Day: February 15, 2023

DUBAI, The Gender Balance Forum, held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council and wife of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court, hosted a panel discussion titled “Public-Private Partnerships to Accelerate Gender Parity and Economic Development” at the World Government Summit 2023 in Dubai.

The session was held in the presence of Mona Al Marri, Vice President of UAE Gender Balance Council, and panellists included Matthew Lewis, Managing Director of Russell Reynolds Associates; Elena Siegel, Partner, Kearney; and Sharief Fahmy, Executive Director, Kaman Corporation.

The panellists emphasised that achieving progress in gender balance is not the sole responsibility of governments, but rather a shared responsibility among the government, society, and the private sector. They highlighted the importance of enhancing societal awareness of balance and promoting equal opportunities for women in various sectors.

The Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) Pledge to Accelerate Women’s Leadership in the UAE Private Sector, which was signed last year, sets a goal for companies to voluntarily increase women’s participation in middle and upper management leadership positions to 30 percent by 2025. This initiative serves as an inspiring model for the regional and global private sector, demonstrating a voluntary commitment to achieving national goals through policies, programmes, and initiatives, said the panellists.

During the panel discussion, which featured representatives from companies that signed the pledge, panellists expressed their pride in participating in this voluntary initiative. They emphasised the private sector’s eagerness to support the UAE’s vision and directions to achieve greater success in promoting gender balance locally and regionally.

They also acknowledged the significant efforts of the UAE Gender Balance Council and its partnerships that have had a positive influence on the private sector’s commitment to realising this vision, which seeks to establish the UAE as one of the world’s leading countries in the field of gender balance.

Kaman’s Fahmy expressed his company’s commitment to the pledge and highlighted their excellent business relationships in the UAE, as the company continues to expand its footprint in supporting the aerospace manufacturing industry in the Emirates. Fahmy noted that Kaman has programmes in place to enhance women’s representation in various roles and at all levels to 50% by 2025.

He added that Kaman is dedicated to sharing intellectual property and advanced technologies to generate high-tech jobs and create value in the UAE. Fahmy also stressed the competency of Emirati women in the aviation and aeronautical engineering sectors, which is where the company seeks to invest. He expressed pride in the successes and achievements of Emirati women in the aviation sector, including their work as engineers, technicians, and pilots of military and civil aircraft.

Kearney’s Siegel emphasised the importance of collective responsibility in achieving prosperity in all societies and global economies, which she said was exemplified in the UAE, having achieved advanced levels of gender balance. Siegel noted that Kearney is a signatory to the pledge to accelerate the achievement of SDG 5, and is committed to promoting gender balance not only within the UAE, but also across its regional offices and companies worldwide.

She highlighted Kearney’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness (DEI) leadership team as the driving force behind finding employment solutions and supporting women’s development and growth in their careers. Siegel noted that the company has several initiatives in place to support gender balance and runs an internal programme to groom women for future corporate leadership roles, reflecting on their career paths and supporting their progression and development within the company.

Siegel also underscored the role that public-private sector collaboration plays in achieving SDGs. She hailed the UAE private sector’s commitment to gender balance as a global model for achieving the SDGs, which lays the foundation for finding appropriate solutions to complex challenges in the private sector.

Russell Reynolds’ Lewis emphasised that diversity and inclusion are fundamental values at all levels and in various fields in his company. He expressed Russell Reynolds’ commitment to diversity in its leadership ranks and providing female employees with opportunities and qualifications, stating that the company is proud to have been one of the first to join the SDG 5 pledge to accelerate gender balance in the private sector.

Lewis added, “We take pride in our contributions to support the UAE’s aspirations for gender balance and to work towards a fair and equitable future. We have programmes for employment, promotion, and wage equality.” He stressed the importance of international organisations in helping countries facing gender balance challenges and the role of the private sector and society in those countries to achieve better levels.

The UAE Gender Balance Council is committed to strengthening its global partnerships as a critical aspect of its strategy. It aims to establish the UAE’s leadership and influence in the realm of gender balance and to increase the representation of women in leadership and the economy.

Under the guidance of its wise leadership, the UAE places great importance on gender balance and women’s empowerment and is eager to share its inspiring achievements with the global community. The country’s commitment to supporting international efforts to achieve gender balance is a testament to its sustainable approach.

At the World Government Summit 2023, leaders and officials from the government and private sectors, as well as representatives of international organisations with expertise in gender policies, participated in discussions about the current status and opportunities for progress in gender balance and women’s participation in government, both locally and globally.

The Gender Balance Forum and the Women in Government Forum, also held under the patronage of Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, provided a platform for dialogue and collaboration to accelerate progress towards SDG 5.

