Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior officially inaugurated today the 3rd edition of Aqdar World Summit, which is taking place in conjunction with Moscow Global Forum 'City for Education 2019', from the 29th of August to the 1st of September, 2019 in Moscow, Russia. Running under the theme 'Global Empowerment of Communities: Experiences and Lessons Learned'.
While delivering a keynote speech, HH Sheikh Lt General Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior of the United Arab Emirates, said, "We are truly pleased in holding the summit in Moscow. This participation comes in response to the vision of our leaders and the unique participation of Russia in the previous edition of the summit which was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE which affirms the importance of joint action and good relations between countries to enhance human empowerment".
He added, "The story of the UAE and its people is firmly rooted in the human history. However, the story of the UAE Federation is modern and is lesser than 50 years old. It is a success story written by the founding fathers of the federation under the leadership of the Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who saw the human being as a core value. Hence, His Highness directed to preserve the rights of the human beings, provide all means to nurture them, and prepare and empower them to serve their country and society. These directives were a result of His Highness's firm belief that the humans are the foundation for development and civilization."
H.H. also said: "The vision of the Late Sheikh Zayed was manifested in empowering citizens, and his keenness in elevating their status. His Highness have always stressed that building the human element is a national necessity that is more important than building factories and facilities. His rationale was based on the fact that prosperity of the people cannot be achieved without good citizens."
H.H. Sheikh Lt General Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan pointed out that: "The strong will of the UAE Founding Leaders that was fostered during the era of His Highness Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vise President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; we were able to witness the leading achievements of the UAE. These include the UAE being ranked first regionally and fifth globally among the most competitive countries. The UAE was also ranked first in several main fields and sub indicators."
H.H. said: "our meeting here today in the historically, culturally, educationally and scientifically renowned capital Moscow, "City for Education." Comes following the directives of the UAE government in promoting the concepts of human coexistence. We are also here to share our success stories, and allow the UAE to present its experiences of empowering humans in different fields including education, knowledge, space, youth empowerment, People of Determination, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cultural empowerment, among others.
H.H. also pointed out that: "The depth of the positive and successful relationship of the UAE and the Russian Federation was manifested in the signing of the strategic partnership agreement between the two countries by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; and His Excellency Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation last year. The agreement represents an advanced step on the path of promoting mutual relationships and cooperation. It is also a strong momentum to expand the relationship in the fields of politics, security, trade, economy and culture, as well as the humanitarian, scientific, technological and tourism fields."
He continued on saying: "With the participation of the Russian Government in EXPO 2020 that will host more than 190 countries; visitors will be introduced to Russia, its sectors and capabilities in building the future."
"The balanced policy of the UAE based on transparency and the respect of other countries sovereignty has promoted its global status and made it a main political and economic partner of major powers. This is a result of the wise vision of the UAE in designing the country's relationships with all countries that strive to development, advancement and building a better future of coming generations." He added H.H. Concluded by saying: "We are truly delighted with the participation of the UAE ministers and officials with their counterparts from the Russian government and specialists in several fields in more than 26 workshops. we look forward to the positive outcomes of this partnership through promoting the exchange of expertise between the two friendly countries in all fields."
Following the ceremony, His Highness Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sergey Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow city along with the top delegation from both countries toured the exhibition area, where they were briefed by key decision makers, business leaders and top-level industry executives about the latest tools and industry practices that are revolutionizing various key sectors of the economy. Aqdar World Summit is expected to attract over 130,000 visitors and participants from across the globe over the next 4 days.
Launching Aqdar Smart Academy On the sidelines of Aqdar World Summit opening, His Highness Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior launched Aqdar Smart Academy that aims to empower the youth and develop their skills and enhance their patriotic sense.
H.H. launched two of the academy's programs in Russian: the Intellectual Security Program and the Tolerance Program. These programs would allow the trainee learn in Russian without any difficulties. After successfully completing the program, the trainee gets an E-certificate from Khalifa Empowerment Program – Aqdar.
Aqdar Smart Academy is the first of its kind in the world. it consists of 7 educational programs that aim to empower the youth, develop their skills and enhance their patriotic sense. The Academy intends to educate the youth about the virtues and support them inside and outside the classroom to help them in overcoming the challenges that may face. It also provides them with a leading global learning platform that allows students around the world to exchange views and researches, and educate a generation of ambitious and faithful young people proud of their homeland and their leaders.
Following the launch, H.H. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior attended the first session of Aqdar World Summit conference.
