Month: April 2013

28/04/2013

Between the revolution of electronic technologies, irrespective of its data and outcomes, and the long experience of governments in economy and development of stable infrastructures, there is a varying relationship whose durability or fragility is judged by how these governments look at the importance of digital security or the security of space, which is wide open to all possibilities, intruders or players of countries’ earnings and infrastructures, not to mention their economies, investments and rights of their individuals and citizens.

Based on this, the UAE was actually among the leading countries to put its electronic hallmark in this space and provide a unique form of digital safety, which is recognized by dedicated experts from all over the world, and is still developing safe technologies and racing against time to confirm its commanding lead in achieving compatibility between the technological revolution and stability in dealing, trading and transactions in addition to the security that every capital aspiring for investment is looking for.

The UAE has the right to be proud of its leading achievements in this connection as evidenced by its recent step of registering all the UAE population in the population register and ID card project and possessing the world’s largest database of biometrics used to identify people through their unique characteristics that can neither be transferred to others nor be forgotten or stolen. These include fingerprints, palm of the hand, retina and iris in addition to some facial features. They also include personal behaviors such as signature, voice, key-clicking style and walking, each of which has its own qualities that are compatible with the requirements of the different security systems.

Add to this the use of the world’s latest smart ID card to safely enable e-transformation and e-economy by providing a secure, integrated and advanced system for managing the personal ID in the UAE, thereby contributing to strengthening the elements of security and global competitiveness of the UAE.

This achievement in digital security has won great global acclaim of many experts in this sector due to its completion speed, accurate information and comprehensive coverage. Undoubtedly, this has supported the UAE infrastructure and strengthened the defense factors against any transgressions that may be committed by anyone in the space of electronic dealing.

Actually, the great efforts exerted by the Emirates Identity Authority in this connection must be noted and commended. These efforts showed the UAE’s ongoing bid to consolidate the mainstays of safe digital economy by capitalizing on the advanced applications of technology within the smart ID management system. This has rendered the UAE one of the leading countries to activate the use of smart technology applications in the public and private sectors following its success in possessing the world’s largest database of civil integrated biometrics within its own registration system.

Everyone knows that digital security using the latest technology and data, has become an important factor in shaping and building the future of the new economy and also consolidating its mainstays. It also plays a role in promoting the national and individual security, enforcing law and developing e-commerce transactions amidst warnings by many digital economy specialists that the countries of the world will be susceptible to extensive cyber attacks targeting their national infrastructures over the coming 15 years, while their governments will face unlimited challenges to maintain their economic and social gains provided by the digital world which we live in today, as confirmed by Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Emirates ID Director General, during the digital security summit hosted by the UAE recently.

Based on these warnings, which must be taken into consideration and paid due attention, it seems incumbent on the national strategies to enhance the security of knowledge-based economy and e-commerce and to protect the digital network of these strategies from cyber threats, though this requires co-operation at all international, corporate and individual levels.

In this regard, the UAE had a leading and remark able experience in developing public services and supporting the development of digital economy through the ID management system and was able to provide high levels of security and reliability.

Noora Al Suwaidi, Al Bayan newspaper

25/04/2013

Many people do not realize the importance of language in their lives, and do not realize the importance of preserving it, since it is the safety valve of the identity of any community. Most people also miss the truth that a language is saved and its continuity is ensured as far as its speakers save it and promote its existence.

The failure to recognize all these above-mentioned points concerning language was the cause of the extinction of many languages ​​in the world, so that we lost any information about the people of those extinct languages, in addition to losing anything related to their cultures and traditions.

Every Arabic speaker is responsible for saving Arabic language; and the complacency in using and spreading it effectively is a sign of its extinction and thus the fading of our identity and culture.

Furthermore, the importance of language lies not only in its being a means for communication, but also its being the identity of its speakers and the proof of their existence.

