Month: March 2013

04/03/2013

In her recent address to the 4th Congress of the Arab Women Organization in Algeria, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union,Supreme Chairperson of Family Development Foundation and Chairwoman of the Supreme Council of Motherhood & Childhood, talked about the outstanding position occupied by Emirati women in all fields and how they became a key partner in the development and advancement of the society.HH Sheikha Fatima asserted that the UAE boasted of Emarati women’s outstanding achievements in all fields, refined educational and scientific attainment and diverse roles thatsignificantlycontributedto the development and progress of their society.

What HH Sheikha Fatima said reflectsan actual reality where Emirati women proved to be capable of efficiently discharging the tasks assigned to them in all national worksites. An Emarati woman is a minister, a Federal National Council member, a judge and a diplomat and has a prominent and influential presence in the UAE overall development through their full participation alongside men in all worksites and production areas, with the business sector witnessing a hectic activity bysmall and medium entrepreneurs or the owners of huge businesses of great influence on the market and the economy. Women alsofill 66 per cent of the government sectorjobs, 30 per cent of whom hold leading positions associated with decision-making and 15 per cent fill technical jobs includingphysicians, teachers, pharmacists and nurses. In addition, women have joined the regular armed forces, police and customs.

This privileged position clearly indicates that women are in constant development for the better because there is 1) a firm belief in their role by the prudent leadership led by President His Highness Sheikh KhalifaBin Zayed Al Nahyan, may Allah protect him, and keenness on creating the appropriate environment for moving to wider horizons in all fields, on the grounds that this is a key aspect of the of empowermentstage aimed at maximizing the participation of all categories of the Emirati society in the process of comprehensive and sustainable development, and 2) there is ongoing support by HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak “or “Mother of the Nation” who spares no effort to improve the conditions of women and enable them to join all fields of activity, whether through her initiatives or through her special role in woman concerned organizations, which have been able to devised strategies and policies that empower Emirati women and streamline their role in all areas of national action.

The UAE has become an example to follow in the empowerment of women; it is ahead ofmany countries of the world in that itsConstitution stipulates that men andwomen are equal and enjoy the same rights and duties, including the right to education, work, get equal pay with men, own property, managemoney and business and other legislative gains to guarantee their constitutional rights. Apart from equal pay and promotion opportunities, the laws even stipulate that additional guarantees should be provided for protecting working women such as prohibition of their involvement in hazardous,arduous or harmful work from both the health and moral viewpoints. hence, it was only natural for the UAE to be electedas member of the Executive Board of The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women for a term of three years, starting from the beginning of this yearand ending on December 31, 2015.

24/03/2013

Emirates Identity Authority contributes greatly in supporting the union march and achieving progress in the United Arab Emirates, by being one of the most important government institutions providing demographical data to decision makers, which helps the country in planning for a prosperous and a successful future for the coming generations, so each one of them can perform his role in supporting the progress and success march experienced by the country.

The main goal of the authority is represented in identifying and confirming the identity of each individual living on the land of this giving country, through the “Smart” ID card which includes a number that is linked the biological characteristics of its carrier, this number is unique and is linked to the person for life, which would contribute to reinforcing the National and Individual security.

The ID card should contribute in facilitating the government transactions for every ID card holder, and to the electronic transfer in the country through the advanced applications which the card possesses and the infrastructure developed by the authority for this purpose.

The authority contributed effectively in creating job opportunities for citizens and became among the most important advanced government authorities in the field of localization, in addition to its effective and important role in reinforcing the National Identity, which is what makes more proud of being an employee there, working hand in hand with all my colleagues to upgrade the authority’s status towards achieving more progress and success.

All my thanks and appreciation goes to the Emirates Identity Authority for their efforts and endeavors in serving the nation and the citizen, which shows the wisdom of the great leadership of our country.

Long live our beloved country the United Arab Emirates, and long live the great and precious leader, His Highness the President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan –may Allah keep him- and may Allah have mercy on the soul  of the Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah rest his soul.

19/03/2013

With spontaneous from the heart words, H.E. Dr. Eng. Ali Mohammed Al Khouri, Director General of Emirates Identity Authority, congratulated the work team when it was announced that Emirates ID won the “Sheikh Saqer Government Excellence Award” for the “Distinguished Federal Unit”, among the government quality award in its seventh session 2012.

