Day: June 9, 2021

DUBAI, The UAE Internal Auditors Association (UAE-IAA) will organise in Dubai on 24th June the first-ever symposium on “Benchmarking in Internal Audit” at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City Hotel, with the CEOs, Cheif Auddit Executives (CAEs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in attendance.

UAE-IAA is working towards elevating the standards of IA professionals through updating their knowledge especially in emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digitisation, Robotics, Data Privacy, and Cyber Security.

Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chairman of UAE-IAA that represents 45 percent of the total 7,000-plus Internal Auditors in the region, underlined the importance of the symposium’s topics that international experts will be addressing and how it will contribute to upgrade the professional skills and knowledge of internal auditors in the UAE and enhance its global reputation.

The one-day ‘physical’ event will provide seven CPE credits and there will be limited tables making participation by up to 10 organisations possible.

Source: Emirates News Agency

SHARJAH, Under the patronage of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Sharjah Museums Authority (SMA), on Wednesday, inaugurated its “Drop by Drop Life Falls from the Sky. Water, Islam and Art” exhibition at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation.

Sheikh Khalid bin Issam Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation, Sharjah, inaugurated the exhibition in presence of Nicola Lener, Italian Ambassador to the UAE; Giuseppe Finocchiaro, Italian Consul-General in Dubai; Alberto Sacco, Deputy Mayor for Labour and Youth Employment Policies, Commerce, Tourism, and Legal Affairs of the City of Torino; Manal Ataya, Director-General of the SMA; Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Arts and Heritage Sector, Ministry of Culture and Youth; Ida Zilio-Grandi, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute – Embassy of Italy to the UAE; Giovanni Curatola, Professor at the University of Udine and curator of the exhibition at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, and Dr Zaki Aslan, Director of ICCROM-Sharjah.

Organised in collaboration with the Italian Fondazione Torino Musei, the exhibition features 120 artefacts seen for the first time outside of Italy and are related to water and people’s daily lives in the Islamic world, including decorated jugs, cups, carpets, fountains and other exquisite items sourced from different parts of the Islamic world.

Running until 11th December, 2021, the exhibition was initiated with a manuscript containing the holy Quranic verse, “And we created every living thing from water”.

Collections on display are on loan from various renowned Italian public and private collections, and the permanent collection of the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation and from the Sharjah Art Museum.

Revolving around four themes: The Blessings of Water and Islam, Water and Daily Life, Traditional Hammam and the Gardens, the displayed items collectively illustrate the historical development of the numerous roles played by water in daily life and represent the artistic embodiment of it in the Arabic and Islamic arts and culture.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, The UAE has been ratified as an Associate Member of the International Ski Federation (FIS) following a vote by member countries at the 52nd International Ski Congress, which was held last week in Switzerland.

Attaining the membership is the culmination of a five-year campaign spearheaded by Majid Al Futtaim and Ski Dubai in collaboration with the UAE Winter Sports Federation. It paves the way for Emirati snow sports athletes to compete internationally for the first time and for the UAE to host FIS-accredited international snow sports competitions such as the FIS Alpine Slalom and Slopestyle Ski and Snowboard event, which is due to take place at Ski Dubai later this year.

Over the last decade, Ski Dubai has fostered a winter sports culture in the MENA region and established itself as a hub for international competitions by hosting numerous prestigious events such as The World Cup and Para Snowboard World Cup as well as the inaugural UAE National Ski and Snowboard Championships, which attract both competitors and spectators from around the globe. In line with its efforts to create a national team, the state-of-the-art facility also provides a platform for athletes to learn, develop and hone their unique talents and, is committed to investing in and nurturing home-grown talent through its Sponsored Athletes programme.

Following the announcement, Mohammad El Etri, Vice President of Global Snow at Majid Al Futtaim said, “Becoming an Associate Member of the International Ski Federation (FIS) is a moment of great pride and will bolster the UAE’s stature on the international snow sports stage. It is also exciting news for athletes who can now aspire to represent their nation at a global level by competing at some of the world’s most prestigious sporting events such as the Olympic Winter Games and the FIS World Ski Championships.”

He added, “At Majid Al Futtaim, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of possibility and, while the desert may seem like an unlikely destination for snow sports, Ski Dubai introduces 80,000 people to skiing and snow sports each year and has trained a cohort of elite athletes. As part of our dedication to championing local talent, we have worked closely with the UAE Winter Sports Federation and played an instrumental role in securing this membership.”

The UAE was one of five new nations to be approved as an Associate Member of FIS at the International Ski Congress, which takes place twice a year. The International Ski Federation (FIS) is the governing body for international skiing and snowboarding and was founded in 1924 during the first Olympic Games in Chamonix, France.

Recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIS manages the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding, including setting the international competition rules. Through its 123 member nations, more than 7,000 FIS ski and snowboard competitions are staged annually across the world.

Ski Dubai was recently nominated for “World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort” at the 2021 World Ski Awards and has been awarded the prestigious title for five consecutive years.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), and Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, held a coordinative meeting to discuss operations of E-Scooter, Moped and street-lighting.

Discussions also covered coordination between the two parties in the fields of transport security, traffic safety and the achievement of the strategic performance indicators along with the targets of the Dubai Traffic Safety Strategy 2017-2021.

The meeting, which took place at the RTA’s Head Office, discussed the latest developments related to the proposed regulatory model for operating E-Scooters, and Mopeds together with the RTA’s street-lighting plan in various districts between 2022 and 2025.

The meeting reviewed the results of the trials of the E-Scooter rolled out in October 2020. Currently, there are about 800 E-Scooters in operation within five key districts. These are Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, Jumeirah Lakes, Dubai Internet City, Al Riqqa and Al Muraqqabat, and the 2nd of December Street (designated lanes and range). It was reported that the experimental deployment of E-Scooters had proved successful for short-journey individual mobility as well as the first and last-mile journeys. The satisfaction rating of the experiment was 82 percent.

The meeting discussed preparations for the permanent operation of E-Scooters across the emirate once the trials were completed. Aspects reviewed included selecting the best model that suits Dubai and benefitting from the deliverables of the trial run phase as well as the expertise of major cities in this regard. The meeting discussed the benchmark of operating of E-Scooters in a host of metropolitan cities such as London, Paris, New York, Berlin and Singapore. The study highlighted the different objectives underlying the operation of E-Scooters in those cities such as easing congestion or providing new mobility means.

Attendees studied the key elements of regulating the operation of the shared and personalised E-Scooter to be introduced shortly. Discussions focused on four key elements: the user, the E-Scooter, the road, and the commercial model to be provided by operators. The meeting also discussed the districts proposed for the upcoming trial run in October 2021.

The two parties discussed RTA’s street-lighting plan from 2022 to 2025 in several areas of Dubai. The plan envisages carrying out yearly street-lighting works in 45 districts across the Emirate. It covers lighting streets extending 97 kilometres (km) in 12 districts in 2022, 105km in 15 districts in 2023, 100km in 13 districts in 2024, and 85km in 5 districts in 2025.

Source: Emirates News Agency