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DATA FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Forecasting the Vision of the Youth Role in Harnessing Future Technologies
Dubai, UAE- 28th February 2019:
As part of plan to involve young people in the activities of the Emirates Innovation Month 2019, the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics (FCSA) organized a brainstorming session for young people at the Arab Youth Center in Dubai on 27 February 2019.
The brainstorming session was conceptualized to encourage the ideation of new outputs and ideas which center the main themes of the national strategy of the 4th Industrial Revolution. This was conducted in accordance with the aspirations of youth and in line with the efforts exerted by the FCSA and its partners to achieve the goals of the National Agenda and the vision of the UAE 2021.
More than 40 young talented Emiratis attended the brainstorming session from various sectors concerned with the national strategy of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The themes tackled during the session were on genetics and health care through robotics, smart and interactive cities, water and food future security, economic security and digital transaction technologies, . Topics such asestablishing a global center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, building an integrated and secure data environment and developing specialized talent and entrepreneurs were also tackled.
H.E. Abdullah Lootah, the Director-General of the FCSA, applauded this unique initiative and stressed that this initiative was developed to be part of the activities of the Emirates’ month for innovation, based on the guidance of the wise leadership to encourage the role of the youth for the the future.
“Youth has a central role in the UAE’s quest to achieve its vision of being the best country in the world by 2071, the centennial of founding the UAE. TheUAE has always been proactive in launching initiatives and programs that harness the creative energies of young people and transform their passion towards technology, sustainability, obtaining knowledge, new sciences and their applications to real initiatives and programs to serve the country and drive progress.” Lootah Said.
H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al-Nathri, the Director-General of the Federal Youth Foundation, visited the brainstorming workshop and praised the efforts of FCSA in providing outstanding opportunities for young people and enabling them to present their creations that support the achievement of the goals of the national agenda. He has also thanked the team of FCSA for organizing and managing the brainstorming session.
Participants were divided into seven teams. They were selected among those who have knowledge and cognizance of this subject and among those entities, which support our national strategy. Entitiesincluded the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, the Central Bank and a number of universities, such as UAE University, Khalifa University, University of Sharjah, American University of Sharjah, Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai Health Authority Board, Future Economic Youth Council, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Smart, Abu Dhabi Police, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (DU), ADNOC, Statistics Center-Abu Dhabi, General Authority of Civil Aviation, Department of Economic Development in Dubai and others.
At the end of the session, each of the seven teams reached a set of ideas on the key theme they worked on. The FCSA experts, in cooperation with other concerned parties, evaluated proposals and presented the best ones to the relevant officials in each body.
Malik Al Madani, the Director of Strategic and Future Department and CEO of Innovation at the FCSA, concluded the session by saying: “ FCSA is keen to take advantage of the opportunities and harness them to empower young people. The Emirates Innovation Month is no exception to this rule. Therefore, we have responded promptly to various sectors to organize interactive session with young people and involved them in presenting the ideas that the young generation can implement.”
An Innovative Model for Exploring the Future of Institutional Government Action
- Lootah: This Race Combines Exploring the Future and Turning the Culture of Innovation into Sustainable Work
- Al Madani: The Core Theme of the Race to the Future is To Be A Better Model Tomorrow Than Today
Dubai, UAE- 25 February 2019:
As part of the plan adopted by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) for the UAE Innovation Month of 2019, the FCSA innovation team organized a knowledge session on the “Race to the Future” initiative, which aims to develop a conception on how the shape and work and procedures mechanism of the Authority will be in the medium future, namely, after 6 to 10 years from today.
On this occasion, Abdulla Lootah, the Director-General of the FCSA, said: “This race combines exploring the future and turning the culture of innovation into sustainable work within institutional government work.”
He added: “Every effort by FCSA and it’s employeessee the impact on the future, and this in itself is a positive catalyst to draw and shape the future of the FCSA since today by its experts and staff. They put yesterday’s and today’s experience to build a prosperous and sustainable future for the Authority, the children of the homeland and its residents.”
