Dubai: The UAE can be the first value-driven nation in the world, according to the results of Watani’s Social Values Survey that found that the country has surpassed some of the most developed countries in the top ten positive values.
The UAE also had the second lowest cultural entropy, which refers to the level of dysfunction and negativity, showing that the people in the UAE are highly satisfied with the country’s current situation.
Watani announced the results of the survey at the Social Values Forum held in Zayed University under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, attended the function.
Around 4,100 individuals — 57 per cent of whom were Emirati, 43 per cent expatriates while 54 per cent were male and 46 per cent were female — took part in the survey conducted by Rayak, a public opinion studies centre launched by Watani in collaboration with Barrett Values Centre (BVC).
Out of 18 countries surveyed the UAE was among the top countries driven by positive values which the director general of Watani, Dherar Belhoul, and the founder and chairmen of BVC Richard Barrett attributed to two reasons:
“The first reason is that people want to feel that the leaders care about their needs and the second reason is spiritual values [in this case Islam] as they have an impact on how they lead their lives and how they treat other people,” said Barrett.
“It’s not by chance that the UAE got these results. Islam and the UAE’s leadership are the main attributers and this was clear as the values taught by Islam and the values that His Highness Shaikh Mohammad speaks about in his speeches such as equality of women, for example, were among the top values chosen by participants, ” said Belhoul.
The study found that the top three values that appeared as the top ten personal values across all demographics as well as the desired values that people want to see in the future were respect, family and ethics.
The UAE also had the second lowest cultural entropy among the 18 countries studied at just 12 per cent in the UAE, as opposed to some of the most developed countries in the world with USA at 56 per cent and UK 59 per cent.
The results showed that despite the UAE having a diverse society, UAE nationals and residents have similarities in personal values which enable people to coexist in a peaceful manner.
Noor Nazzal is a trainee at Gulf News
