Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the 3rd edition of Aqdar World Summit in Moscow continued on the second day under the theme 'Global Empowerment of Communities: Experiences and Lessons Learned' concurrently with the Moscow Global Forum 'City for Education'. The second day's agenda focused on the theme 'The Technical, Intellectual and Food Security: The Strategic Pillars to Empower Communities and Youth – The UAE Model'.
Various workshops and panel sessions on ways to empower individuals and communities were held on the second day of the summit. A panel session titled 'Education and Positive Upbringing' was held by the Ministry of Education.
Commenting on her workshop topic, Amal Al Jasmi, Director of Academic and Career Counseling Department at Ministry of Education, said: "A school is a significant personal and social environment in the lives of its students. For its environment to be positive, a school must have appropriate facilities, well-managed classrooms, school-based health support and a clear and fair disciplinary policy. A school must also provide every child with a safe environment from the physical, emotional and psychological viewpoints and must recognize, encourage and support children's growing capacities as learners by providing a school culture, teaching behaviors and curricula that are focused on learning and learners."
Al Jasmi added: "In 2018, The UAE Ministry of Education formed a national committee to organize a one-week public awareness campaign on bullying. During that week, the ministry launched a distinguished anti-bullying program for students in all grade levels - from grade 1 to grade 12 – and provided a suitable program for each grade level. The campaign was organized in April and November 2018 and will be organized regularly during the week of the World Children's Day on November 20th".
She went on to say: "The Ministry of Education has also set up a child protection unit with clear objectives as embodied in protecting children in schools and enhancing the child protection system. The Ministry of Education is working with the UNICEF to develop a guide for child protection procedures in schools. The guide includes a definition of protection concepts, rights perspective and legal framework, preventive measures and potential risk factors and how to mitigate them."
"Education should be seen as a partnership between parents/family, community and school with meaningful interaction, dialogue and mutual assistance. A child-friendly school is a family friendly school; it builds relationships with parents and caregivers who shoulder primary responsibility for the well-being of children at all stages of their development", she said.
Talking about a workshop titled 'The Future of Humanitarian Action and the Importance of Encouraging the Youth to Engage in Volunteerism', HE Ambassador Gerhard Putman Cramer, Director of DIHAD International Scientific Advisory Board, said: "More young people should be engaged in voluntary work and volunteer programs at both local and international levels. Volunteering is highly important as it gives a feeling of satisfaction and provides individuals with several experiences that can help them pursue their professional careers in voluntary work. The presence of a large number of volunteers in national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies is a highly valuable human resource and comes at a time when the gap between requirements and funding is widening and requires assistance from as many concerned entities as possible".
As part of the Russian International School's participation in Aqdar Global Summit with a workshop titled 'Challenging the Talented Youth School – Community Empowerment', Marina Khalikova, Principal of Russian International School in Dubai, said: "We are very proud to participate in the Aqdar Global Summit in Moscow and look forward to promoting the UAE in general and Dubai in particular as a destination for excellent education and a beacon for science in such fields as youth empowerment, sustainability and opportunities for multinational communities."
"The empowerment of communities will expand the network of collaboration among educational institutions, companies and governments all over the world, while the forum will enable schools to enrich their inclusive educational practices and address the challenges faced by the youth during the interactive sessions and workshops", she added.
Meanwhile, Natalya Lisichkina, Vice-Principal of Russian International School in Dubai, said: "Our workshop to be held under the banner 'Challenging the Talented Youth School – Community Empowerment' is aimed at provide students with opportunities and tools necessary to expand their creativity, potential and ideas in a multicultural competitive environment. Our mission is to develop the social model of school youth empowerment and inclusion into active community life. We are keen on sharing our successful practical experiences for refining students' skills."
She went on to say: "The Aqdar World Summit is an ideal platform for strengthening collaboration between the UAE and the Russian Federation in the field of education, science and technology by sharing and exchanging knowledge on hi-tech projects and the latest innovations and developments that would benefit our students in their capacity as innovators, intellectuals and future researcher."
Speaking about their participation in Aqdar World Summit in Moscow, Amir Kanaan, Managing Director for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Kaspersky Lab, said: "We firmly believe in education and consider it one of the main pillars of protection from the cyber-security hazards. Based on this, the Aqdar World Summit is an ideal platform that allows us to connect with likeminded professionals to discuss the need for cyber awareness across educational institutes. Our research shows that the level of cyber awareness does not keep up with the rapid advancements in technology, creating a gap that should be filled by raising the level of cyber awareness across businesses and educational institutions. We have embarked on many educational initiatives with various universities, schools and businesses from the Middle East and we're committed to spreading cyber education to raise a cyber-ready generation."
On the sidelines of the conference, the Aqdar World Summit exhibition continued for the second day with topnotch companies from various sectors participating in it to showcase their latest services and solutions and give an opportunity for dialogue between the participants and exhibition visitors. This year's concurrent exhibition is playing host to many government entities including the Ministry of Education, UAE Space Agency, Kaspersky, National Service and Reserve Authority, National Archives, Timeline Technology Solutions, Consultant HSS, Knowledge Point, Erada Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, Khalifa University, General Women's Union, and Emirates Driving Institute.
