Day: April 20, 2024

ABU DHABI: The calligraphy exhibition, hosted by Khawla Art and Culture, began yesterday at its Abu Dhabi headquarters in cooperation with the Japanese Embassy in the UAE. The event, running until April 30th, highlights the close friendship and mutual respect between Japan and the UAE.

Japanese Ambassador to the UAE, Akio Isomata, Dr. Lamees Al Qaisi, Director-General of Khawla Art and Culture, along with several art personalities and members of the Japanese community in Abu Dhabi, were present at the opening ceremony.

The exhibition includes two exceptional artworks, one titled ‘Peace’ and the other titled ‘Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquillity,’ jointly created by H.H. Sheikha Khawla Bint Ahmed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, wife of H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Founder of Khawla Art and Culture and the famous Japanese calligrapher Yoshikawa Juichi.

The exhibition also includes other individual artworks by Yoshikawa that reflect his exceptional talent and mastery of this ar
t form.

Sheikha Khawla emphasised that organising the exhibition comes within the framework of the pioneering efforts made by ‘Khawla Art and Culture’ to contribute to strengthening the country’s position as a global centre for culture, an incubator for creativity, a forum for talents, and a beacon for writers, thinkers, researchers and artists from various parts of the world.

She noted the centre’s keenness to host international innovators and artists to enhance an artistic and cultural scene. She also praised the wonderful artistic works presented by Yoshikawa, through which he shed light on the developments of Japanese calligraphy and the Japanese heritage.

In her statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Dr. Lamees Al Qaisi said, ‘In this wonderful exhibition, the immortal art of Japanese calligraphy meets with the visual creativity of H.H. Sheikha Khawla Al Suwaidi. Today we are honoured to reveal a unique collaboration between two prominent figures in the world of art, the famous Japanese calligra
pher Yoshikawa and Sheikha Khawla Al Suwaidi, the distinguished calligrapher, poet and patron of the arts.’

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) forecast that the weather situation in the UAE from Saturday, 20th April to Wednesday, 24th April, 2024, will shift from ‘weak to moderate and fast’.

According to NCM, there is a chance of local convective clouds over the mountains by afternoon associated with rainfall on Saturday, while Monday may involve light rainfall by night over the islands and some western areas.

On Tuesday, there is a chance of light to moderate rainfall over some areas and maybe heavy at times over some eastern areas, the forecast further revealed. Meanwhile, Wednesday is likely to see light to moderate rainfall over some Eastern areas during the daytime.

The centre assured that it is monitoring the situation and will share the latest developments with the public.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) continues to coordinate with affiliates and strategic partners in response to the adverse weather conditions witnessed across Abu Dhabi. Progress has been made in ensuring continuity of services and infrastructure across the emirate by responding to the disruption caused by strong winds and unprecedented downpours.

Working in conjunction with stakeholders, DMT put practical measures in place ahead of the storm to mitigate its anticipated impact on community infrastructure. As soon as specialised teams confirmed that the impact of strong winds and heavy rainfall would exceed expectations, DMT acted swiftly in rolling out its emergency contingency plan.

Emergency response teams were immediately deployed and worked throughout the night to provide support to those in areas most impacted by the record levels of rainfall, from major highways to residential communities. Tasked with safeguarding the community, response teams-focused on addressing infra
structure requirements, including landscape, road, and drainage networks as well as street cleaning and removing obstructive debris caused by strong winds.

Teams across the emirate continue to work, and authorities remain in constant communication with residents and businesses to address concerns and provide support where required. DMT confirmed that a dedicated taskforce has been created to investigate the impact of the weather this week, and how best to prepare and safeguard communities for similar scenarios in the future.

DMT commended the community spirit on show across the emirate this week, applauded the emergency response services for their tireless work, and reaffirmed its advice to all citizens to remain cautious and follow guidance from official sources.