Malik Al Madani, the Director of Strategic and Future Department and CEO of Innovation, has led the session and said: “Tomorrow will be better than today. This is the essence of this innovative initiative. However, its mold is the race, for its positive factors in motivation and joint action for Achieving success by teams competing among themselves and with themselves for the future of the Authority.”
Malik Al Madani explained: “The race launches in the innovation month of each year for five weeks and aims to explore the future of the Authority and its work method during the medium-term future, i.e., during the next 6 to 10 years. This is the first stop of Emirates centennial 2071, by building internal capabilities in the field of strategic planning and looking ahead, by creating an innovative tool for dealing with future, and ensuring readiness for global leadership, by relying on fostering a culture of institutional leadership and continuous improvement initiatives.”
The idea of the race is based on a previous initiative launched last year by the Authority in the name of the 50×50 Competitiveness Race, which aimed to devise a 50-speed accelerator program for the most critical competitive indicators and find solutions for them within 50 working days, within a comprehensive framework that sets the indicators of high sensitivity and significant importance which affect various sectors within the priorities of some federal and local government agencies.
Reem Al Hashimi: The Council will initiate the role and visions of young people and their ideas for building societies and sustainable development in and out of the UAE.
Shamma Al Mazroui: The Council is a unique opportunity to be involved in an experience of knowledge and acquire practical skills that qualify young people to be future leaders.
Dubai-UAE, 30 December 2018
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) has revealed that the evaluation phase of the candidates’ membership applications for the Youth Advisory Council for SDGs has been commenced.
The Youth Advisory Council for SDGs was announced that the council will be established in the presence of H.E. Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, during the United Nations Global Data Forum 2018 held last October in Dubai.
The total number of candidates’ membership applications for the Youth Council reached 610 applications from inside and outside the country. UAE nationals represented 76% of the total applicants, while other nationalities submitted 24% of the applications. Additionally, 71% of applicants are of those who have completed their studies and applied for jobs. Meanwhile, the remaining 29% of the applicants are school students. As for the applicants’ gender, the percentage of female applicants was 52% as compared to 48% of males.
H.E. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and the Chairperson of the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, expressed her pride of the youth of the UAE and their interest in the file of SDGs.
She added: “The participation of young people in the development of policies and plans is an embodiment of our leadership vision for the future of the UAE, its sons, and daughters, and its keenness that young people have a greater role and close association with everything related to sustainable economic and social development in the United Arab Emirates.”
She also stated that the Youth Advisory Council for Sustainable Development goals will play a significant role in raising awareness about the efforts of various government agencies and private sector institutions in the country to achieve the SDGs 2030, as well as help in creating opportunities for advancing youth visions and ideas which support human and sustainable development in and outside the country.
H.E. Shamma Bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrouei, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs, said: “The Youth Advisory Council for SDGs is a unique opportunity to be involved in an experience of knowledge and acquire many practical skills that enable young people to become leaders of the future, and responsible for supporting the march of social and economic development in the State through achieving the SDGs 2030.”
She added: “Our wise government has invested in the energies of young people and has made taking advantage of their capacities in the process of development, progress and sustainability among its top priorities.”
She further explained: Through young people, we can harness the inherent energies and high potentials that will qualify them to participate in building the UAE and realize its vision, which is to be the best country in the world by 2071.”
H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, the Vice President of the National Committee for Sustainable Development goals and the Director-General of FCSA, stated: “This Council which is concerned with the SDGs, is an interactive knowledge platform for young people. It is through this Council young people can listen to each other’s opinions and other various and versatile viewpoints from their counterparts from other nationalities and ages. The Youth will will have the opportunity to be involved in the most important contemporary issues that capture the interest of our leadership in the UAE to enhance their role in building the future of the UAE and contribute to the achievement of the agenda of Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
The applications submitted by young people will be evaluated according to the criteria set by several experts and specialists in the youth files and SDGs of the FCSA.
Based on the evaluation results, the best candidates will be selected for several meetings and personal interviews, to choose 10 of them to be members of the Council.
The members of the Council will have many opportunities to participate actively in a number of events, sessions, seminars and activities in the UAE, most importantly, is the participation in preparing the agenda of conferences and events related to SDGs to be held during 2019 and 2020.
