that manpower proposals are properly and accurately collated to support the government with necessary information and figures for adequate staffing of its workforce.

“As Establishments Desk Officers in your agencies, you have the burden of ensuring that manpower proposals are accurately collated, to ensure that government is equipped with proper information and figures to ensure adequate staffing of its MDAs”, Ottun charged.

In her opening address, the Permanent Secretary in the Bureau, Mrs. Lydia Fajounbo said the training was in line with the inclusive approach of the present administration, to improve on the preparation of the annual manpower proposals, as an essential part of the budget.

In his contribution, one of the facilitators, a retired Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Adekunle Adegbite, said it is pertinent for organisations to maximally utilise human, financial and technological resources, to achieve corporate goals, urging the participants to make good use of the knowledge gained.

ABU DHABI, 1st September, 2021 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi Global Market has announced that more than 90 innovative companies from all over the world have joined the 2021 Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival.
The global research tour was launched within the Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival last June and will continue until October 2021, and includes more than 50 countries to explore the best emerging companies in the financial technology field in the world through a series of dialogue and competitive sessions during which participants must review their technological solutions to select the best innovations by the jury.
The winners in each station will join the rest of the Fintech 100 participants in the festival, and will be invited to showcase their solutions and identify potential investors at the Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival, which will be held in its hybrid version this year from November 22-24, 2021.
Emmanuel Jevanakis, CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at ADGM, said: “We are proud to witness first-hand the outstanding fintech talent at every stop of the research tour so far, especially as we look to connect Abu Dhabi with many fintech hubs around the world. The world, and finding more advanced startups in the field of financial technology, which will all meet in Abu Dhabi next November within the Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival.”
The research tour visited 30 countries, starting with the UAE, then the Netherlands, France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Africa, the United Kingdom, and Central Europe, while the next research tour’s stations include South America, which began on September 1, 2021, and then India, the Nordic countries, Singapore, Southeast Asian countries, Israel and the Middle East. North Africa, Turkey and Italy.
Twenty-nine fintech startups were selected among these stations.
In addition to hosting sessions for companies to showcase their solutions and innovations to select the best FinTech startups, the research tour also includes interviews with FinTech leaders, heads of major global companies and investors.
Notable speakers at this year’s research stations to date have included Mayor of the City of London, Eugene Danielkes, CEO of Mambo, Larry Diamond, CEO of Zipco, Simon Long, CEO of Wellab Group, Ron Kaliva, President of Network International, Lord William Russell, Mayor of London and Simon Paris, CEO of Finstra, Hefery Sprecher, Chairman and CEO of the Intercontinental Exchange and Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and Anthony Sackermushi, Managing Partner of Scapridge Capital.

Sharjah, 1st September, 2021 – Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, received, on Wednesday, Lieutenant-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, and his accompanying delegation, with the aim of reviewing the best police practices and exchanging ideas and experiences between the two sides.
This came with the aim of strengthening the work system Security forces, at the Sharjah Police Science Academy, in the presence of Brigadier General Dr. Mohammed Khamis Al Athmni, Director General of the Sharjah Police Science Academy, and a number of senior officers.
During the visit, Al Shamsi welcomed Al Marri, and thanked him for accepting the invitation that serves the interests of security work through the exchange of ideas and projects, praising the pioneering role played by Dubai Police and the ways of development it pursues in all areas of security work.
Lieutenant-General Al Marri extended his thanks and appreciation to his Sharjah Police counterpart, for the invitation and the warm reception, expressing his great admiration for the smart shooting range, praising this achievement that adds to the solid record of the Ministry of Interior and Sharjah Police.

