UAE | Heritage and Culture

More want to learn about UAE's culture

There has been a huge rise over the past year in the number of UAE-based companies sending their employees on cultural awareness courses.

  • By Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:21 August 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Dubai: There has been a huge rise over the past year in the number of UAE-based companies sending their employees on cultural awareness courses.

The Shaikh Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) and Sahary Gate, both located in Dubai's historic Bastakia Quarter, told Gulf News on Sunday they were busier than ever before as more and more companies take the effort to educate their new employees on the culture and heritage of the UAE.

Karen Allan, an administrator at SMCCU, which was opened under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said UAE-based companies and large foreign corporations were increasingly contacting them about their courses or for general advice.

She said: "We have noticed over the last year that more companies are contacting us about introducing a cultural aspect to the induction courses they offer new employees. Other organisations are simply looking for advice on how to set up their own programme."

The centre, which operates under the banner "Open Door, Open Minds", was set up in 1995 because Shaikh Mohammad saw the need to lower the cultural barrier between families. He also wanted to help expatriates understand the traditions and customs of the UAE.

Allan added: "The companies who have used our programme all say they are a lot more aware about what their colleagues' lives are like and the business etiquette of the UAE. They feel more comfortable talking and socialising with local people."

Trouble

The popularity of the course comes at a time when expatriates are regularly getting into trouble with the authorities for acting in a manner that is deemed disrespectful to UAE society.

Leila Arbouz, Managing Partner of Sahary Gate, a Bastakia-based enterprise that aims to "deliver the cross-communication skills necessary to work and live in the UAE", said cultural awareness programmes were proving to be more popular than ever before.

"Our programmes cater mainly to new hotel employees and corporate clients but we also provide services for all the country's major tour operators as well as several incentive groups.

"We also run special induction programmes for large US companies that last approximately two hours; it helps give their employees a quick rundown of business etiquette in the UAE before they start their meetings. I think it is very important to be culturally aware because a lot of people are reading things in the newspapers and are totally terrified.

"People are signing up for courses because they are unaware of the do's and don'ts of the UAE; they want to know what their rights are."

Gulf News spoke to some of Dubai's biggest employers of foreign workers to see what training they offered new expatriates.

A spokesperson from Nakheel said the company had a code of conduct that outlines standards expected of employees in the workplace.

He said: "This code demonstrates our intention to ensure that behaviour in the workplace supports our eight defined core values and allows us to conduct our business with integrity without causing offence, while always respecting our local customs and culture.

A spokesperson for the Jumeirah Group said the company prided itself on its own orientation programme, which all new employees must attend within a month of joining the company. She said: "We have a state-of-the-art centre for training and development, which offers a wide array of training programmes for our employees including cultural awareness. Our Culture Connect [cultural awareness course] is mandatory for all colleagues employed as supervisors."

Rules: The decent way

  • Dress modestly when in public areas such as shopping malls, covering at least the tops of your arms and legs. Women wearing short skirts or tight tops may attract unwanted attention.
  • Don't swear in public or make offensive gestures while driving.
  • Avoid engaging in extravagant displays of public affection.
  • Don't get involved with drugs or illegal substances as the penalties for possession are very severe.
  • Eating, drinking and smoking in public is forbidden during Ramadan.
  • Don't drink alcohol on the streets or act drunk in public. There is a zero-tolerance policy on drink driving.
  • Ask for permission before taking photographs of nationals, particularly women, in national dress.

What do you do to better your understanding of the UAE's culture? Do you think more centres should be set up to help increase awareness among residents? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.


Your comments


Thank you for posting information on local cultural awareness issues that expatriates should know about. Please post some information on rules for non muslims to follow during Ramadan.
carolina
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 18, 2008, 10:03

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