Sheikh Mohammed to open national identity conference

Sheikh Mohammed to open national identity conference
 
New Ministry of Culture event will spotlight issues surrounding national identity and culture, and ways to enhance it. 
 
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will officially open a new two-day conference next week to promote national identity, history and culture amongst UAE nationals.
 
Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development, the ‘United Arab Emirates: National Identity Conference’ takes place from 15-16 April at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi.
 
It will provide a forum for high level government and private sector representatives to discuss some of the serious issues relating to national identity in the country, and provide recommendations on ways to enhance it.
 
More than 1,000 invitations to attend have gone out to representatives of all Federal Ministries, Members of the National Federal Council and UAE Local Departments, in addition to CEOs and senior management from large international corporations throughout the Emirates.
 
His Excellence Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, said: “Further to H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s announcement that 2008 is National Identity Year in the UAE, and in support of the federal strategy launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ministry aims to reinforce national efforts to protect and promote national identity. The UAE National Identity Conference provides a forum to address the challenges facing national identity and establish ways to promote it.”
           
Afra Al Saberi, HR Manager, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development said: “Leading figures in the UAE will come together at the conference to establish factors that weaken national identity in the Emirates and to develop solutions to preserve and strengthen national identity for the future”
 
Executive Manager for Arts and Culture, Belal Al Bodour and Executive Manager for Youth and Community Development, Hassan Abdul Wahad were present on the panel at the official press conference.
 
A wide range of topics relating to national identity and culture in the UAE will be discussed during the conference. The programme consists of seven individual sessions addressing important issues such as education, the experience of democracy, Arabic language, sports achievement, media, history and heritage.
 
Each session will be followed by an interactive workshop involving the conference speakers and attendees to find solutions and create recommendations to overcome some of the pressing issues surrounding identity and culture in the UAE today.