Culture & Education | Sunday 20 November, 2016 3:00 am |

The nationwide celebration and one of the largest innovation events in the world – UAE Innovation Week - kicks off today for the second year running under the theme “Innovation, an everyday activity” under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Dubai has planned a week of fully exciting activities to showcase its advanced developments across various sectors.

The UAE Innovation Week 2016 provides the government, public & private entities, citizens in the community and tourists with a platform of which they can engage, participate and experience new innovative concepts. The events are set to definitively highlight the United Arab Emirates as a global innovation hub, in line with the UAE’s 2021 strategic vision.

The activities at this year’s innovation week will give the community the opportunity to see the most prominent and innovative developments that contribute to the promotion of the welfare and happiness to all members of society. In this spirit of innovative cooperation and coordination, many activities have been collaboratively designed by both the public and the private sector to cover different pillars of importance aimed at all segments of the community, focusing primarily on the seven major sectors: health, transportation, renewable energy, technology, education, water and space. Dubai will witness over 60 different activities throughout the week in support of celebrating innovation across the nation.

His Excellency Abdulla Al Shaibani, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai and member of the Higher Committee for UAE Innovation Week said: “After the announcement of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, the year 2015 being the year of innovation, and under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to have a yearly dedicated week of innovation, it is evident that the leadership in the United Arab Emirates is determined to keep pace with the advancement of research and development to ensure it is harnessed to better service the community. We in the Government of Dubai, and through Dubai Plan 2021 aims, strive to encourage people to reinforce the feeling of responsibility towards themselves, their families and society in pursuing education and personal development, and to adopt innovation as a personal lifestyle, thus, enabling them to drive Dubai and the UAE forward into its future.

He continued: "The organizing committee in Dubai have worked very hard to activate events that not only target the local community, but also keep pace with the vision of our wise leadership and the government's efforts to enhance the Dubai and the UAE’s competitiveness at an international level in various sectors and areas, through the deployment of what we have achieved in the areas of innovation and make it available regionally and internationally to spread the knowledge of innovation.”

Al Shaibani emphasized: "We are committed to fulfilling the vision of our leadership represented by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, through spreading the culture of innovation. It is the responsibility of all members of the community of various specializations and interests. Every father and mother has to spread the spirit of innovation in the family and to extract ideas that reflect the future ambitions of moving us to accomplish the vision in various fields and at all levels. We in Dubai, and in the light of the continued support of our visionary leadership, have held numerous conferences and specialized courses and workshops for innovation, which involved employees and representatives of a large group of government, private, civil and individual sectors. These efforts indicate the continual advancement our society wants to achieve in bringing us closer to our vision."

“Our vision is to create a future where strategic innovative thinking becomes the pattern that defines the UAE, not merely a goal to achieve. We have always strongly believed that to achieve our vision, we must begin by engaging with our citizens, as changing an individual’s mindset is the start to changing the community, changing organizations and changing our nation. For this reason, the innovation week with all its activities planned, is an important step in encouraging and inspiring our people to achieve the ultimate objective of cultivating this important mind-set nationwide”, added His Excellency Abdulla Al Shaibani, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai and member of the Higher Committee for UAE Innovation Week.

To strengthen the concept of innovation among all segments of society, family oriented activities for the public to attend have been planned across the UAE, including some exciting free to attend innovation talks and crash courses on various topics of interests. In Dubai, a free dedicated family-oriented event titled: “The Innovation Hub” will take place at Dubai’s Burj Park on Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, where creative and engaging activities will be hosted from 23-26 November 2016.