UAE | Government

UAE minister stresses criteria in rating national identity

Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, has stressed that the threat to national identity is a major concern for the government and all citizens, but efforts to preserve it are not being coordinated.

  • By Eman Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
  • Published: 00:17 April 16, 2008
  • Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, has stressed that the threat to national identity is a major concern for the government and all citizens, but efforts to preserve it are not being coordinated.

"Before organising the conference, a complete study was done by the ministry in cooperation with many official parties and international experts. The study lasted for more than one year to analyse threats to national identity," he told Gulf News.

"According to the study, the basic elements of national identity that cannot be changed are: religion, race and origin. And the positive thing in the study is that all Emiratis are concerned about the factors." Al Owais pointed out that what has changed are the economic, social and political perceptions.

He noted that the UAE is one of the first Arab countries to adopt specific cultural criteria for establishing national identity.

System

"The ministry's new website that will be launched today has a questionnaire. It contains 100 questions to rate national identity and get an immediate reply through the system," he said.

Al Owais is optimistic about the future and looks at the positive side of the identity issue. "We need to organise efforts and discuss it wisely," he said.

"This conference is the first step in coordinating efforts and discussing all point of view with transparency," he said.

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