Mahra Hussein Al Ali, the Chairman of the Youth Council of the FCSA, stressed that: “We, the young people all over the world, need opportunities and constructive environments that drive innovation, creativity, and valuable work. This is certainly, what the UAE government is keen to provide us with. TheYouth Advisory Council will provide such environments and opportunities for the Youth towards achieving the SDGs.”
“Indeed, the establishment of this council is an confirmation of the leadership’s confidence in youth, their energies and potentials in promoting construction and productivity, and playing leadership roles in the country’s prosperity and development,” she stated.
It is worth mentioning that the Youth Advisory Council for Sustainable Development Goals marks the cooperation between the FCSA and the Federal Youth Foundation.
The members of the Council will be young people between the age of 15 to 35 years. An equal number of males and females will be selected in support of Goal 5 of SDGs on Gender Equality.
In partnership with the Ministry of Community Development and National Statistical Centers
Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2019 is Announced
- The survey covers more than 20,000 households in the country in the largest socio-economic statistical project
- The fieldwork will take one year and cover all seven Emirates
- 350 field researchers will be supported by advanced statistical tools
20 December 2018 – Dubai, UAE
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority announced the official launch of the 2019 Household Income and Expenditure Survey at a press conference today. The announcement was made by HE Hessa bint Isa Buhamaid, Minister of Community Development and the UAE and was attended by HE Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority. Also present at the event was HE Humaid Rashid Humaid Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Executive Council of Umm Al Quwain, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi , Director of Sharjah Department of Statistics and Community Development, HE Ahmad Abdulla Al Suwaidi, Director General, Statistics Center – Abu Dhabi, HE Arif Obaid Al Muhairi, Executive Director, Dubai Statistics Center, HE Dr. Ibrahim Saad, Director of Fujairah Statistics Center, Dr Ibrahim Akoum, Executive Director, Ras Al Khaimah Center for Statistics and Studies and Mrs Hessa Zayed, Fieldwork Manager, Ajman Statistics and Competitiveness Center.
During the press conference, HE Hessa bint Isa Buhamaid announced the launch of the survey’s fieldwork that will be targeting more than 20,000 Emirati and non-Emirati families distributed across the seven emirates. Her Excellency said that the UAE family has been and will remain the focus of the Ministry of Community Development and all government agencies for decades and until this very moment. This focus, she added, will grow further in the future in accordance with the directives of the UAE leadership. Her Excellence also noted “The happiness of the UAE community and ensuring prosperity and sustainable development is the focus of our attention, which is why we work with the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority and all national statistical centers on the Household Income and Expenditure Survey Project.”
“We recognize the importance of this survey because it provides data and statistics that are an accurate reflection of the income and expenditure levels at a household level in the country. Thus, decision makers will be able to utilize the data produced by the survey to design, launch and implement various impactful social and economic programs aimed at improving all aspects of life for individuals and families such as housing, education and health; reiterating the UAE’s status as a destination for happiness and prosperity,” Added HE Buhmaid.
Her Excellency also stressed the importance of the families’ response and cooperation, “Cooperating with with the field researchers is imperative for the success of this important national project.”
HE Abdulla Nasser Lootah, expressed his excitement in launching the Household survey. “We are proud to launch the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2019. This national project, which is being implemented over a period of one year, reflects the strong cooperation, collaboration and teamwork spirit between the Ministry of Community Development and the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority and all national statistical centers in the UAE,” he added. “This survey is regarded as one of the most importance statistical projects because of the type of data it produces. Data that is crucial for any decision makers who is seeking to develop strategic plans and initiatives that can positivity impact the lives of families in the UAE”
Approximately 350 field operators, consisting of observers, supervisors, researchers and experts spread across all emirates, will be working on the project. This number does not include the office staff providing support at the FCSA and national statistics office.
