Dubai: The UAE has embraced innovation as a work culture and lifestyle to build a knowledge-based community led by forward-thinking innovators who support the UAE’s progress and strengthen its international position, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said ahead of UAE Innovation Week 2016 beginning on Sunday.
The second edition of UAE Innovation Week will be launched on Sunday under the slogan ‘Innovation … daily practice’ and will run until November 26.
“Innovation is a sustainable wealth and key pillar of the development of peoples and the progress of nations toward the future. The UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has become a global innovation platform and a top destination for investors. It is now a key magnet for the best minds and professionals in the world since it leaves its doors wide open for innovators and provide them with a conducive environment and opportunities to unlock their potential and innovate to bring about a positive change in the community and build on the knowledge-based economy,” Shaikh Mohammad said.
“We have successfully transformed innovation into a working culture in the government and a daily practice. In the next stage, we need to focus on social innovation; we want the society to actively participate in proposing useful initiatives and ideas and the government is on standby to adopt them and bring them to fruition,” Shaikh Mohammad noted.
“We need initiatives and projects that focus on upgrading the society across all sectors and set the stage for the future to improve all aspects of life. For us, innovation is a framework and we perceive its implementation in various rendered services and public initiatives,” the Vice-President said.
He urged individuals, companies, academic institutions and universities to develop innovative laboratories and platforms and to intensify their research efforts in all vital sectors to build an integrated system that supports creating a real change in everyone’s life and cement the UAE’s position as a global innovation capital.
“We learnt from history lessons that old civilisations that prevailed would not have prevailed with their strength and material wealth only but with their best efforts and renewable abilities to innovate new solutions for their challenges. However, civilisations that failed to prevail had already failed to work and to learn and find future opportunities,” Shaikh Mohammad said.
Stressing the importance of everyone’s participation in adopting the innovation approach, Abdullah Al Shaibani, secretary-general of the Executive Council of Dubai and member of the Supreme Committee of UAE Innovation Week, said, “After announcing 2015 as the year of innovation by Shaikh Khalifa and dedicating a week for innovation by Shaikh Mohammad, it has become clear how much the leadership is keen on keeping up to date with latest scientific developments and the resultant innovations and their efforts to harness them to realise the UAE vision 2021 and Dubai plan 2021.
“We are committed to implement the vision of our leadership and the organising committee has coordinated and selected distinguished activities and events that target not only the local community but are in line with the country’s visions and efforts aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the UAE locally and internationally,” Al Shaibani added.
Go to http://www.uaeinnovates.gov.ae/ to find out about innovation week activities near you.
