Global Experiences, Lectures and Valuable Discussions in Day1 of the Forum

Dubai, UAE, 25th October 2016

Yesterday, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, events of Dubai Forum for Best Government Practices 2016 are launched by organizing Dubai Government Excellence Program affiliated to the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai. The Forum is held in its ninth year under the title "Youth Government... Future Government” in the presence of a number of government officials and employees.

His Excellency Abdullah Al Shaibani, Secretary General of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, delivered the inaugural speech of the Forum in which he welcomed the guest. He said: "This year's Forum theme, “Youth Government … Future Government” comes to reflect the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, May Allah Protect Him, to activate the role of youth and their positive participation in the community and various sectors of the government positions as leaders in the future government. This includes many activities and events in the framework of activating the role of youth, strengthening their constructive role and investing their creative energies to achieve distinct future aspired by all countrymen. Hence, reaching the government of the future is up to the youth who have creative potential and innovative capabilities that open the door wide to an unparalleled future of excellence and innovation. This is expressed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in his statement: "A government cannot build sustainable development for its people without actual involvement of the youth."

He added: "This Forum and its activities, events and objectives enhance the framework of efforts to move Dubai up to the advanced level of creativity and excellence in all fields. We can notice through strategic plans in shaping the future and the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) initiative launched recently by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. These are in line with this year's Forum themes, through its role in driving United Arab Emirates and Dubai into international capital. Through strategic sectors, we create economic value to incubate and stimulate business and future technological solutions. This converts the government agencies to entities supported by innovation, research and development. "

Dr. Ahmad Al Nuseirat, Coordinator General of Dubai Government Excellence Program stated that DGEP persevered over the past years to provide new events in every version. This year's Forum is characterized by a variety of activities and events, including key lectures and dialogue sessions. An innovative event called "Cinema and Oscar of Best Government Practices" aims at sharing knowledge and raising awareness of the practices carried out by the government agencies in Dubai. The most important is an interesting visual form, in which the initiative of “Excellence Talks” highlights the outstanding Emirati youth in all areas.

He said: "The Forum hosts a selection of government leaders in local institutions and in neighboring states which have proven success and excellence in government performance. Moreover, the guests of this year came from United States, United Kingdom, Norway and Ireland in addition to participants from United Arab Emirates". Dubai Forum for Government Best Practices raises levels of the government work to global concepts which lead in applying innovative management methodologies and methods. These follow the ‘outside the box’ style of thinking which can achieve the highest quality standards in performance. We incorporate these excellence concepts to enhance society’s happiness".

Dr. Al Nuseirat added: "The participants in this Forum proved they are essential partner in success and impactful players in a comprehensive development system which we aim to achieve. Therefore, we extend our warmest thanks and appreciation to all government agencies in Dubai and the UAE in general, which embraced creative administrative ideas and placed innovation as top priority.”

“We express our appreciation to the entities supportive of this Forum, including Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, strategic partner; United Nations Development Programme; Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, knowledge partner; and Dubai Media Incorporated, media sponsor.”

“We highly appreciate the efforts of Dubai Government Excellence Program team in organizing the Forum and its eagerness to present the DGEP in an image appropriate to the Emirate of Dubai,” he added.

The Future… Today

Within the framework of his speech on the 1st day's events of the Forum, Hazzaa Al Nuaimi, Senior Manager of excellence initiatives in Dubai Government Excellence Program, noted the distinction and success of the events. He also emphasized the diversity which was witnessed by hosting a selection of local and global government leaders. He stressed the importance of taking advantage of global experiences in developing the performance of governmental authorities.

Distinguished Experiences and Global Initiatives

The 1st day of the Forum witnessed a number of lectures, dialogue sessions and presentations of distinguished experiences. HE Mohammed Ali Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, talked about a topic entitled “Promising Beginnings” through which he delivered a profile of his promising beginnings as a new employee in administrative and government positions. He also highlighted the challenges he faced and the ambitions that inspired him, how he overcame the challenges. He shared who was his example, and his guide to the journey to success. In addition, he provided advices for young people working in the public sector, managers and officials in general.

Also, Mrs. Farah Pandith, International Lecturer and an officer in the Office of the US President Barack Obama, talked about her career in the government position in the American Presidency, particularly during the Presidency of Obama. She reviewed best practices, initiatives and programs for young people in the United States and around the world.