Official UAE, Russian Presence in the Opening The opening ceremony was attended by Major General Pilot Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the National Service and Reserve Authority, Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth, Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mehairi, Minister of State for Food Security, Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills and the Chirman of UAE Space Agency, Mohamad Abdulla Al Junaibi, Director of the President's Protocol Office at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Hedayah, Dr. Eng. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, Sergey Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow city, Maadhad Hareb Al Khaili, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in the Russian Federation, Major General Khalifa Hareb Al Khaili, Acting Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior, Major General Salim Ali Mubarak Al Shamsi, Acting Assistant for Resources and Support Services, Maj. Gen Jassim Mohammed AlMarzouqi UAE Civil Defense Commander in chief, Advisor Dr. Ibrahim Al Dabal, CEO- Khalifa Empowerment Program, Aqdar and Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, Executive Chairman of Aqdar World Summit among other senior dignitaries and officials. The ceremony also featured the attendance of Pavel Kuzmin, Director of the Moscow Center for the Quality of Education along with a number of VIPs from the Russian and UAE governments and officials and a pool of the local and international press.
Aqdar World Summit aims to establish strategies and solutions to help in empowering communities and individuals in various fields as well as building a strong generation able to overcome the challenges and achieve human prosperity.
For the first time, Aqdar World Summit is being held in parallel with the 'Moscow Global Forum, City for Education' an international communication and exhibition platform that puts the spotlight on global education, bringing together world renowned teachers, experts, educational start-ups and entrepreneurs while also involving parents and the youth.
The Moscow Global Forum this year, aims to direct the city's valuable resources to create a unified educational environment and impart the much-needed skills for the 21st century.
Special show about Aqdar World Summit Meanwhile, Moscow Global Forum witnessed a key presentation about the remarkable journey of Aqdar World Summit, which kickstarted as an annual dedicated global platform in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE in 2017, under the common theme 'Nourishing Minds, Flourishing Nations'.
The summit this year presents a rich conference agenda featuring 11 sessions and witnesses the presence of 40 top notch speakers and experts from various fields who will offer their insights on various key challenges in many fields. The conference involves key discussions under 3 main topics dedicated to Education and National Service: The Fundamentals for Empowering UAE Youth, The Technical, Intellectual, and Food Security: The Strategic Pillars to Empower Communities and Youth – The UAE Model, and The Role of the Advanced Sciences and Future Projects in Empowering and Improving the Well-Being of Communities. In addition, the summit presents a dedicated workshop program where top-level experts, professionals, and academicians from the UAE, Russia and other countries will offer their opinions, insights, and experiences during 26 specialized workshops focusing on issues related to developing and empowering communities in various fields.
The sessions: Al Hammadi: Aqdar World Summit is a leading national platform While addressing the gathering during a keynote speech in a session titled 'Developing the UAE Education System: UAE Schools as a Model, Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, said, "Aqdar World Summit is a leading national platform that discusses pressing topics with a global interest, crucial to grant a flourished and secured future, aiming at empowering communities by debating strategies to enhance the workforce in order to achieve creative and resilient global societies."
Al Hammadi added that, "The Ministry of Education is keen on participating every year in Aqdar World Summit, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, pointing out that this support is a key success factor as the leadership is focused on strengthening the national efforts and the local and global expertise to build future perspectives to help shape civilized and sustainable societies."
He also added that, "Aqdar World Summit brings together local and international experts and specialists, creating an opportunity to exchange global skills and experiences and expand the opportunities of collaborations to the welfare of communities, especially in the education sector, emphasizing that this global event in its current edition in Moscow represents the depth and importance of its objectives, which aim at strengthening the collaboration between countries, forecasting development and intellectual plans and exchanging expertise in different vital areas, including intellectual, technical, technological, environmental and scientific, leading to consolidate the foundations of progress."
Moreover, Al Hammadi stated that, "The Ministry of Education seeks through its participation in the summit at focusing its efforts at coordinating and cooperating with other countries globally and benefiting from development opportunities, leading to real implementation on ground. He also added that the summit represents a great platform for national cadres and institutional efforts to get closer to global developments in different sectors and gain the experience, while defining the UAE's renaissance that proved to be a leading example in evolving government strategic thinking and empowering people to be leaders, in addition to prioritizing education to be the best globally, building generations' skills that compete and engage in the work industry with the determination and the ability to keep pace with the current changes and assist in developing the country."
He expressed his contentment in participating in the exhibition that is taking place in conjunction with the summit through "Study in UAE" stand, in partnership with private and local universities and higher education institutions, to educate the visitors and participants about higher education in the UAE and its outstanding capabilities and attract students from all over the world to pursue their university studies in a country that blends exceptionally world-class education with modern and diverse lifestyle, top safety measures and various job opportunities.
Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi: The summit is a platform for exchanging experiences to raise awareness about the challenges that face the communities Commenting on the summit, Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, said: "Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Aqdar World Summit is the perfect platform to share knowledge and experiences to raise awareness about the challenges facing individuals and communities alike in a way that would establish policies and strategies leading to the development of effective solutions to these challenges."