Source: Emirates News Agency

The Security Awareness Department of the General Department of Community Happiness at Dubai Police confirmed that their “Fulfil A Child’s Wish” program has fulfilled the wishes of 952 children since it was officially launched three years ago.

The program provides a unique and unforgettable experience for children, allowing them to fulfil their dream of becoming a police officer for a day. Children receive customised police uniforms and gifts, tour a state-of-the-art smart police station, and enjoy a show by the K9 unit and the police mascots Mansoor and Amna.

Since the program’s launch, 143 children had their wishes fulfilled in 2020, 481 children in 2021, and 328 children last year. The program has received widespread support from the community and continues to grow with the support of Dubai Police’s partners.

“The “Fulfil A Child’s Wish” program is an important initiative for Dubai Police and a demonstration of our commitment to ensuring the happiness of children in our community,” said Butti Ahmad bin Darwish Al Falasi, the director of the Security Awareness Department.

“We are proud to provide these unique and memorable experiences for children, helping them overcome any fears they may have of law enforcement and promoting a positive image of the police,” he said.

Al Falasi said Dubai Police is committed to positively impacting children’s lives and creating a brighter future for the community. He added that the partnership with the Tourist Police Department and the K9 Security Inspection Department at Dubai Police and other partners has allowed the program to reach more children and provide support where it is needed.

Source: Dubai Police

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that he anticipates finding a CEO for Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.”

Speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said making sure the platform can function remained the most important thing for him.

“I think I need to stabilize the organization and just make sure it’s in a financial healthy place,” Musk said when asked about when he’d name a CEO. “I’m guessing probably toward the end of this year would be good timing to find someone else to run the company.”

Musk, 51, made his wealth initially on the finance website PayPal, then created the spacecraft company SpaceX and invested in the electric car company Tesla. In recent months, however, more attention has been focused on the chaos surrounding his $44 billion purchase of the microblogging site Twitter.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military’s use of Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink as it defends itself against Russia’s ongoing invasion has put Musk off and on at the center of the war.

Musk offered a wide-ranging 35-minute discussion that touched on the billionaire’s fears about artificial intelligence, the collapse of civilization and the possibility of space aliens. But questions about Twitter kept coming back up as Musk described both Tesla and SpaceX as able to function without his direct, day-to-day involvement.

“Twitter is still somewhat a startup in reverse,” he said. “There’s work required here to get Twitter to sort of a stable position and to really build the engine of software engineering.”

Musk also sought to portray his takeover of San Francisco-based Twitter as a cultural correction.

“I think that the general idea is just to reflect the values of the people as opposed to imposing the values of essentially San Francisco and Berkeley, which are so somewhat of a niche ideology as compared to the rest of the world,” he said. “And, you know, Twitter was, I think, doing a little too much to impose a niche.”

Musk’s takeover at Twitter has seen mass firings and other cost-cutting measures. Musk, who is on the hook for about $1 billion in yearly interest payments for his purchase, has been trying to find way to maximize profits at the company.

However, some of Musk’s decisions have conflicted with the reasons that journalists, governments and others rely on Twitter as an information-sharing platform.

Musk on Wednesday described the need for users to rely on Twitter for trusted information from verified accounts. However, a confused rollout to a paid verified account system saw some impersonate famous companies, leading to a further withdrawal of needed advertising cash to the site.

“Twitter is certainly quite the rollercoaster,” he acknowledged.

Forbes estimates Musk’s wealth at just under $200 billion. The Forbes analysis ranks Musk as the second-wealthiest person on Earth, just behind French luxury brand magnate Bernard Arnault.

But Musk also has become a thought leader for some as well, albeit an oracle that is trying to get six hours of sleep a night despite the challenges at Twitter.

Musk described his children as being “programmed by Reddit and YouTube.” However, he criticized the Chinese-made social media app TikTok.

“TikTok has a lot of very high usage (but) I often hear people say, ‘Well, I spent two hours on TikTok, but I regret those two hours,’” Musk said. “We don’t want that to be the case with Twitter.”

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk warned that artificial intelligence should be regulated “very carefully,” describing it as akin to the promise of nuclear power but the danger of atomic bombs. He also cautioned against having a single civilization or “too much cooperation” on Earth, saying it could “collapse” a society that’s like a “tiny candle in a vast darkness.”

And when asked about the existence of aliens, Musk had a firm response.

“The crazy thing is, I’ve seen no evidence of alien technology or alien life whatsoever. And I think I’d know because of SpaceX,” he said. “I don’t think anybody knows more about space, you know, than me.”

Source: Voice of America