Abu Dhabi: UAE’s ambitions to become world’s No 1 can only be achieved by empowering Emirati youth, ministers told thousands of young citizens in a conference held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The UAE Government cannot carry out sustainable development without meaningful partnerships with the youth, the ministers told more than 4,000 school and university students attending “Youth 101”, an initiative that seeks to empower the youth, build effective communication channels between them and the UAE Government, and present them with a platform to voice their concerns.
Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Chairperson of the Federal Youth Authority, attended the event, along with a number of ministers and prominent decision makers in the UAE.
“You are the world no. 1 mission’s generation, and the journey to achieve this goal is squarely placed on your shoulder,” said Nasser Al Hameli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
He urged youth to lead the private sector as skilled workers and entrepreneurs.
Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council, said the responsibility of preserving the country’s prosperity, security, stability and progress is a participatory responsibility not only of the leadership, the government or the Federal National Council, but also of the youth of the homeland, “You are the sons of Zayed. You are the dream of the UAE and you are our investment, which we are betting on. You are the security and safety of the UAE,” she said.
Mohammad Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, said that the youth are the backbone of the nation, while speaking about the role of young people in maintaining the sovereignty of the state .
He stressed the importance of empowering UAE women in the armed forces and enhancing the national spirit of youth through joining the national service, which contributes to the development of human defense capabilities.
Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, said the Youth 101 is an innovative initiative of the Federal Youth Authority, which aims to create an innovative form of constructive communication between young people and decision-makers in the UAE to provide young people with knowledge and enable them to contribute effectively to the development process in the UAE.
The initiative is part of the UAE’s action plan to engage youth. The plan includes a number of programmes and initiatives such as the launch of Youth Workshops, Initiative of Endowment for Youth Projects, as well as a Smart Platform for Youth.
The Youth Workshops are organised periodically across the UAE covering best practices and discussing key issues related to youth and the challenges they face and how to overcome it.
The Initiative of Endowment for Youth Projects is a service offered in partnership with various business incubators in the UAE, which helps develop youth projects through variety of services.
The Development of Youth Platform, which is a smart interactive platform for youth the UAE, which address various issue of the interest of youth in the UAE. It also includes all researches conducted by Emirati youth in various universities across a variety of subjects and sectors.
Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister fo State for Financial Affairs, said the Ministry of Finance is working to create jobs, achieve sustainability of financial resources, raise the quality of life which is the cornerstone of its work, and strengthen regional and international financial relations through a number of initiatives, including the consolidation of financial statements and policies, the Convention on the Prevention of Double Taxation, relations with international organisations and Gulf economic integration.
Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artifical Intelligence said: “We are working today to empower young people with the tools of the future embodied by the world of artificial intelligence. We have launched a range of training programmes. We have created structures within the government that will strengthen the use of technology, including the Artificial Intelligence Council and the group of bilateral artificial intelligence agreements,” he said.
Suhail Mohammad Faraj Al Mazroui, Minister fo Energy and Industry, said we look forward to a 40 per cent reduction in energy consumption from the adoption of innovative demand management policies and to increase the share of clean energy in the total energy mix from 16 per cent in 2021 to 50 per cent by 2050 by increasing the share of renewable energy from the total energy mix by 44% per cent and the share of nuclear energy by six per cent.
