The frustration at not seeing publications dedicated to Emirati issues tackled by UAE nationals has made a group of Zayed University students take matters into their own hands.
Final year Public Relations and Advertising students Zainab Al Abbas, Asma Al Bulooki and Aliah Bin Haider launched their magazine +971 last Thursday at Dubai Mall. They describe the magazine as a "gateway to the Emirati lifestyle" and more importantly as a "for Emiratis, by Emiratis" publication.
The magazine started off as a student project but they managed to secure sponsorship for their first issue and hope to launch it as a full-fledged publication in the near future.
"It's a glossy magazine that started as a university project but if someone wants to fund us it will come out quarterly and be a commercial venture," they said.
"We had the idea for this magazine because we noticed that Emirati people and businesses don't get enough attention in English and Arabic media," said Asma. "The magazines out there cover mostly international stories — Syrian and Lebanese artists, celebrities and business people."
She added: "We thought it was our turn to shine and also help Emiratis see what they are doing in their community."
Working together
"We all had the same role of gathering content, emailing contributors, getting advertisers and sponsors when we put the magazine together," said Zainab.
With three editors for the magazine, photography was contributed and overseen by a photography student — also a UAE national — at ZU. The graphic design was done by fellow ZU student, Amerah Habib, who they regard as "an amazing artist".
Asma said the magazine carries a little bit of everything but steered clear of political stories. "We have lifestyle stories, we feature artists at university and look at the hidden treasures in our community."
"We wouldn't mind if this was our career and business venture," said Asma. "My group members and I have a passion for fashion and airline magazines because they are very luxurious and rich with information."
She said +971 would be a product people would buy quarterly and hold on to.
The editors said the response from advertisers and sponsors was mixed. "Because it's the first issue some of them weren't sure; but a lot were willing to send their advertisements for which we negotiated a price."
The students started compiling content for the magazine in October and ran a social media campaign this month to create a buzz around the product.