He also said, "Under the theme "Global Empowerment of Communities: Experiences and Lessons Learned", the summit is an important step to shed light on the UAE model with its various plans, initiatives and programs, as well as establishing a global network of partners in various vital sectors to learn and benefit from the different experiences. Especially in light of the enormous technological revolution facing the world and the urgent need to adopt innovative mechanisms in the development of advanced human skills required for the operation and use of these modern technologies, which requires raising the degrees of knowledge exchange and open the horizons of cooperation between the owners of expertise and different countries."
Dr. Al Falasi resumed on saying: "The UAE always seeks to invest in the human element, believing that progress is made for man by the man. In light of the vision of our wise leadership and the keenness of our founding fathers in educating and empowering individuals, the efforts to develop the UAE school and the public education sector are complemented by the activation of the National Strategy for Higher Education with an integrated system that builds distinguished generations and raises their readiness to face the future challenges."
Speaking about the UAE reaching the space through the Higher Education and Advanced Skills strategies, He said: "The UAE's interest in space science and astronomy is not a spur of the moment as it dates back to the seventies of the last century, recalling the meeting of the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan with the NASA team responsible for the Apollo mission to the moon; this meeting clearly shows the UAE's interest in space since three decades ago."
He added, "Investment in space exploration has been a top priority for the UAE, as the expertise and challenges faced by the institutions involved in this field are beneficial to meeting the challenges here on the ground. Many of the technologies we enjoy today are born of space exploration efforts around the world, and many nations are racing to space now to propose innovative solutions to many topics of global concern, including climate change and food security."
He also pointed out: "The UAE's first astronaut is approaching Russia, reflecting the country's long-standing experience in the space sector, which was not a coincidence, but a result of the great interest in university education, the high status the society has for the professor and the tools the country has provided to enable this achievement. Looking into different models around the world, we believe that the excellence of any country in any sector cannot be achieved without a great interest in the concerned sector along with the continuous development of the education system to cope with the requirements of each stage. This is well recognized in the UAE and comes within the framework of the adoption of both the National Strategy for Higher Education and the National Advanced Skills Program, which aims to build high-caliber Emirati cadres by adopting the mentality of continuous learning, thus creating unprecedented flexibility in dealing with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and market changes."
Dr. Al Falasi pointed to the importance of technology as an enabler and importance of providing and easy and fast access to digital content and enabling personal learning through technology.
He also emphasized the importance of the role of the summit in focusing on investment in many important areas for the future, which can be used by the UAE and Russia to design and build on their development strategies and programs for vital sectors.
Moreover, with sensitivity and responsibility, we are able to enhance and raise the awareness levels of our national service recruits and improve their understanding about their rights and duties towards their country as well as make them a good role model for our citizens. Furthermore, with courage and sacrifice, we are able to strengthen the will and determination of our leaders and face all challenges. Finally, with a sense of ambition and goal, the national service authority is able to raise a competitive spirit among recruits."
On the first day, a number of workshops and panel discussions were held on many critical topics related to education, technology disruption and science and technology. While the Ministry of Education held a workshop under the title 'Higher Education and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Khalifa University for Science & Technology held a workshop under the topic 'Nurturing Tomorrow's Leaders Growing the Knowledge Economy'. Meanwhile a panel discussion was held by UAE Special Olympics, where panelists discussed 'Special Olympics Experience, Practices and Lessons Learned', whereas another workshop was conducted by UAE National Media Council, under the topic 'Media Effects on our Turbulent World'.
Arif Sultan Al Hammadi: the summit is a platform to seek collaborations for sharing of knowledge and expertise Commenting on his workshop topic 'Nurturing tomorrow's leaders: Growing the knowledge economy', Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology said, "Every research-intensive higher education institution has a major role to play in shaping young minds, while guiding and preparing them towards a better future that will be underpinned by a knowledge-driven economy. Based in in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University remains committed to this mandate, even as we consistently focus on expanding the scope of our research and innovation, exploring new areas as technologies continue to evolve. And, we achieve this through various initiatives as well as collaborations with diverse industry, government and private sector stakeholders."
He added, "The 3rd edition of Aqdar World Summit in Moscow gathers renowned global experts, thus offering us the most suitable platform to seek collaborations for sharing of knowledge and expertise. As a research-intensive university with 18 dedicated research centers, as well as niche graduate academic programs, we believe the Moscow summit will facilitate our engagement with leading industry, government and academic sector stakeholders including Russian universities, who seek partnerships for innovation and scientific exploration in advanced and emerging technologies, as well as students looking to enroll in our Master's and PhD programs
29/08/2019