All field teams attended intensive training and are equipped with latest advanced field tools and methodologies such as geo-spatial positioning systems, mobile applications on handheld devices, and other advanced techniques and modern statistical methods to ensure accuracy and quality of results.
| Emirate | Sample Familes per Emirates | Percentage |
| Abu Dhabi | 8784 | 42% |
| Dubai | 3816 | 18% |
| Sharjah | 2304 | 11% |
| Ajman | 1632 | 8% |
| Umm Al Quwain | 1248 | 6% |
| Ras Al Khaima | 1632 | 8% |
| Fujairah | 1296 | 6% |
| Total | 20712 | 100% |
Table (1) Sample breakdown per Emirate
The survey will help extract more than 65 indicators such as the basket of goods and services, consumer price indices, cost of living index, and price indices to help assess the level, direction and structure of the economic well-being of families.
The survey also provides accurate information on the demographic, social and economic characteristics on the components of society, including gender, age, nationality, educational level, marital status, labor force, occupation, economic activity, employment status and others.
The survey helps to update the base years of statistical indicators, such as inflation rates, as the periodicity of survey implementation extends to five years, providing seasonal coverage of household income and expenditure rates.
Session taking place on sidelines of World Data Forum will discuss how traditional statistics gathering is making way for digital forms
Dubai, October 24, 2018
The impact of the data revolution on statistics gathering and fieldwork will be an issue under the spotlight at a side session of the forthcoming United Nations World Data Forum, which is being organised by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) and takes place October 22-24 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.
Titled Bye ‘Bye-Bye Statistics,’ the activity being presented by Saber bin Saeed Al Harbi, Director General of GCC-Stat, will examine how advances in technology are creating breakthroughs in data collection and negating the labour intensive, traditional methods for harvesting and promulgating statistics.
“We are facing a sea-change in the way data is collected, stored, analysed and disseminated, with rapid leaps forward in technology creating a fundamental shift in the way that information is gathered. The ‘Bye-Bye Statistics’ session on the side-lines of the UN World Data Forum aims to show attendees how it is now possible to do away with time-consuming fieldwork and the compiling of static tables. It will reveal the latest developments in virtual statistics and how to best utilise data acquired from sensors, satellite imagery data and GPS integrated data,” Saber bin Saeed Al Harbi
Bye-Bye Statistics will discuss the future demographic of the statistics world, which the session coordinators say will feature fewer compilers and more analytics, with those involved in the field also being younger. It will highlight how statistics will be defined by networks instead of buildings, with the work increasingly involving smart skills and machine learning. It will also examine the process of initiating change and the policies that managers responsible for data collection can adopt to ensure that their teams become enthusiastic early adopters of the new models.
“The Bye-Bye Statistics session will examine the best ways for managers to introduce these changes to bring their teams along with them. We will be examining the various stages involved in creating successful change, such as establishing a sense of urgency, creating a guiding coalition, developing a strategy, generating short-term wins and consolidating gains,” added Saber Al Harbi
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, the UN World Data Forum 2018 brings together more than 1,500 data experts, high-ranking government officials and prominent policy makers from around the world. Now in its second edition, the globally-recognised event contributes to the establishment of a scientific incubator environment to enhance the role of data and statistics in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030; namely food security, health and learning.
Memorandum of Understanding will see bodies work together to meet the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals
Dubai, October 24, 2018
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), the UAE government body tasked with developing the UAE’s performance in data collection and in improving the country’s ranking across global indices, has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
Under the terms of the agreement, the FCSA will partner with SDSN – a body that operates under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General to mobilise global scientific and technological expertise for sustainable development – to share knowledge and resources. The specifics of the MoU relate to SDSN’s research network on data and statistics ‘TReNDS’ and the organisations’ mutual objective of providing better-quality data to monitor sustainable development.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the UN World Data Forum 2018, which was hosted by the FCSA at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai from October 22-24. The second edition of the global summit aimed at exploring ways of improving the collection and analysis of statistics to meet the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under Agenda 2030. The signatories to the agreement were H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director General of the FCSA and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the UN World Data Forum 2018, and Jessica Espey, Senior Adviser at SDSN.
“Our new partnership with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network will see the UAE run SDG pilot initiatives when needed to support the network’s research, while the network will reciprocate by supporting the FCSA with capacity building when possible, participating in SDG-related events where feasible, and contributing to the UAE’s annual report on SDGs. We see our relationship, which will last until at least 2020, as an important step in helping the UAE meet its obligations towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” said H.E. Lootah.