This point of the language’s importance is what UAE stresses, starting from the Constitution and through all circulars which emphasize the importance of using the standard Arabic as the official language that should not be replaced by any other language or dialect, even though this dialect is commonly used by people who live in UAE, for example. However, what is really happening now is that Arabic is no more disregarded by the young people of the new generation, though they are not to blame if they misuse Arabic, because of using English more in communication as they learnt it in the private schools.

On the other hand, Arabic nowadays has been being disregarded by some semi-official institutions and entities, while they are supposed to be careful with using the standard Arabic more than any other languages and dialects. These institutions should be the most entities to urge people to use the standard Arabic, such as the local newspapers and the visual media which use the local dialects excessively to the extent that Arabic has lost its prestige, because many have been so far from the standard Arabic, and without any effort to preserve its classical and standard forms.

We do not deny that TV satellite channels need sometimes to use the local dialect in commercials, but when it comes to the announcers, it is a must        that they stick to the standard Arabic and ignore the vernacular tongue as much as possible. This is because these announcers are addressing peoples all over the world who may not understand our colloquial dialects; moreover, the standard Arabic is clearer than the other dialect forms.

The point that we are still wondering about is this: Is it a need for some newspapers to publish commercials for banking or non-banking institutions in the local dialect, even if they are addressing UAE locals only? There is no need to use the local dialect, for the commercials in the Arab newspapers are for all Arabs, so that the standard Arabic should be used to be understood by all audience.

The Classical Arabic bears within its implications great identity and culture not worth to be neglected and given up, especially nowadays for we need to preserve our identity, culture and language which is almost dying before us and by us. This should be realized by the institutions and entities that are supposed to be the first to preserve this language.

21/04/2013

A system strongly believes in teamwork and team spirit, and working hard to serve the nation, the locals and the residents, and obtain their satisfaction having smiles on their faces. A system which its Director General confesses any error might occur in the Authority, and he himself not only tackles this error, but also sends a telegram of apology coupled with a bouquet to those who are targets for that error.

A system that has committed itself to be at the forefront of entities and organizations which are keen to facilitate and simplify the procedures for any customer, taking into consideration the latest modern age technologies.

A system succeeded by willpower, determination, dedication and proper scientific planning, to defy obstacles and shorten the time needed for the completion of transactions from two weeks into ten minutes … A system succeeded to cooperate in this successful way with 180 governmental entities. Such a system deserves a high respect and deserves that we bow and raise our hats.

Surely, this success, as said by the Director General, is credited to the vision of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, who stressed the importance of customers and paying them a great attention. This statement was a spark of motivation of which the team drew its vision and goals. That vision has a great attention by His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and Chairman of Emirates Identity Authority, so that it serves to promote and upgrade the national action system. This vision also receives the tireless follow-up of H.H. Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Interior, Deputy Prime Minister, and Deputy Chairman of the Emirates Identity Authority.

Dr Engineer Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Director General of the Emirates Identity Authority, says that the words of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are the light of vision that sought to be achieved.

In his interview with the media, Dr. Khouri revealed EIDA’s strategic plan 2014 – 2016 referring to the launch of ID card renewal service via mobile phone and smart devices.

However, the most prominent event that should be commended is the development of the registration system via EIDA website through the new e-application form, after the success of the experimental phase. This new process lets the issuance of ID cards easily and conveniently through few steps taking less than ten minutes. EIDA also is considering extending the validity of the ID card for the locals to be more than five years.

So we can say that the achievements of the Emirates Identity Authority are numerous, and deserve praise and commendation, especially that it was able to register all locals and residents of UAE in a record time.

Many thanks, greetings and highly appreciation for the successful work carried out by the Emirates Identity Authority, Chairman of its Board of Directors, members of the Board, the Director General and the staff, and we hope that EIDA’s work be a model for followed by all UAE entities and organizations.

16/04/2013

UAE people are known for patriotism and valor by instinct. These values were instilled in them since they were young children, whether at home or at school, to grow and make their way toward the light and hence gain more beauty and brightness.

