Abu Dhabi: Hundreds of Emirati volunteers were on hand for this year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, assisting and helping the thousands of spectators around the Yas Marina Circuit.

The 256 volunteers were from the Emirates Foundation’s Takatof Programme for Social Volunteering and Sanid. As part of their initiative, the Emirates Foundation also provided 40 special branded cars to transport fans to and from the venue.

“Our Takatof and Sanid volunteers have demonstrated once again through their commitment and dedication, their abilities in organisation and facilitating large events such as Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Etihad Airways Grand Prix and we are proud of all their efforts to ensure successful execution of a world class sporting event, said Maytha Al Habsi, deputy chief executive officer at Emirates Foundation.

“As the national foundation of the UAE, we stand committed to utilise all our expertise and knowledge to serve the vision of the UAE and activate the role of Emirati youth,” she added.

Ruqaya Al Bloushi, 25, who worked as a team captain, said she gained valuable skills from the experience.

“I decided to volunteer because I wanted to help my country for such a big occasion on the world stage. Volunteering is something very beneficial because you get to do something useful and gain new skills during your free time,” she said. “As the team captain it was my responsibility to assign where the volunteers should go, and to also make sure that everything was working smoothly. The great thing was that all of the volunteers were very enthusiastic and happy to follow instructions, and so it was a great team effort,” she added.

Al Bloushi also said the volunteers provided a good opportunity for people to interact with Emiratis.

“There are people from all nationalities attending this event, and so we would sometimes get questions from them about our traditional clothing, and we would explain what the dresses are called, like the abaya for example.”

Abdullah Al Shehi, 29, who also volunteered, said he was happy to to give a positive image of Emiratis.

“This is a special event and we are dealing with 200 nationalities from all over the world, so it’s a great opportunity for them to see who Emirati people are, and to also present a positive image.

“It was a lot of work, I was always helping guide people to their places, or helping them if they were lost,” he added.

“Overall it was a great experience for me as I got to meet people from so many different countries, and personally it also helped improve my communication skills so I have gotten a lot out of this,” he said.

Mariam Al Hamli, 18, another volunteer at the event, said she was happy to volunteer and she enjoyed meeting new people.

“This is an international event for the whole world to see, so it’s an honour for me to serve my country in this way, greeting and helping spectators who have come from all around the world.

“I have travelled a lot so I was able to communicate and properly manage people of so many different nationalities, I like meeting new people so I enjoyed the volunteering opportunity,” she added.