Source: Emirates News Agency

GENEVA: The Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, has called for reinforced multilateralism and a focus on social justice for a sustained global recovery, highlighting the need to bolster investment in social policies, institutions, and dialogue.

In statements delivered at the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington DC, Houngbo invited relevant parties to join the recently established Global Coalition for Social Justice, which already includes more than 200 partners.

The Coalition aims “to achieve a greater balance amongst the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, and to promote strong, sustainable and inclusive development through reinforced global solidarity, policy coherence and concerted action among a wide array of stakeholders,” the Director-General said.

“In this collective endeavour, we need the international financial institutions to ensure that international development
not only addresses immediate economic challenges but also lays the groundwork for long-term social and economic resilience in developing countries,” he added.

The statements, which were made to the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the World Bank’s Development Committee, outlined the challenges of long-term structural transformations in the world of work, including the effects of generative artificial intelligence (AI), the climate transition, and the diverging social protection trajectories of high-income and low-income countries.

Citing the findings of an ILO report on AI, the statements pointed to the need for policy attention to focus on managing the use of AI in the workplace to prevent the technology from enabling violations of rights at work. According to the research, the impact of AI on the labour market is set to be significant, with up to 75 million jobs across the world at risk of becoming fully automated. The transformation is more likely to affect workers in high-
income countries and women, due to their strong presence in certain clerical occupations.

The Director-General also emphasised the urgency of accelerating the climate transition and called for the World Bank Board to take bolder action in scaling up development finance, while indicating that the IMFC needs to greenlight the rechannelling of special drawing rights to social and environmental just transitions.

“Public and private financing is indispensable to expanding green and low-carbon activities, and to transforming environmentally unsustainable business practices, and to attain social resilience and transformation,” the statements said.

Source: Emirates News Agency

BEIJING: The inauguration of the Smart System of International Chinese Education occurred on International Chinese Language Day, with the primary objective of streamlining the entirety of Chinese language instruction.

According to a report from China Daily, the system has been launched by the Ministry of Education’s Centre for Language Education and Cooperation in conjunction with Beijing Language and Culture University. This platform is designed to prioritise student-centred teaching methodologies.

It has access to multimodal teaching preparatory resources, and integrates teaching, practice and evaluation, supporting tailored interaction between teachers and students, according to BLCU.

The system provides intelligent assessment tools that can compile test papers, evaluate objective questions and assist in the evaluation of subjective questions, while analysing learning behavior data and teaching students according to their specific performances.

It was launched on “Chinese-Plus”, a cloud platform suppor
ting high-quality teaching resources that has covered 202 countries and regions worldwide and offered over 30,000 online courses to over 10 million registered users, according to the centre.

The centre aims to make digital technology better serve and benefit learners around the world, and promote international Chinese language education, it said.

Apart from the system, multiple achievements have been published during the launch ceremony of the 2024 International Chinese Language Day at BLCU, including Chinese Graded Readers Standards for International Chinese Language Education, and 11 language versions of the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a phone call today from His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, during which the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to further enhance cooperation within the framework of the strategic partnership that unites the two countries.

The call also reviewed the outcomes of the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan, which was hosted in Paris this week with the aim of intensifying international and regional efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict in Sudan. The conference also explored ways to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation and stressed the importance of pursuing a diplomatic path to bring about an immediate and permanent ceasefire that ensures the security of the Sudanese people and meets their aspirations for development and prosperity.

His Highness and the French President reviewed the latest regional and international developments, particularly the
situation in the Middle East, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy are vital for overcoming various crises taking place across the world that threaten global peace and stability.

During its participation in the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan in Paris, the UAE pledged to provide USD 100 million to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan and neighbouring countries, as the total amount of relief aid provided to those affected by the conflict has reached USD 150 million, including medical, food and relief supplies.

Additionally, the UAE has established a comprehensive field hospital in Abéché in the Republic of Chad at a cost of USD 20 million, the second hospital opened by the UAE to support Sudanese refugees.

Source: Emirates News Agency