GCC social affairs meet tackles efforts in combating COVID-19
Kuwait Voluntary Work Center in line with proposal World Future Energy Summit from April 5-7, 2021 Expo to demonstrate world’s most advanced urban tech
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 15, (Agencies): The sixth meeting of the Ministers of Social Affairs of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), chaired by the UAE on Wednesday, discussed each country’s efforts in combating COVID-19.
Kuwait’s Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel said in a press statement, after her participation in the meeting through video conferencing, that the Secretariat General of GCC was keen to issue documents with all efforts to be used in Arab and international forums to document them in the countries of the region.
Among the proposals submitted by Kuwait two years ago, was a guideline system that represents a mechanism for dealing with disabled people in the GCC countries, which contains four chapters and 22 articles that is enforceable, she said, noting that the GCC countries have submitted an extension for two years as they work on their national laws for the affairs of people with disabilities.
The work in the guidelines for volunteer work that focused on the pandemic was used for its role in supporting the work of governments, and it was approved to extend work in this scope, she mentioned, indicating that the Kuwait Voluntary Work Center was fully in line with this proposal. The proposal submitted by Saudi Arabia was approved, which stipulates that there should be a day for the Gulf family, has been referred to the committee of experts to examine the appropriate dates for the GCC countries, Al-Aqeel explained.
She stated the meeting thanked the State of Kuwait and appreciated the country’s efforts for hosting the Theatrical Festival for People with Disabilities last year, noting that Saudi Arabia next hosts the same festival.
She stated that the budget of the Social Affairs Office of the Gulf Cooperation Council has been approved, which will be later submitted to the leaders of the respective GCC countries.
ABU DHABI, Oct 15: World Future Energy Summit 2021, to be hosted next April, will feature the highly anticipated Smart Cities Expo & Forum. Bringing the cities of the future to life will be a fascinating exhibition that demonstrates many of the world’s newest and most ground-breaking technological innovations, with recent summits having attracted nearly 35,000 visitors from around the world. The expert-led forum, in addition, will reveal the enormous commercial and economic opportunities that lie ahead for urban planning. The most recent Smart Cities Forum featured 73 speakers, 27 sessions and was attended by more than 1,200 people.
The Smart Cities Expo & Forum will bring together proactive governments and municipalities, along with pioneers in planning, mobility, digitalisation, smart health, and safe city technology. It will also showcase the potential of connected communities through fostering dialogue and the exchange of ideas between the brightest and most disruptive minds in the business.
Abu Dhabi has been pioneering smart city concepts for more than a decade, proving the effectiveness of sustainable urban planning and such developments are now the foremost focus of planners hoping to achieve sustainable, safe and happy city life. One of the key speakers at the Smart Cities Forum is Stephane le Gentil,
COO and Acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Energy Services Company (ADES), who noted that the term ‘smart cities’ doesn’t necessarily relate to future projects. “In line with Abu Dhabi’s Demand Side Management and Energy Rationalization Strategy 2030, ADES is focused on increasing the energy efficiency of Abu Dhabi’s existing building stock through existing solutions. We can make use of today’s technology and retrofit systems to improve water and electricity consumption by making older buildings more efficient.
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“In the process, we are able to utilise the skills and services of private sector contractors and suppliers who are already based here in the UAE. The knock-on effects of this are a more settled population and enormous contributions to the local economy while improving our neighbourhoods and commercial premises. It’s definitely a win-win situation, not just for Abu Dhabi, but for all of us fortunate to live and work in the UAE.”
The Smart Cities Forum will also host key note speakers from Amana Investments, Taka Solutions, Ark Energy, EV Lab and AD Little, among others, and they will focus on such subjects as government plans and initiatives for regional smart cities, 5G, connectivity and leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) in urban development. Also, under the spotlight will be cyber safety, the Internet of Things (IoT), people and data in the urban environment. Considered too will be the future of smart health, energy and water efficient architecture, 3D printing and smart mobility.
Regional authorities are already working at solving the multiple challenges faced by urban planners, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things to transform the ways in which people live together, when it comes to mobility, communication, healthcare and neighbourhood development. More needs to be done, however, and the opportunities for global economic recovery are closely entwined with the large-scale adoption of sustainable technology.
The Oxford Business Group wrote about the future of Smart Cities in a report published on 16 June 2020, quoting a 2018 forecast from Grand View Research, which stated that the global market size of smart cities was set to rise to $2.57tn by 2025, up from $737bn in 2018. It added that the International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Semi-annual Smart Cities Spending Guide projected global expenditures of $124bn in 2020, up 18.9% on 2019. And according to a recent KPMG report, ‘The Rise of Smart Cities’, the MENA smart cities market will double in value from $1.3 billion in 2018 to $2.7 billion by 2022.