Moreover, Mr. Frodie Morring, Resident Representative of the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme, and Mr. Mahmoud al Ashmaui, Special Adviser to the United Nations and United Nations Development Programme, delivered a lecture about “Youth in the Modern World”. They talked about the role of the United Nations and its specialized agencies in supporting youth, addressed some statistics and results associated with youth initiatives based on the international bodies' activities and events. They highlighted the role of Emirati youth and the UAE government in international work.

Youth Ambitions

Furthermore, events included dialogue sessions entitled “Youth Ambitions” in which Sheikh Theyab bin Khalifa bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, Mrs. Farah Pandith, and Ms. Ameera Amir, founder of Weyakum Foundation for Emirati Youth Development participated in this dialogue which was managed by His Excellency Jassim Al Bastaki, Secretary General of the Emirati Entrepreneurs.

The dialogue addressed the government role in supporting and developing the youth ambitions.

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation Group/ Etisalat’s role in Supporting Youth Projects

In a lecture entitled “Emirates Telecommunications Corporation Group/ Etisalat’s role in Supporting Youth Projects”, Dr. Ahmed Bin Ali, Executive Vice President - Institutional Communications in Emirates Telecommunication Corporation, talked about the distinguished role of Etisalat in supporting youth projects and helping them to be more actively involved.

Excellence Talk

As a new initiative associated with the events of the Forum, the Dubai Government Excellence Program’s "Excellence Talk" highlights a group of distinguished Emirati youth who made a quick and interesting presentation. They aim to spread new and distinguished ideas and displayed their achievements to motivate their colleagues from government officials to dedication, hard work, and always doing better.

The initiative aims to highlight the outstanding youth in all areas, transfer their expertise and experience. They talked about their most important achievements. In this session, 20 young people participated, including 12 young women and 8 Emirati young men.

Hazzaa Al Nuaimi, Senior Manager of Excellence Initiatives in Dubai Government Excellence Program talked about DGEP’s role in developing initiatives to promote transfer of knowledge and exchange of experiences, which continuously aim to enhance government performance.

Mr. Bader Saab made a presentation on the importance of voluntary work in individual life and its substantial impact on societ. Voluntary work helps an individual to build a large network of social relations, and also helps a volunteer to strengthen his character, hone his skills, and learn new, skills. He noted that volunteerism is equivalent to  government work and not a substitute for it. Therefore, if government is able to use voluntary work well, it can strengthen the State’s structure and foundations. During his speech, he confirmed that the UAE is keen to promote a culture of volunteerism, through inclusion of a voluntary service course as a mandatory course to graduate from the university.

Mr. Ali bin Saloom, a media figure, participated in this event and talked about the importance of travelling. Travel is an important experience through which a person must go through to enrich his knowledge, see new cultures and enjoy important global tourist destinations. He confirmed that travel does not only impact on leisure and tourism, but also has mental and intellectual benefits. Many studies emphasize the importance of travel and engaging with other people to increase cultural and cognitive exchange.

With her experience of more than six years in more than 45 Japanese companies, Dr. Maryam Suleiman, Kaizen- Continuous Improvement Consultant, talked in a lecture entitled "Japanese Experience in Kaizen Creativity". She shared about the secret of Japanese innovation and shaping of the future shaping (called Kaizen) in Japanese companies such as Toyota, Omron and many of the world's leading companies. Kaizen is a methodology based on making work easier and faster, provides best value and lower costs, eliminates waste and achieves business innovation through continuous small improvements.

Mr. Hamed bin Karam, media personality, talked about his unique experience in presenting his program “Sanad” through which he travelled to several countries, recording UAE charity to the needy and distressed in different regions of the world.

In his lecture, he shared situations which affected him personally such as patience and faith of mothers who lost their sons in difficult living conditions, as well as hope of parents to restore home and overcome hardships.

Dana Sulaiman Al Bloushi, ambitious Emirati girl, concluded the “Excellence Talk” lecture on 1st day of the Forum. She participated and shared her unique experience at NASA where she was the first young Emirati woman who attended NASA exercises. She joined the exercises of space science and engineering and space robot tests at NASA in charge of developing the space research programs. Dana reiterated that the astronaut training is not an easy task, because she has undergone years of strict technical training, and health and safety training. Astronauts develop their skills in systems, robots, and operate spacecrafts and aerospace engineering activities.