The beginning was with the school morning assembly, where I was trying to do my best to sing the national anthem of my country as loud as possible, because I thought that the higher my voice was, the more this indicated the size of my love for my dear country.

After I joined the university, I had an increasing desire to attain the highest grades so that I would be able to pay part of the limitless favors back to my country. Following graduation, I was a persistent job-seeker but, much to my surprise, my job search continued for two years. I began to feel bored and doubtful, wondering if my mission was accomplished as soon as I received a university degree, if my role would be limited to practicing my everyday life and if my journey would come to an end here.

More obsessions were growing in my mind but disappeared only when I saw the sign of the “Emirates Identity Authorityand thought of applying for a job there. Thenews of my acceptance had a significant effect on me as it gave way to my seed of giving to continue its march towards a bright path where you can serve your country in the best way you can.

I am very proud that I belong to the Emirates Identity Authority, which achieved an Emiratization rate of 100 per cent as part of its excellence in all areas of contribution to the homeland.

10/04/2013

The tribe is calling Antara to repel the aggression of those who have raided it, but Antara is leaning, smiling sometimes and chipping eyebrows sometimes while pressing his fingers quickly on BlackBerry Messenger screen and retorting “To hell with war and with headache”. Laila, on the other hand, is waiting to see Qais, who lost his shoes tracing for her while his head was spinning dizzily in despair. He, however, is busy responding to fans with his poetic Tweets on Twitter and putting his photos at sunset outside the tents of his tribe Instagram.

I do not mean to joke inasmuch as I wish to refer to a new world that is being slowly formed around us while we are heedless of it. A quiet change eradicates reluctance smoothly. That era in which a father used to call his son and the son replies “yes, father'” on the spot has come to an end. Currently, a father needs to call dozens of times until he feels his blood is boiling, while his son is busy with his mobile and complainingly writes “BRB” to the one he is chatting with before reluctantly responding to his father.

His sister, meanwhile, is begging her mother to allow her to go out to buy something she needs badly, but instead she goes to Dubai Mall where she takes a photo of a cappuccino cup and a piece of cake, writes “Breakfast Time” on it before sending it on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Path and her mobile. She only needs to paste the photo on her Abaya and Sheila to think that she has liberated Al Aqsa Mosque with this cappuccino!

We are witnessing the birth of a new family, which is quite different from the actual family. A person’s family has become that group of people whom he is impatient to read their messages on blackberry Messenger or WhatsApp and talk with them even when he is under his blanket. They are the first to search for when he leaves a cinema where the majority of people outdoors are searching their mobile screens.

They are also the first to look for when he wakes up in the morning after heavily opening his eyes, which are stimulated only by a broadcast from somebody or a message from another. Nor can he sleep unless his mobile is placed close to his head; he sleeps, of course, after his head has spun dizzily as a result of the many tweets he has just read. They are those who bring pleasure to him, even as he eats with his family or watch TV with his actual family, and even during business meetings, where his fingers play the chat buttons under the table!

It is them who stir his inclinations and shape his orientations; if he finds them praising somebody, he will join them, and so will he when they slander another. He behaves so only because he does not want to be at odds with the group or presumable family. The personal orientations continue to be shaped until we discover suddenly that everybody likes to publish proverbs and poems on Twitter and to take photos of a cup of coffee, sunset and red roses set aside for romantic purposes on Instagram, signifying “be at ease with us, Romeo!

These figures of the means of social communication are appalling and can no longer be overlooked or believed that they are just sites and pass time. This is simply because they are driving the orientations of an entire generation in a calm but extremely effective manner. Through this slow movement that does not raise any suspicion, they create a world of a different intellectual nature, outstanding behaviors, an ideological system and a background of their own.

They most often form trans-border gatherings cross-border groupings, where orientations are handled and then marketed by the most experienced, eloquent and popular man for acceptance by many people, though there is no local justification for these orientations in his society, creed or homeland. It is actually a feeling of unwillingness to object for fear he might be rejected by these families, the number of followers might drop, or the number of those who like or re-tweet what is written in those sites will become less!