Organised by the FCSA and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, the UN World Data Forum 2018 attracted more than 1,500 data experts, government officials and policy makers from around the world. Following the inaugural event in Cape Town, South Africa in 2017, the successful second edition of the Forum has established the event as the preeminent global activity to discuss the role of data and statistics in achieving the UN SDGs in the areas of food security, health and learning.
- Program Celebrated its 50th anniversary at FCSA headquarters in Dubai
Dubai, October 25, 2018
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) has hosted the third Governing Board Meeting of the International Comparison Program (ICP) at its headquarters in Dubai Festival City, marking the first time the meeting takes place in the Middle East.
Held in collaboration with the World Bank, the meeting was chaired by Statistics Austria, the country’s federal statistical office, and follows the three-day UN World Data Forum 2018, organised by the FCSA in Madinat Jumeirah on October 22-24, bringing together more than 2,500 data experts, policy-makers, and representatives from academia, private companies and civil society organisations (CSOs) from around the world.
FCSA Director General His Excellency Abdulla Nasser Lootah welcomed the Board members to the Authority’s headquarters, congratulating them on the International Comparison Program’s Golden Jubilee. “The initiative has come a long way since 1968 and has evolved into the largest statistical partnership in the world with participation from more than 200 countries, 20 institutions and many renowned experts,” H.E. said.
“The United Arab Emirates joined the programme in 2011 and is fully committed since then to all its requirements,” H.E. Lootah added, noting that the UAE was one of the first countries to implement sub-national Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2015. “We believe that the ICP outcomes are very important for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), national statistics requirements, the UAE National Agenda, and competitiveness reports,” he concluded.
"Producing regular high quality data on Purchasing Power Parities is of utmost importance for reliable international economic comparisons of countries and lies at the heart of the International Comparison Programme. Strong commitment at the highest level as we have seen it from members and observers of the ICP Governing Board in its meeting in Dubai make me confident that the currently running ICP exercise will be a big success.", says Konrad Pesendorfer, Co-Chair of the ICP Governing Board and Director General of Statistics Austria.
The attending Board members discussed the overall progress made in the implementation of the ICP’s 2017 cycle and interim activities, examined regional progress reports, and evaluated outstanding risks and mitigation measures, before concluding the meeting with preparing for the ICP 2020 cycle.
The ICP is a worldwide statistical initiative led by the World Bank under the auspices of the United Nations Statistical Commission, with the main objective of providing comparable price and volume measures of gross domestic product (GDP) and its expenditure aggregates among countries within and across regions. Through a partnership with international, regional, sub-regional and national agencies, the ICP collects and compares price data and GDP expenditures to estimate and publish purchasing power parities (PPPs) of the world’s economies.
The Governing Board (GB), meanwhile, is a strategic and policy-making body, which sets the policies that govern the production of regional and global PPPs; approves the methodology and any methodological improvements; conducts outreach to policy-makers to ensure the inclusion of the ICP in the national permanent statistical work; and helps with fund-raising at country level to increase national funding for the ICP.
Austria currently co-chairs the ICP Governing Board with India; the Board includes members from Belarus, Brazil, China, Fiji, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Suriname, and the United States, as well as from organisations such as the Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the United Nations Statistics Division, and the World Bank. The Statistical Office of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN_ESCWA) also serve on the Board as observers.
Based on a comprehensive report prepared
By the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority
Dubai, 25 May 2020:The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recognized the determined efforts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and the effective measures taken by the country’s government to limit the fallout of the crisis on different areas, including social and economic sectors.
The commendation followed an ongoing analysis issued by the organization about the possible impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on countries around the world and the ability of their economic systems to deal with the crisis. The OECD’s Covid-19 Policy Hub includes a detailed explanation about the numbers of infected cases in each country and the respective measures they have taken to combat the outbreak.
