All subjects to spread national identity

The General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai announced the completion of the second session of the Dubai Partnership Agenda (DPA) held on National Identity Preservation in Education, with its final report calling for action by entities concerned on its recommendations.

The DPA, an initiative led by the General Secretariat of the Executive Council, was launched in September 2010 with the encouragement of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the directives of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the Chairman of the Executive Council. It was established to provide a dialogue platform between the public and private sectors to produce recommendations and increase the competitiveness of the emirate of Dubai.

Dedicating its second session to national identity preservation in education, the emirate’s public and private stakeholders in the education sector took part in the session to review the current state of education in relation to preservation of national identity and to propose actionable recommendations on the same.

The second session of the Dubai Partnership Agenda in progress

Panelists included chairperson of the Social Development Committee of the Dubai Executive Council, Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), representatives of the Ministry of Education, Dubai Education Zone, high-level managers of public and private schools as well as parents.

Guidelines for teachers

According to the DPA proceedings, the entities concerned provided feedback on the recommendations and their plans for implementation. Entities are currently working and acting upon a number of recommendations put forward at the DPA’s second session. One of the macro-level recommendations proposed by the DPA’s panel is the UAE Ministry of Education setting up a committee to develop a guideline for teachers to link national identity to all educational subjects. The guideline is expected to be implemented in the academic year 2012-2013.

Museum pieces in malls

Aiming to raise awareness on the heritage of the country, recommendations included developing a programme among authorities concerned to showcase relevant pieces from museums in malls on a regular basis to capitalise on the growing number of young students visiting these places.

The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) endorsed the recommendation and is currently developing an implementation plan by setting out criteria to identify malls and pieces to be showcased.

Reference guide for books

Another of the DPA’s recommendation called for developing a reference guide on national identity-related publications and books to be shared with the public and private schools. The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (DCAA) developed an implementation plan to work on the reference guide and share it with stakeholders as of next year.

Development programme

The DPA’s concluding report emphasised the importance of role models in the community to enhance national identity among students. In this respect, a reference was made to the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Students’ Personal Development Programme (HMSPDP), an initiative launched by the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai to engage Emiratis from federal, local governments and private sector as role models to support personal skills development of students as well as cultivating national identity features. The HMSPDP is currently being implemented in cooperation with the Dubai Government Human Resources Department, the KHDA and Dubai Education Zone.

National identity

Panelists of the second session of the DPA also stressed the importance of having a policy to start teaching national identity subjects as of primary education stages, in order to cultivate and deepen the values of national identity among students at a younger age. Acting on this recommendation, the Community Development Authority (CDA) advised its technical team, responsible for national identity policies, to liaise with the entities concerned to implement the recommendation. Another recommendation sought to boost cooperation between public and private schools to exchange resources and expertise.

Strategic initiative

Commenting on the completion of the DPA second session proceedings, Secretary-General of the Executive Council Abdulla Al Shaibani said: “When we initiated DPA, we had two commitments. One was to hear the private sector by providing a structured channel for open dialogue. The other was to reach concrete results within predefined procedures and timelines. We said that this strategic initiative would bring private and public sectors closer, creating further synergy and consensus through knowledge and expertise exchange. First session of DPA, on tourism, was very successful as stakeholders from public and private sectors acted on and implemented a number of strategic recommendations that would strengthen our competitiveness locally and internationally.”

“Now that we have concluded the second session cycle as well,” added Al Shaibani. “I can say with confidence that we were able to keep our commitments and achieve our objectives. The panel has a fruitful discussion and put forward a number of strategic recommendations all of which were very insightful. These recommendations will enhance national identity among citizens, and equip young people to further the achievements of the country. I would like to thank the private sector representatives for their input and the government entities for their openness to dialogue.”

DPA second session

The second session of the DPA was dedicated to the preservation of national identity with a focus on the role of education, as national identity is of a primary concern for government authorities.

The 2015 Dubai Strategic Plan stresses the importance of the topic and identifies ‘Preserving National Identity and improving community cohesion’ as the first aim of the social development pillar.

‘Cohesive Society and Preserved Identity’ constitutes the first strategic priority of the UAE government Strategy 2011-2013. The UAE Vision 2021 envisions an ‘Ambitious and Confident Nation Grounded in its Heritage’ in its United in Responsibility section.

Following the session, a proceedings report, consisting of insights and specific recommendations proposed by the panel, together with the secretariat’s input, was prepared and sent to relevant government entities for their feedback.

The DPA is a strategic government initiative whose purpose is to ultimately produce policy recommendations that can support the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, UAE Government Strategy 2013 and UAE Vision 2021.

It is an ongoing open dialogue and an interactive platform that brings together key stakeholders in private and public sectors to not only generate recommendations but, to facilitate knowledge and expertise exchange as well.

It is carried out through regular roundtable discussions each of which is dedicated to a specific sector that is pivotal to Dubai’s sustainable development and competitiveness.