DUBAI, 1st September, 2021 – Under the patronage of HRH Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, Crown Prince of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and as part of the strategic partnership between the UAE and Jordan in the field of government modernisation; the Jordanian Government honoured winners of the 2nd edition of the “Crown Prince Award for Best Government Service Application.”
The second edition of the award, launched in July 2020 as part of the government’s knowledge exchange programme, received 122 participations from 25 Jordanian universities submitted by 228 students. Out of those participations, 85 apps were evaluated, focusing mainly on health, environment and business environment, in addition to other vital sectors.
The first place went to the “Nabad” app, which provides an integrated platform for health facilities and blood donors, and monitors blood and organs donation needs. “FarmJo,” an app contributing to enhancing the efforts of Jordan in achieving food security, won second place, while the “Dawai” app, which provides a comprehensive digital pharmacy enabling patients to review medicines and communicate with doctors, won third place.
Winners of the “Crown Prince Award for Best Government Service Application,” initially launched in April 2019, were honoured during a virtual ceremony attended by an array of ministers and officials from the governments of the two countries.
The award crowns the efforts of joint teams from both countries, which worked together to complete the knowledge workshops, evaluate the apps, and ensure the selection of the best ideas, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, in which many governments transitioned towards virtual platforms.
To encourage and motivate university students to provide innovative solutions via smartphone apps, the award focuses on empowering students to contribute to developing simple government services around the clock that exceed customers’ expectations.
During the ceremony, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Teleworking Applications, said that the strategic cooperation between the UAE and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan confirms the close relations between the two countries that are based on integration and common perspective.
He added that the partnership and the award further embody the vision of the UAE’s leadership on the importance of sharing the best government experiences and reflects the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, on enhancing knowledge partnerships globally to create a better future, by empowering university students and preparing them to lead the future.
AlOlama hailed the efforts of H.H. Crown Prince Al Hussein, which attracted distinguished students from Jordanian universities, and acted as an incentive for them to present new ideas for achieving positive change and developing government work.
From his part, Ahmed Al Hanandeh, the Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, said that the second edition of the award is an extension of the success of the first. It has gone through several stages administered by joint Jordanian-Emirati teams, who worked on developing promotional campaigns in 35 universities and evaluating 122 apps.
He added that the award reflects H.H. Crown Prince Al Hussein’s keenness on promoting creativity and innovation in Jordanian youth and their ability to register great achievements. He extended his gratitude to the UAE for its commendable efforts that lead to the success of the initiative.
The second edition of the award received apps for projects in various fields, primarily, The University of Jordan, the Hashemite University, Princess Sumaya University (PSUT), and Al Balqa Applied University (BAU) made up 50 percent of the total number of participations. In addition, 50 percent of the applications focused on the health and business environment.
The winning apps were evaluated and selected based on four main criteria: efficiency and effectiveness (35 percent), ease of use (30 percent), innovation (25 percent), and overall impression (10 percent). The award included 10 categories, such as tourism, agriculture and food security, education, health, social affairs, transport, business environment, youth, security and crisis management, and refugees.
The total value of the prize amounted to AED500,000 (100,000 Jordanian dinars), of which 50,000 dinars was awarded to the first prize winner, 30,000 dinars to the second prize winner, and 20,000 dinars to the third prize winner.

DUBAI, 1st September, 2021 – The General Department of Transport and Rescue at Dubai Police and the Emirates Auction, the leading company in the field of the management and organisation of public and online auctions in the Middle East, have signed an agreement under which the latter will provide towing and removal services for accident-damaged light vehicles and bikes on all Dubai roads.
The signing ceremony took place recently at the headquarters of the General Department of Logistics Support at Dubai Police.
The agreement was signed by Brigadier General Khaled Ali Fahad Shuhail, Acting Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Community Happiness and Logistics Support, and Abdullah Matar Al Mannai, Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates Auction, in the presence of officials from both sides.
Commenting on the agreement, Brigadier General Khalid Ali Fahad Shuhail, said: “We, at Dubai Police, are keen to strengthen cooperation with various local government and private agencies in order to develop and enhance road safety and security operations and speed response in dealing with all emergency incidents, in a manner that benefits society and contribute to enhancing security and safety on public roads.
Shuhail commended the strategic partnership with Emirates Auction, which witnessed a paradigm shift in fostering cooperation in the joint areas of work especially in light of the pioneering experience of Emirates Auction in providing towing services for accident-damaged cars.
He stressed that advanced capabilities owned by Emirates Auctions will enable Dubai Police to enhance its readiness to deal with various road accidents.
Expressing his company’s pride in strengthening cooperation and strategic partnership with Dubai Police, Abdullah Matar Al Mannai underscored that the agreement reflects the increasing confidence in the company’s performance and its great achievements since it was founded. It is also a qualitative addition to the list of strategic partners that the company deals with.
Emirates Auctions is keen to harness all its expertise to implement the requirements of the agreement in a way that meets the aspirations of the Dubai Police and achieves a happier society, added Al Mannai.
Under this agreement, the company will provide towing services for accident-damaged light vehicles and bikes on all Dubai roads, he noted.