Though, if we went back to the owner of this achievement and the founder of this excellence, we would see that it was in fact H.E. the Director General.

As he was the guide urging his institutional system to apply and practice the excellence standards in their daily performance, and he is the one who plans, develops and follows up to provide the prestigious services provided by the authority to its customers, and that have contributed directly in the authority winning the first place for the distinguished federal unit.

H.E. the director general deserves from the employees at the authority to say: “we thank you for the excellence, and you have made us proud” despite that, H.E took the step and dedicated the award to his work team, which represents the strength of his institutional leadership and his known modesty.

We congratulate our director general his noble winning, which was rightfully earned, and a distinguish to be thanked for, as it is an accolade for the Emirates Identity Authority and for the march of excellence in the government work at the beloved UAE.

We are always exhorted by our Islamic religion to select beautiful names and nicknames and avoid terms that might hurt the feelings of others. Allah Almighty commanded us to do so when He said in Surat Al Hujurat: “O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one’s] faith. And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.”

Our Prophet (PBUH) also commanded us in many traditions to avoid using any words or doing any actions that involve contempt of people. He further urged us not to envy, hate and look down to one another.

Likewise, Islam urges us to call people by the names and nicknames they most like.

Individuals with special needs are regarded as a significant and effective part in the society and play a key role in building their country and accomplishing successive achievements for the name of their country to be high in the various assemblies and areas. Recently, the word “disabled” has been repeatedly used when talking about those with special needs or anything of concern to them. Actually, this world may leave a negative impact on them and hurt their feelings, particularly when the person concerned is a child. This is because the word may be firmly established in the child’s mind and stuck in his/her memory, remaining with him/her until he/she grows older, which may lead to a negative effect on his/her social relations.

A positive attribute such as “individuals with special needs” or “individuals with difficulty” gives a good and comfortable impression to the person who suffers from a dysfunction in some organs of his/her body and causes him/her to feel that he/she is an integral part of the society, an efficient and productive person and that what he/she suffers from does not hinder him/her from making progress and advancing towards achieving such accomplishments that many of his able-bodied peers have failed to make.

A lot of individuals with special needs possess talents and qualities that can be developed and crystallized, enabling them to integrate into the society and make achievements that serve their country and society. Likewise, many individuals with special needs may outdo many members of the society in this field of activity because a disabled person is he/she who has something wrong in his/her morals and not who suffers from a disease, injury or damage in one of his/her organs that he/she has had nothing to do with and has played no role in causing it to happen.

 

14/03/2013

In the morning or even in the evening, I run the engine of my car, heading for my worksite in Fujairah. I arrive there earlier than the scheduled time while I am full of energy and vitality and very elegant.

The iron traffic barrier is openedand I enter the registration center and see my place in the lobby waiting for me.

I put my finger over the plastic biometric time attendance machine fixed to the wall, salute my colleagues and take my place behind the reception desk.

The glass door in front of me begins to work hydraulically, receivingcustomers and leaving to me the task of fulfilling their requirements.

I put a smile on my face whenever the door is opened and strive for my smile to be integrated, coherent and flexible before a customer arrives at my place.

A smile should remain consistent regardless of the mood of the customer. I try as much as possible to adapt as a chameleon, changingmy color as required by the case andthe surrounding circumstances.

If a customer is in a state of full satisfaction, I offer my services at will.

But if a customer is nervous, I try to absorb his anger, calm him down and even put a smile on his face by offering him/her candy. Sometimes, I am lucky but sometimes I am rebuked without a guilt.

This continues until the office hours are over: The door opens and closes, I put a smile on my face whenever a customer comes in and try to keep smiling as much as possible throughout the day or the evening.

It is a state of emergency that does not come to and until the office hours are over when I salute my colleagues and use the biometric time attendance machine for departure.

My day ends; the charger of my smile is no longer working and I am not elegant any more. I start my car back home for my daily life.

I get ready to charge my smile again; tomorrow is another day in serving my country and a smile is the basis of work in the Emirates Identity Authority.