Twitter has 500 million subscribers who send 177 million tweets per day, while out of seven people on earth there is one subscriber to Facebook and these generate $1.5 billion every 3 months for the website, according to recent statistics. The visitors of YouTube, on the other hand, spend 326,000 years of browsing per month, at a daily rate of 2 billion views of those dissimilar and unrestrained content, particularly for the young generation, which is easy to be shaped and led. Nearly 10 million photos are daily uploaded on Instagram and wherever you go, you will find that establishing friendships is easier than ordering a Karak tea in an Indian restaurant!

The effects on the previous generations were mostly positive and were embodied in the parents, school, quarter friends who are well-monitored by parents and visual and audible media, which are strictly in line with the traditions and good taste, while the examples appreciated by the society and conveyed to the new generation are embodied in the Prophet (PBUH), nation’s key figures and a great personality like Sheikh Zayed, may Allah have mercy upon him. In contrast, the effect of a family has immensely diminished, surrendering to Twitter and its companions. Tweets have now the most impressive effect and are all the rage for the new generation under the pretext of “be independent” and do not be the “son of papa and mama” and that of course in order to be the son of that cawer or delinquent. A glance at those examples who have the highest number of followers on Twitter will show that they combined “the dead through beating, and the dead through falling from a height”.  They are as follows: Justin Bieber (37 million followers), Lady Gaga (35 million) and Katy Perry (34 million).

I am not calling on people to be narrow because this not the solution, nor am I  calling for ban because this is impossible. Yet, it is important to make a plan on a larger scale that brings a positive alternative or can minimize the negative impact of these media and direct them in such a manner that helps the new generation appreciate our values ​​and privacy and somehow brings the focus back to the real family, where parents are hopefully required to look after their children instead of running after more business or wandering day and night in malls; at that hour, Antara may leave the Blackberry and come to rescue his tribe!

07/04/2013

Science and knowledge are the most important weapon in our present time, and advanced nations and countries are keen on providing their citizens with science and knowledge in their bid to come in top places among their peers in the world. The UAE and its prudent leadership have paid most attention to science and knowledge by encouraging citizens to seek science, search for knowledge and continue to learn in order to attain the highest academic degrees in all fields.

The Emirates Identity Authority was inspired by the prudent leadership’s vision in this connection; it believed in science and its role and worked hard to be in the lead and occupy a prestigious position among government organizations across the UAE. As a result, the Emirates ID turned into one of the most important authorities and organizations that supported and motivated their employees to obtain university degrees and complete their higher studies. For this purpose, the Emirates ID took a package of decisions, which made it easy for each employee interested in resuming education in all academic and knowledge fields and this helped most of the employees enrol in the UAE various institutes and universities.

This leading policy followed by the Emirates ID reflected positively on the performance of employees, who competed over obtaining high degrees as this would help the Emirates ID achieve its goals and accomplish its strategy.

The Emirates ID made a good initiative to the satisfaction of its employees by morally encouraging them to learn and providing financial incentives that would help them enrol in universities and institutes. This encouraged many of them to seize the opportunity and consequently many Emirates ID employees joined educational foundations to give a bright image of their organization, which believed in science as a pathway towards achieving more prosperity and progress, improving services and seeking excellence.

Motivating employees financially and morally to learn helped increase their job satisfaction and strengthened both their sense of affiliation to the Emirates ID and their feeling that they were working in an organization that valued ​​its employees and spared no effort to give them the best. This, in turn, motivated them to provide the best services to customers.

I believe I am lucky because I am an employee of the Emirates ID, which motivated me to resume my study. By means of this article, I would like to thank the Higher Management of our esteemed authority for its constructive initiatives offered to the employees which confirm how keen it is on improving the status of its employees and supporting them to achieve their ambitions.