Abu Dhabi launches Department of Community Development

Abu Dhabi: With an aim of promoting social welfare in areas such as health, family cohesion, housing and inclusion, the Department of Community Development was officially launched on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi at an inauguration ceremony held at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

The new department will serve both locals and expatriate residents alike in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, as the department looks to ensure that no resident, whether old or young is left behind, and that all aspects of improving the community are looked after.

Prior to its launch, a survey of 51,000 residents in Abu Dhabi was also carried out last year with the approval of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council to get an understanding of which areas needed the most attention once the department was opened.

“51,000 people participated in this survey, out of which 60 per cent of whom were expatriate residents. The survey focused on 14 indicators such as income, housing, jobs, health, education, safety and security, social links and relations, social participation, the environment, cultural values, work and personal life,” said Mugheer Al Khaili, the newly-appointed Chairman for the Department of Community Development.

“One of the indicators we had was asking respondents if they feel secure and safe in Abu Dhabi, with 90.4 per cent saying they felt secure. On the satisfaction of life the score was 7.11, and job satisfaction was 68.2 per cent,” he added, also explaining that the survey took four months to complete with the survey’s complete findings set to be released at a later date.

“We did this survey in a very scientific approach, this was the base for which to get our strategy right, we needed to touch the ground and to understand what’s happening in the community,” he said.

And with their strategy now in place, Al Khaili said the new department was ready to move forward with its work.

“Our first priority is to provide a good life for everybody, to have strong and tolerant families, and to embrace all of the community — a community which is active and responsible to achieve all of these aspirations.

“This will entail social support, housing, sports and entertainment activities, social participation and volunteer work,” he added.

“The vision of the department is to provide a good life for all members of the community, whether citizen or expatriate, and this is based on our values that are taken from our culture and traditions,” Al Khaili said.