Abu Dhabi: A composite indicator that measures the sense of belonging and national identity of Emiratis reads 90 per cent and targets 100 per cent by 2021, a top official told the Federal National Council yesterday (Tuesday).
Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, said the index expresses the sense of pride that citizens feel over belonging to the UAE as an initiative of the ministry, among a dozen other initiatives to boost national identity among citizens.
HE was answering a question by Ahmad Abdullah Al Amash, a member from Ras Al Khaimah.
The FNC members repeatedly expressed concern about national identity and culture because of the influx of expatriates who come with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.
Al Amash said this flow of expatriate workforce has led to an imbalance in the demographic structure and has had a major impact on the UAE’s cultural identity.
“Our values, customs, traditions, language and national personality are all in danger,” Al Amash said.
He added President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan called for dedicating 2008 as a year of national identity. The President’s call was in line with the strategic vision adopted by the federal government, which aims to promote and preserve national identity and launch initiatives that establish identity and its values and develop the community accordingly.
The Ministry of Culture and Youth defines national identity as a system of social and moral values associated with the lifestyle of the people in the past, present and future. This system is founded on invoking the essence of the people’s existence and analyses the factors behind its survival, in order to preserve its existence in the face of the challenges of dispersion, extinction, disintegration and demise. This can be achieved by strengthening the fundamental concepts of belonging: citizenship, work and productive initiatives.
Shaikh Nahyan stressed strengthening national identity is an issue of national, religious, past, future, collective and individual commitment to the cultural values, customs, traditions, language, dialect, doctrine and faith of the nation.
“Promoting and enshrining these elements is a collective national duty incumbent upon the community, individuals, government and institutions,” Shaikh Nahyan said.
He added the development of national identity can only be done through community-supported systems and tools, influencing people and their behaviour, so that it may create a society capable of facing challenges, and enjoying the most important and necessary foundations of social, behavioural and national tools. These tools consist of religion, education, family education, leadership, media and arts.
