The UAE official Delegation, headed by TRA, has concluded its participation in the activities of the Forum of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The Forum held at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 13-16 June 2017. This participation resulted in the win of Khalifa Students Empowerment Program ‘Aqdar’ of the WSIS Prize for ‘E-Safe School Online Safety’.
In the same context, the ‘Smart Transformation Program for Schools’, managed by Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program, and Khalifa Students Empowerment Program ‘Aqdar’ have both been awarded with certificates of honour by the organizing committee, in recognition of these projects’ importance and role in enhancing transition efforts towards smart learning and providing a safe infrastructure for schools and students.
H.E. Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, commented on this participation by saying: ‘Our participation in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum achieves the strategy of the Ministry of Education to enhance scientific research and innovation capabilities, in accordance with international competitiveness standards. It also reflects its vision of innovative education for a global leading knowledge society, which strengthens the Ministry’s contribution in rising our beloved country, and enhancing its leading position on the global level.”
H.E. Al Hammadi stressed that the competition of the ‘Smart transformation program for schools’ project on the final prizes of the WSIS Forum, and its selection among the top five projects in the world, confirms the country’s leading position in smart transformation in the educational field. This would enable new generations with modern tools, through building and managing an innovative educational system, for a globally competitive knowledge society that meets the future needs of the knowledge economy, and the innovative-based labour market, as well as meeting the sustainability and quality standards.
Commenting on this achievement, H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, said: “We congratulate the brothers in Khalifa Students Empowerment Program ‘Aqdar’ for their deserved win of this prize. It is a natural result of the Program’s ongoing and tireless efforts to provide a better learning experience for students. We also congratulate Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program for earning the Certificate of Participation. This victory and certificate reflect the direction of the UAE’s leadership, which is highly focused on education as the optimal investment for the future and the basis for the development of national capabilities, which is the most important resource in the process of sustainable development.”
Dr. Ibrahim Al Dabal, General Coordinator of the Khalifa Student Empowerment Program, expressed his happiness and pride in the UAE’s win of the first prize, represented by Khalifa Program, for the category of ‘the role of government and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development’ for the ‘E-Safe School Online Safety’ project, in addition to the leading project ‘Cyber C3’ in the category ‘ethical dimension of the information society’.
Dr. Al Dabal added that both projects are complementary to the cyber awareness project, which has trained so far more than 200,000 students, teachers and parents, which would provide digital awareness to the UAE Community. He said: “The e-safe school project is the first of its kind in the region. It is aimed at all public and private schools in the country. It provides a comprehensive system to measure the readiness of the school to face digital risks as well as the best ways to protect the school.” In conclusion, Dr. Al Dabal dedicated this victory to the Lieutenant General His Highness Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and to the leadership and people of the UAE.
The UAE Delegation agenda of activities included two workshops. The first workshop was on “health and learning”, organized by Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program and Dubai Health Authority, and the second one was “Smart health: towards a happier nation”, in collaboration between Ministry of Health & Prevention and TRA. The topic of health and healthy lifestyle is of great importance to decision-makers in the UAE.
The UAE Delegation included, in addition to TRA, representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health & Prevention, Dubai Health Authority and Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program. The Delegation included, for the first time, a group of three students representing a group of universities, which are: Khalifa University, Higher Colleges of Technology, and University of Sharjah. The students group participated in a special Hackathon track challenge, organized within the WSIS Forum Agenda for this year.