Signing an MoU for cooperation between Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) and Dubai Government Excellence Program(DGEP)

On the first day of the Dubai Forum for Best Government Practices

The first day of Dubai Forum for Best Government Practices, organized by the DGEP under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai - May God protect him - witnessed a signing of an MoU for cooperation between MBRSG and DGEP for a four-year term. The MoU was signed by HE Dr. Ali Sebaa Al Marri, CEO of MBRSG, as MBRSG’s representative and HE Abdulla Abdulrahman Al Shaibani - Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai, as DGEP’s representative.

The MoU contained a series of points that are in the framework of cooperation between two parties as it supports the government excellence approach that has become the common goal of all government departments in Dubai.

In this context, HE Abdulla Al Shaibani pointed out the importance of this MoU in opening new horizons for cooperation between DGEP and MBRSG as being an academic institution specialized in Government and general polices in the Arab World. They seek to support Government Excellence in the UAE through providing an integrated system of educational and training programs, researches and studies. 

He said: “Based on visions and instructions of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai - May God protect him - DGEP seeks to build constructive relations of cooperation with various entities that share their goals and activities. This promotes a government excellence system which transform excellence and creativity in government work to a day-to-day work culture and a way of life in all governmental agencies and institutions of Dubai Government.”

Objectives and Themes

For his part, Dr. Ahmed Al Nuseirat, Coordinator General, DGEP pointed out the keenness of DGEP to promote government excellence concepts and consolidate rules of creativity and innovation at work, through collaboration with various research and academic bodies specialized in the areas of job qualification and training, including MBRSG.

Explaining the objectives of the MoU signed between MBRSG and DGEP he said: “The MoU aims at defining frameworks of cooperation between MBRSG and DGEP in several areas through the “MBRSG’s Award for Career Excellence”. MBRSG provides, under this MoU, a full scholarship annually for 10 employees, winners of DGEP’s awards, in order to study in the master’s programs of MBRSG. They will be selected from among those who meet conditions and requirements to study in these programs, in order to provide them with new skills and abilities that would enable them to face challenges and link the theories to the practical applications. Using the latest methods and mechanisms developed in government area”.

He added: "The MoU also addresses cooperation in the area of Knowledge Partnership, where MBRSG undertakes the “Knowledge Partner” role in Dubai Forum for Government Best Practices and the cognitive activities of DGEP. This includes seminars, panel discussions and other activities. The MoU also includes the theme of cooperation in the area of specialized training in the field of excellence, where DGEP and MBRSG cooperate in the area of development and implementation of training programs specialized in government excellence. This is aimed at benefiting from the shared experiences in development of scientific materials and setting standards and guidelines for the training programs offered by MBRSG.”

Constructive cooperation

In turn, HE Dr. Ali Sebaa Al Marri pointed out the importance of cooperation between academic and practical sectors to establish foundations of government excellence. This will take root as a corporate culture, indicating the importance of training courses and programs in qualifying human resources and enhancing creative abilities and job skills of employees.

He said: “Through the MoU signed between MBRSG and DGEP, MBRSG offers academic scholarships to the winning employees among DGEP’s rewards for excellence in government performance to study in the master’s program. The program is in general management designed according to highest academic standards, in order to enable them to face challenges and increase opportunities available to them as officials in the government sector. As the master’s program provides intensive academic training while focusing on practical implementation of theories learned. Students gain a profound understanding of general management development on regional and global levels.”

Al Marri added: “As for the cognitive partnership area, MBRSG will, during the cognitive activities of DGEP, participate in workshops, sessions and demonstration of case studies for applied cases and best practices in the field of government. In addition, success stories of real government performance with the collaboration of DGEP will be highlighted. This contributes to maximizing the benefit of these successful experiences and expertise.”

HE pointed that MBRSG will cooperate with DGEP in the area of developing and implementing specialized training programs aimed to develop leadership skills and establish institutional abilities in government excellence. They will utilize academic lectures with applied exercises and research to respond to the practical and changing needs of policy makers and key government officials.

-Ends-

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