Category: News

DUBAI, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), today said the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has transformed Dubai into a leading city of the future and a testbed for groundbreaking innovation and emerging technologies.

Speaking on the occasion of the inaugural Dubai Future Forum, an annual event hosted by DFF featuring over 400 of the world’s top futurists, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s farsighted strategy has enabled Dubai to set a global example for future readiness and technology adoption.

Sheikh Hamdan said the Forum provides a platform for intellectual and scientific dialogue on how the world can shape its near-term and long-term future. The event reinforces Dubai’s position as a global hub for futurists, thought leaders, innovators and organisations that are playing an influential role in shaping the world’s future. The outcomes of the Forum will serve governments, communities and economies around the world, he noted.

Taking place from 11th-12th October at the iconic Museum of the Future, the world’s largest gathering of futurists features a total of 30 sessions focused on sharing ideas, perspectives and knowledge on four key themes: the Future of our World; Mitigating Existential Risk through Foresight; Value and Humanity; and Hedging our Bets through Foresight.

The first day of the Forum saw 13 sessions and workshops, including a session titled ‘Why Should We Focus on the Future?’ featuring Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of DFF; and Dr. Michio Kaku, Theoretical Physicist & Futurist.

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, delivered a speech during the opening session of the Forum.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has announced the launch of the new “EmaraTax” integrated platform later this year following an extensive period of assessment, consultation and development.

EmaraTax will significantly enhance the way that taxpayers can access the FTA’s services, pay their taxes and obtain refunds. The new platform also greatly enhances the ability of the FTA to administer taxes in the UAE, enables better, faster decision-making and earlier engagement with taxpayers that need support.

Offering online access to a larger number of FTA services than ever before, a simplified and streamlined user experience, and extensive self-help and service request options, EmaraTax offers a range of significant enhancements. Individual taxpayers, tax agents, legal representatives, foreign missions and diplomats, customs bodies and verification agencies will all benefit from the range of new developments that EmaraTax brings to life.

The new platform is a modern tax administration ecosystem that integrates with other influential government entities such as the UAE Central Bank and national technology-based programs including UAE PASS to simplify to make the best use of common data and in so doing simplify a range of user processes, from logging-in to compiling tax returns. In addition, EmaraTax is mobile-ready, and the App will be launched shortly after the new platform goes live in November 2022.

FTA’s new system aligns with the UAE Digital Government Strategy 2025 and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to leverage emerging technologies and build a solid digital infrastructure that serves the people and business community of the UAE.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, GITEX Global 2022 kicked off today at the Dubai World Trade Centre, with the participation of 5,000 exhibitors spanning 26 halls and two million sq. ft of exhibition space, with a notable increase of 25 percent year-on-year.

The 42nd edition of GITEX will converge the most advanced companies and best minds to dive deep into the making of the Web3 economy, as it covers seven diverse technology topics across the areas of metaverse, a decentralised future of the internet, and a sustainable global digital economy.

The five-day event’s record size and continued expansion mirrors the ambitions of the UAE and the region’s digital transformation movement, as government initiatives such as the National Programme for Coders, the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, and Next GenFDI propels the UAE to the forefront of the global digital economy.

GITEX unifies the participation of 250 government entities leading strategic digital projects and public-private partnerships, with Digital Dubai Authority and Abu Dhabi Digital Authority among the UAE government bodies advancing smart city and digital projects.

The GITEX 3.0 edition features seven tech themes: North Star Dubai start-ups, Ai Everything, Future Blockchain Summit in association with VARA, Fintech Surge, Marketing Mania and two new launches Global DevSlam and X-Verse.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) is harnessing the power of emerging technologies to enrich user experience with the launch of its innovative AI- and Metaverse-based projects at GITEX Global 2022, an inclusive tech show that brings together enterprises, governments, startups, investors, coders, academia and youth.

Announcing the launch at a press conference at the Sharjah Government pavilion at GITEX Global 2022, Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCDTA, unveiled the ‘SharjahVerse’ and ‘Shj AI Guide – Robot’ projects.

The new generation of exceptional tourism experiences will enable tourists, residents and visitors to explore the splendour of Sharjah in the virtual universe.

