Watani Organizes Forum To Activate The Role Of Social Values In Achieving UAE’s Strategic Objectives

Dherar Belhoul: The social values emphasized by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum during the Government Summit are joint objectives for government and community

Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Watani launched today the “Social Values Forum” to explore optimum utilization of the results of the Social Values Survey, conducted recently in collaboration with Barrett Values Centre.
His Excellency Dherar Belhoul, Director General of Watani, and Richard Barrett. the Founder and Chairman of the Barrett Values Centre, will be the key speakers at the forum.

The Forum aims to involve experts from the education and public sectors to further discuss the results of the survey and find effective ways of maximizing the benefits from this initiative in line with the leadership’s vision and directives to ensure the enduring prosperity of UAE community.

The Forum, which will be held at Zayed University, will showcase the results of UAE Social Values Survey and aims to link them to the UAE Federal Government Plan 2014-2016 and UAE Vision 2021. The survey provides a data bank that can be used as a planning tool to ensure sustained development and improvement of the education and public sectors.

“This is a proud moment for us in the United Arab Emirates as we stand witness to another milestone in the country’s list of achievements across all levels – locally, regionally and internationally,” said His Excellency Dherar Belhoul.

“The UAE has positioned itself among some of the developed countries in the world in terms of community values, highlighting the perfect compatibility that exists between the constructive ideas of our wise leadership and the trust of the members of the UAE community in the leadership that represents these values in its objectives, vision, mission, projects and services,” added His Excellency.

Pointing out that the UAE was once again able to prove to the world through the survey that the country and its leadership accept nothing but the “Number One” position, His Excellency Belhoul said this position was in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who emphasized during the recent Government Summit: “I and my people like Number One”.

“The social values underlined by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum during the Government Summit have common objectives for the government and the society. These values are critical to the process of creating happiness in the UAE society by developing education and achieving justice for everyone as well as creating career opportunities for the youth and developing a comprehensive infrastructure,” His Excellency added.

“Today, we are proud with the survey results which have highlighted the fact that the UAE society with its values is on the correct track towards meeting the objectives of UAE Vision 2021,” His Excellency said.

The survey, covered 4,100 individuals from different segments of the community, 57% of whom were UAE nationals and 43% expatriates aged over 20 years old and comprised 54% male and 46% female participants. The survey was conducted by Rayak, a centre specialized in preparing surveys on public opinions, in collaboration with Barrett Values Centre.

The values that participants in the UAE survey were asked to select from included positive and potentially limiting values. According to the findings of the survey, the top values in the UAE on a personal level include Caring, Family, Respect, Honesty, Ethics, Achievement, Ambition and Commitment, Cooperation and Being Liked.
Concern for Future Generations, Respect, Community Pride, Creativity, Family, and Affordable Housing were identified as values that are being experienced or were desired to be experienced.

Significantly, the study showed that UAE has the second lowest level of ‘cultural entropy’ among 18 countries studied by BVC since 2007. Cultural entropy, which is the level of dysfunctional, toxic or destructive energy people feel in a country, was at just 12% in the UAE.

The UAE was one of two countries among 18 countries, where the survey was conducted, that had all positive values in its top ten current values, indicating that people in the UAE are highly satisfied with the current situation in the country.

The UAE is the only country among all those surveyed to date that has the value of Peace existing in its top 10 current values. This has made it possible for the UAE to surpass some of the most developed countries in the world in achieving such a crucial factor to the stability to any community.

Three values – Respect, Family, and Ethics – were identified by participants as the corner-stones for the UAE culture. These three values appeared in the top ten personal values across all demographic groups as well as in the desired values people wish to see in the future.

The existence of these three within the personal values and desired values list highlights an important enabling factor for the country’s leadership to leverage on in its efforts to sustaining and improving the wellbeing of the UAE. Secondly, this fact refutes the commonly held perception of the UAE as a country that is oriented towards materialism and economic prosperity as 75% of participants stated that these were the most important values they believed in and sought to uphold in the UAE.

The survey also revealed that the people in the UAE are looking forward to take a leading role in the world in the area of Innovation and Creativity. Innovation was identified as a desired value and Creativity as a current and desired value.

Innovation is one of the key strategic themes in all leading countries in the world, and the appearance of the value here is significant considering the high level emphasis the country puts in education – either by raising the educational standards or affiliating with other highly regarded educational institutes in the world – which offers great opportunities for UAE students.

Equality and Fairness came up as a key message in the survey results. Women, who participated in the survey in the UAE, expressed a stronger feeling of equality compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the Middle East. This indicates that current practices in the UAE reinforce and support women’s rights and ensure their ability to pursue opportunities for growth and development.

 

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Feb 18, 2013

Back