What are the hopes and dreams of Emirati Gen Z? A look into the future through the eyes of Emirati youth
Home to the world, leading scientific innovation – here is what young Emiratis had to say
Dubai: No matter which part of the world you are from, think of a country that can be a second home to you, and the only name that pops up in your head is – UAE. Where AI is part of your everyday life – a country that is the global hub for scientific research, development and innovation.
This is a snapshot of the hopes and dreams of young Emiratis who spoke to Gulf News about how they envision the future of their nation, and the role they can play.
Seventeen-year-old Rashid Bin Hendi spoke to Gulf News about how he hopes his passion for contributing to the field of pharmacology and medicine can come to fruition – a future where the country has a booming global-focused health sector, which Emiratis run and lead, from creating vaccines and conducting surgeries to heading medical research centres.
“My ambition for the future is for us to immerse ourselves more in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields … for us to be providing the research and the academic literature so that we become the world’s hub in STEM fields and in innovation. With Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi, we already have that interest building. As we speak, there are many government scholarships providing people with a path to do better in these fields. In the future, I hope we can have more events and groups of people that have the same ideas and interests, to be able share them,” he said.
Looking into the future, Bin Hendi drew a picture of the UAE that he envisions: “A future where everyone – with their own ideas – is always pushing for that love for the field that they are in, and if they fail, they always have that space to do so and the support from others around them, that will allow them to continue to push for innovation. Hospitals, research labs … all run by Emiratis and all with a shared goal. For example, I thought of going into pharmacology, to make vaccines for the UAE. We would like to be independent and flourish in the STEM fields, that would really be amazing.”
My ambition for the future is for us to immerse ourselves more in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields … for us to be providing the research and the academic literature so that we become the world’s hub in STEM fields and in innovation.
A second home to all
For 17-year-old Mohamed Al Zarooni, the perfect UAE “is already there”.
“We have everything we need, we just have to use it. Our youth has very, very good opportunities, and facilities, like the one I am sitting in right now,”
He was speaking with Gulf News at the Youth Hub at Emirates Towers in Dubai, set up as part of an initiative by the Federal Youth Authority, under the UAE’s Ministry of Culture and Youth. These youth hubs that have been set up across the UAE are designed to provide a platform for young people from all walks of life, to connect, bounce thoughts back and forth and launch their ideas.
“Most of the youth look on their phones but are often busy looking at bloggers sharing their lifestyle or other things. I would like more of our Snapchat, Instagram and Tiktok feed to be about activities and events or just general activities that we can go to. We have the biggest events in techonology, defence, aviation and other sectors that are held in the UAE, with newer events happening every day. All these need to be pushed out more and shown to our youth so that they can come and experience this,” he said.
His hope? To push this focus on creating hubs further. As a 17-year-old who is already running two businesses, while also studying to make it to an international university, he hopes to explore the world and bring the best ideas back to the UAE to polish them further and put them into practice, as this would help him put his entrepreneurial skills to use.
“I love to see things get done and the UAE is the best place for that – we get things done very quickly. I want to see things outside the UAE and bring them here and make them better. We as the youth have all the opportunities we need, now we need to fill those spots in and we want to bring more people in to experience the greatness we have in the UAE. As the youth, we need to diversify our portfolios, our jobs, so that we can work in other fields and provide for our country and serve our country in many different ways,” he added.
We as the youth have all the opportunities we need, now we need to fill those spots in and we want to bring more people in to experience the greatness we have in the UAE. As the youth, we need to diversify our portfolios, our jobs, so that we can work in other fields and provide for our country and serve our country in many different ways.
Leading global peace initiatives
This global perspective was also a part of other young Emiratis’ vision, who spoke with Gulf News. For 23-year-old Hadif Alshamsi, it is literally his specialisation – as a student who has majored in international relations, he is currently interning with the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That is where his passion, too, lies – “the political sphere and how the UAE navigates it”.
