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Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee celebrates crucial role of science communicators in Abu Dhabi Science Festival Awards ceremony

Praise for over 500 higher education students and volunteers who were the beating heart of the festival, delivering and explaining its 150+ attractions

Abu Dhabi, 28^th November: The Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC) hosted an awards ceremony to celebrate the successful role that the Science Communicators played in delivering the inaugural Abu Dhabi Science Festival. The awards ceremony was held to recognise the students' role in communicating science in an informal and exciting way to the thousands of children, parents and media attending the nine-day event. Their role in the festival was found to be one of the festival's critical success factors.

In organising the festival TDC partnered with Abu Dhabi Education Council ( ADEC ) as its education partner and HE Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director General of ADEC , was the guest of honour at the ceremony. He said: "We gather here to honour our science communicators who have done an outstanding job during this inaugural session of Abu Dhabi Science Festival. Without their contribution, hard work, talent and dedication we wouldn't have had this much success. We are all so proud of them and look forward to working with them again in the future. They have simply been great ambassadors for the science community in Abu Dhabi and I can only hope that they will translate this success into concrete achievements in their careers and contribute positively in the realization of the Abu Dhabi 2030 economic vision".

Hosting the awards ceremony, HE Ahmed Al Calily, Director General of TDC, said: "The role of the Science Communicators has been critical to the success of the science festival. They have fully entered into the spirit of the festival and have engaged all those who visited us in an informed, but fun manner. Their attitude has been magnificent and they represent an exciting future for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in Abu Dhabi. I cannot praise these remarkable young men and women highly enough."

TDC partnered with five higher education institutes (Abu Dhabi University, Emirates College of Advanced Education, Higher College of Technology, Khalifa University and UAE University) to recruit over 500 young Science Communicators. The students were trained by experts from the world-leading Edinburgh International Science Festival, to give them the specific skills to confidently engage with the public and relate science concepts in a simple, yet fun way to their audience. TDC also partnered with Takatof, The National Programme for Social Volunteering to provide support volunteers at the festival.

HE Al Calily added "As Abu Dhabi's first wave of 'home-grown' Science Communicators, they will continue to play an important role by being informal science ambassadors, encouraging the youth to pursue STI-related education and career paths. The ability and passion in addition to the skills that they have acquired from this experience will prepare them to enter our job market with confidence and hopefully themselves pursue career paths in this important field for Abu Dhabi."

Five of the Science Communicators who worked at the festival expressed their thoughts about their experiences.

Ameera Al Ameri (ADU) said "The science festival has been a really fascinating and enjoyable experience that has definitely improved my confidence and my communications skills. It has helped to bring science to life and make learning more enjoyable for the children of the UAE."

Adding to this, Ebtesam Al Tenaiji (UAEU), said: "Participating in the ADSF was a rare experience which allowed us to be involved in exciting and beneficial workshops, it gave us the opportunity to be ambassadors for our university and to communicate the world of science to a larger audience. The workshops provided us with skills in leadership, team work and public speaking."

Reem Malik Al Ameri (ECAE) stated "I really did learn new ways in which I could communicate with people from the training we received. Taking part in the festival really did allow me to practice this new skill and I will be using it in whatever career path I choose."
Rashid Al Awadhi (KU) added, "The Science Festival has given me the chance to be trained by people who themselves were trained as Science Communicators. It has really sparked a passion for science in me which I never knew I had. I was quite shy as a person before I joined this program I can now talk to a variety of different people confidently."

Naeema Al-Hosani, Vice President of student council (HCT) added "During the Science Festival we have taught students from different nationalities from all over the UAE without having known them. It has been such a wonderful experience as well as adding such a prestigious event to our CV."

Speaking on behalf of the volunteers from Takatof, Maryam Bani Yas said: "I am pleased with my participation in organizing the Abu Dhabi Science Festival, because such events have benefits that go beyond improving communication skills for the volunteers, to actually gaining immense scientific experience through being involved in the amazing scientific experiments and workshops held during the festival. I will make sure to be part of the festival in the future."

The Abu Dhabi Science Festival is presented by the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC) and Tawazun in association with Dolphin Energy and in partnership with the Edinburgh International Science Festival (EISF) and 1001 Inventions and as Programming Partners. The festival is also sponsored by Total and GHC.

-Ends-

The Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda and Economic Vision 2030 have clearly shown the Abu Dhabi Government's desire to build a knowledge-based economy. By 2030, Abu Dhabi will be an Emirate where the benefits of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) pervade every aspect of life - inspiring the people, empowering the Emirate and transforming the economy.

TDC was established to support, supervise and coordinate the development of STI in the Emirate. It will be responsible for the incorporated planning and monitoring of Abu Dhabi's STI plan to ensure a globally competitive STI base in the Emirate, to support the creation of a vibrant enterprise base and to foster world-class talent with the right skills and attitudes.

To achieve these goals, TDC is pursuing a broad program of change in five key policy areas: human capital, research and development, enterprise development, infrastructure, and laws and regulations. These programs, in conjunction with others across Abu Dhabi, aim to embed science, technology and innovation within the fabric of Abu Dhabi.

© Press Release 2011

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