Abu Dhabi: The world should continue to invest in sustainable development through using latest technology and finding solutions to today’s challenges, said Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
From a man building an igloo in the North Pole to maintain warmer temperature to setting up a committee to find solutions to air traffic at Heathrow Airport and using 3D technology, Shaikh Saif said that likewise, the UAE announced that it will celebrate exporting the last barrel of oil 50 years from now because it adopts the right vision for the future.
Stressing that social media networking inspires young generations to think positively and see a future filled with possibility, Shaikh Saif compared social media to legislative, executive and judicial powers, saying that the social media can now be called “the fifth power as the press was often described as the ‘fourth’ power”.
“Social media has become the most powerful tool to shape public opinion as there are 2.3 billion active social media users, mostly youngsters, with 89 per cent of youth aged 18-29 active on social media networks,” Shaikh Saif told the Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament.
Shaikh Saif said social networking has lots of good points, giving the example of Saeed Al Rumaithi — an established social media influencer since 2006 and the youngest 31-year old Federal National Council (FNC) member from Abu Dhabi, who successfully won a seat at the Council solely through his active engagement with the public via social media.
Shaikh Saif said that no government or institution can reach out to 203 billion people as social media has managed.
Shaikh Saif condemned the use of social media to promote violent terrorism and praised Twitter for deleting 125,000 Deash accounts.
Shaikh Saif called on other social media companies to follow suit and expand anti-terror teams to monitor and delete extremist content.
The Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb, praised the summit, saying it will face up to many challenges facing the world, including terrorism, policies to divide the world along racial and religious lines.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Summit through a televised speech that the international community looks at the Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament to contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals — which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/Aids and providing universal primary education — through translating these goals into legislation to promote gender equality and world peace and security.
Federica Mogherini, EU Foreign Policy Chief and vice-president of the European Commission, praised the UAE’s woman empowerment experience as a model to be emulated by the world and especially Europe.
Mogherini supported the summit, calling on all countries to back women empowerment efforts.
The UAE’s leadership has an aim to raise the country’s ranking to one of the top 25 countries in the world for gender equality by 2021 through women’s empowerment initiatives.
Main Sessions:
Reimaging the future: The megatrends shaping our world
This session addressed the overarching theme of uniting members of parliament to shape the future of our planet. It encompassed a variety of topics including geopolitical, socioeconomic, educational, environmental and technological megatrends that are influencing our future and the way our world is governed.
United to Advance Peace and Security
The world is facing an unprecedented rise in terrorism across the globe, as states are engulfed by growing conflicts that have impacted security within and across state borders. This session provided a platform for influencers from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sectors to address the issue of security and to devise concurrent plans to advance peace and stability in our world.
The session addressed the key question: “How will parliaments unite to fight terror and help end the root causes?”
United to Secure Economic Prosperity for Future Generations
As youth take the foreground as agents of change, they are facing major challenges that affect economic prosperity, including scarcity of resources, changing demographics and hyper-urbanisation in many regions of the world. This session addressed the key question: “How can parliaments work together to develop innovative policies to tackle shared socio-economic challenges, including achieving equitable development?”
United to Safeguard a Healthy Planet
A look at innovative approaches for protecting our planet and how to lead the way through effective parliamentary action. The session examined the parliamentary implications of the Paris climate agreement and relevant sustainable development goals.
The closing session of the summit on Tuesday will be presided over by Saber Chowdhury, president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council
The summit will culminate with recommendations emanating from this summit and building on declarations from previous IPU-sponsored meetings.