“We are a young country but have become a very prominent presence in the international political sphere. I hope to be able to contribute to that effort that the UAE is striving towards – to grow our reputation further. I know many other Emirati students who have majored in international studies, who also share these hopes and dreams. It is something we cannot ignore – we have grown to such prominence in such a short amount of time. We feel very able to contribute to the country and the government is very supportive of our dreams as well,” he said.
Looking at the future, Alshamsi said: “The way the UAE is – it specliases in building bridges, metaphorically speaking. I will be part of a … future that the UAE has helped build.”
The way the UAE is – it specliases in building bridges, metaphorically speaking. I will be part of a … future that the UAE has helped build.
Nineteen-year-old Najla Hamad Al Midfa, echoed this sentiment.
“My dream and passion revolves around representing my country internationally, contributing to global humanitarian, sustainable and political solutions, and showcasing my nation’s achievements particularly among the youth. Advocating for positive change is where my heart lies,” she said.
Talking about how this passion drives her to meet people from different cultures, and learn from different viewpoints, Najla said her dream was to ultimately make meaningful contributions to the efforts the UAE makes.
“I hope in the next few years, Emiratis become in charge of international humanitarian and political organisations and are professors in these fields, creating new ideas that have never been seen before to better societies and how they interact with each other,” she added.
My dream and passion revolves around representing my country internationally, contributing to global humanitarian, sustainable and political solutions, and showcasing my nation’s achievements particularly among the youth. Advocating for positive change is where my heart lies.
Technology that transforms
Drones are a passion project of 25-year-old engineer Fahad Al Zarooni. He owns a drone company, a start-up which was supported by his university – Higher Colleges of Technology’s Dubai Mens College.
Having won several awards and grants for his projects, and having collaborated with government departments, he hopes to see this passion flourish in the future.
“When the Museum of the Future first opened up in Dubai, I was on a tour there and saw the window called ‘2071’. A window that shows you how Dubai will look like in the future, a vision where it is the leading country in multiple sectors in the world and on multiple world indexes. It had like hundreds of drones flying all over Dubai. Seeing this picture, I have the hope and drive that I need to be one of the companies providing these drones. That is my vision, hope and dream,” Al Zarooni said.
And for those who are averse to technologies and droids, Al Zarooni helps paint a picture: “Just imagine living in a community compound and you need to order something – lunch, perhaps. In just 10 minutes, your order is ready and in five minutes it is delivered. It will be much faster and hotter, while you will still have your appetite. Now imagine having to clean this community and instead of hiring a company’s service that sends tens of people to do the work, you get one human operator who can clean the entire community by using drones – making it more efficient, environmentally friendly and safer,” he said.
Just imagine living in a community compound and you need to order something – lunch, perhaps. In just 10 minutes, your order is ready and in five minutes it is delivered. It will be much faster and hotter, while you will still have your appetite. Now imagine having to clean this community and instead of hiring a company’s service that sends tens of people to do the work, you get one human operator who can clean the entire community by using drones – making it more efficient, environmentally friendly and safer.
With technology and engineering enhancing and optimising social life, human beings would, then, be able to enjoy their human experiences a lot more, says 27-year-old mechanical engineer Alreem Bin Ali.
Working in the field of mechanical engineering technology, she said that she was passionate about the innovation in automotive and mechanical engineering. However, with these developments, she said that she truly hoped people would get the time to embrace art and culture.
You read about how robots are going to take our jobs. But I believe that if they were to take over most jobs, this would leave human beings with the time to focus on the creative side
“Twenty or thirty years down the line, while I do hope to see people still living a life led by their career and enhanced through technology, I also hope to see art and culture integrated into our lives as something important. Having art galleries and museums to be a part of neighbourhoods and for art and culture to be further incorporated in our education systems. Just like our careers are an important part of life, so is art and culture.
“You read about how robots are going to take our jobs. But I believe that if they were to take over most jobs, this would leave human beings with the time to focus on the creative side. It is important to us as humans. Don’t we need that? If you look back at civilisations, they did have to go out and hunt, but there was time for culture and art, too. For communities to come together, in the future, it would be good to reconnect with each other, reconnect with the Earth and with art and culture. It is very good for people.”