‘SharjahVerse’ – Sharjah on the Metaverse

With ‘SharjahVerse’ a project developed in partnership with Multiverse Labs™ – a pioneering global firm that are transforming industries in the digital realm, the project highlights the numerous landmark attractions, adventure and family-based activities in the emirate, SCTDA has created a highly realistic metaverse ecosystem using a combination of real-world 3D videography and advanced generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The project positions Sharjah’s tourism industry firmly in the immersive virtual realm where global audiences can experience the emirate’s unique tourism offerings.

The project also empowers tour guides, local businesses, and industry stakeholders to leverage the unique opportunities on the Metaverse to scale and grow their businesses and boost the global and regional tourism sector.

Currently, in the first phase of this project, SCTDA will feature select destinations and attractions on the Metaverse.

The Authority will extend its support in the creation of tourism-related non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform will soon be live on SCTDA’s official website enabling access from any device. The Authority plans to develop this project, hence further phases and developments of the project will be announced in the near future.

Shj AI Guide – Robot

Harnessing the power of AI and robotics to fulfil tourist expectations for interactive responses to queries, SCDTA has launched the ‘Shj AI Guide – Robot’, a virtual tour guide service embedded with AI technology in a robot form to provide a range of information on the emirate including tourism destinations, services and offerings.

The guide responds to both voice and written messages in five languages – Arabic, English, German, Russian and Chinese. In addition, it offers round-the-clock service and provides information, images and videos of destinations and contact details of tour guides and directions to tourist destinations.

The smart robot tour guides, to be employed in various local and international events as part of the second phase of the project, was launched at GITEX 2022.

In the third phase, scheduled to start in 2023, a special platform will be launched to educate tourists about the smart tour guide and reveal ways to benefit from its presence in more than 80 locations in the emirate.

2024 will see the launch of the fourth phase, where the various services of the Authority will be integrated within the smart tour guide, including the services of Sharjah hotel establishments and safari vehicles.

Enhancing tourism sector

Announcing the launch of these projects, Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCDTA, said, “Advanced technologies provide great opportunities to boost and enhance the tourism sector. With the accelerated pace of technical advancement, AI technologies are impacting every aspect of the tourism sector right from welcoming and serving guests, responding to inquiries and analysing their preferences to updating the tourism sector’s progress with accurate data to serve customers better. ‘’

He continued, “The adoption of modern technologies maximises returns, enriches user experiences, and bolsters Sharjah’s status on the global cultural and tourism maps in the region.”

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to President Wiliame Katonivere of Fiji on the occasion of his country’s National Day.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, also sent similar messages to President Katonivere and to Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama on the occasion.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, As part of its participation in GITEX Global 2022, the Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) launched today its innovative internal audit platform for government entities of Abu Dhabi, aiming to raise the efficiency of auditing in the emirate in order to help spread the values of integrity, accountability and transparency in preserving public funds.

ADAA joins forces with more than 30 government entities from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi under one digital platform in alignment with the emirate’s digital transformation agenda, at the show being held from 10th to 14th October at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The Authority aims to ensure compliance to preserving public funds and assets and thus enhance the quality of government operations, and as part of that mandate, has created its Internal Audit Platform for official audit and auditor data in various government entities in Abu Dhabi to define the organisational and operational guidelines of internal audit units, based on a set of rules including confidentiality of information, preparation of risk assessment, internal audit plans, and adoption of internal audit strategies, among others.

An ADAA spokesperson said, “The Authority is implementing a range of strategic initiatives that stem from its strategy to enhance the noble values of transparency, accountability and integrity, and to preserve public funds and assets across all Abu Dhabi government entities. The launch of this innovative smart platform contributes to bringing together all government institutions and entities under the authority on one single platform, following the vision and digital agenda of the Abu Dhabi government.”

The spokesperson added, “The platform will maintain a database of the entities’ internal audit units, contributing to raising the quality and efficiency of the relevant information on these entities with regard to their risk assessment results, monitoring the extent to which they adhere to the rules of auditing as issued by the Authority, aiming to improve the quality of work performed and achieving the desired objectives.”

The platform enables the internal audit units in the subject entities to input data and upload supporting documents. The Auditing and Monitoring Sector at ADAA then reviews the data and communicates with these units in case of any inquiries or clarifications required and prepares the audit units’ database for the entities.

GITEX 2022 is a leading global technology platform, and it provides the opportunity for the Abu Dhabi government to introduce initiatives in the fields of government services, data and artificial intelligence, and the digital systems being developed to support the infrastructure of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, enabling a proactive, specialized, easy and secure digital government system.

Source: Emirates News Agency