DUBAI IS ‘A CITY THAT PUTS ITS PEOPLE FIRST’
Minister pays tribute to leadership’s vision
Dubai is a city that builds the future with advanced technology and resilience, but takes care of and keeps its people above everything else, a UAE minister said at the 15th Emirates Airline Literature Festival (Emirates LitFest) 2023 yesterday.
Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Al Hashimy made these remarks during a session on ‘Cities of the Future’ with Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Hala Badri, which was moderated by Emirati writer Eman Al Yousuf.
The session drew a full house, with Shaikha Latifa Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairperson of Dubai Culture and member of Dubai Council, also in the audience.
Al Hashimy, who was hugely instrumental in Dubai winning its bid to host Expo 2020 and a driving force behind the massive success of the global exhibition even amidst a pandemic, recollected how a call from His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, changed her life.
She said Shaikh Mohammad had called her and asked her about what she knew about the World Expo soon after she returned home after attending the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. “He then told me to study the possibility of hosting
It is the people who build the city. We cannot build a city without focusing on its talents … If we only depend on technology, we become soulless.”
Reem Al Hashimy | Minister of State for International Cooperation
the Expo here in Dubai. That call changed my life,” said Al Hashimy, who went on to become the Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai and the CEO of Expo City Dubai Authority.
Talking about building cities for the future, Al Hashimy said: “What is most important is to focus on the people ... and that is what we see here in the UAE under the wise leadership. This is what we see first-hand with federal government and at official levels. This is important in our planning, strategies and work.”
Resilient spirit
It is the people who build a city and they need to abide by the requirements of the city. “That is what we see in Dubai.”
Al Hashimy said it is considered as a national duty to support talents. “We need to develop talents, keep them and grow. A city doesn’t build by itself. It is the people who build the city. We, people, contribute in building it and protecting it. We cannot build a city without focussing on its talents … If we only depend on technology, we become soulless.”
Hala Al Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture, threw light on how Dubai embraced its cultural heritage and how it is marching forward as a hub of cultural and creative economy.
Highlighting how the leaders had sowed the seeds to create the cultural platforms of Dubai, she recalled how, back in 1963, Dubai had set up a library at a vital location in its heritage area. “Decades later, we had Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Production City.”