The OECD based its assessment on a detailed report prepared by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), which includes the initiatives, efforts and strategic plans made by different government entities at the national level aimed at ensuring the health and safety of the community. Taking into consideration the continuity of work in vital sectors such as energy, education, healthcare, communication and government services, the FCSA report highlights the various steps taken by the UAE to halt the spread of the coronavirus, which includes launching awareness campaigns and implementing practical steps, both of which have served to reduce the number of infected cases.
“The high level of responsiveness and prompt decision-making has led to the swift implementation of national plans to deal with the current crisis and ensured administrative efficiency in all government entities. The level of resilience displayed is proof of the innovation of the government system, which works in perfect harmony and coordination under the guidance of the UAE leadership to serve the country’s sustainable development goals,” said H.E. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Director General of the FCSA.
“The current crisis has created a real and ongoing challenge. The United Arab Emirates has been able to reduce the fallout from the pandemic in all sectors, thanks to the leadership’s strategy of investing in national qualifications and providing the country’s human capital with all the technical and smart tools to ensure success. Today, we reap the benefits of this investment and are proud of the national integrated team who deserve full praise because of their efforts and ability to collaborate professionally with the OECD – a prestigious global organization,” H.E. Lootah continued.
More achievements
“We are keen to develop an integrated infrastructure for the national statistics system and to continuously update a comprehensive database that enables us to prepare detailed reports and studies that serve to advance the position of the United Arab Emirates on various global competitiveness indicators, in line with the directions of the prudent leadership,” H.E stressed.
“We are proud of the praise from the OECD regarding the United Arab Emirates’ efforts and its efficiency in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. We invite all government entities to redouble their cooperation and coordination efforts across all domains to achieve greater successes and make qualitative advances for the country in all sectors and across different indicators,” H.E concluded.
For His part, Andreas Schaal, Director of Global Relations, OECD, said : ““ The Covid-19 crisis has bluntly reminded us that, as our countries form part of a global interconnected community, international cooperation has never been so important. The UAE has proven to be an important and innovative partner, as we collectively strive to develop the most effective policies to address such an unprecedented crisis. Looking forward, we are convinced that the United Arab Emirates can play an important role in converting this crisis into an opportunity for the MENA region, and we welcome working with the UAE to make this possible.”
On the level of measures
As part of the OECD’s response to the pandemic, a Digital Hub on Tackling the Coronavirus (COVID-19) was launched to provide countries with timely and comprehensive information on policy responses around the world, together with OECD advice, in some cases. Specifically, the Country Policy Tracker is a repository of policy responses and measures from over 90 countries which allows citizens and policy makers to explore the actions taken by each country as we advance through the crisis towards recovery. Beyond immediate responses.
The Digital Hub aims to provide analysis on the longer-term consequences and impacts, paving the way to recovery with coordinated policy responses across countries. OECD analysis underpins the need for decisive action and a coordinated response by governments to kick-start the economy when possible, support the recovery and maintain a lifeline to people. In this way.
The OECD hopes to help governments learn from each other in real time, facilitate co-ordination, and contribute to the necessary global action when confronting this enormous collective challenge.
The United Arab Emirates’ efforts have been recognized and included within the indicator, due to its strategic partnership with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The countries included in the measures’ indicator include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (a member of the G20 group), Morocco and Egypt (which have a special cooperation known as Country Programmes), in the addition to Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, which has a close relationship with the Organization through a Memorandum of Understanding.
Innovative efforts
The report issued by the FCSA highlights the efforts of the UAE government in dealing with the crisis on several levels, including containing the spread of the virus through quarantine and movement restrictions, the application of a distance learning system for university and school students, cancelling public events, curtailing air travel and suspending certain economic activities.
The report explains that the efforts to contain the virus are accompanied by a series of supportive, economic stimulators and commercial growth measures for individuals and companies in order to ensure business continuity. These include the launch by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates of two plans worth AED 256 billion, comprising AED 100 billion to support the economic growth of the retail sector and affected companies, and AED 156 billion to support the national economy. It also draws attention to the Abu Dhabi government’s AED 9 billion support plan and the Dubai government’s economic incentive package worth AED 1.5 billion. Other initiatives highlighted in the report include the United Arab Emirates Cabinet approving federal government financial stimulus packages worth AED 16 billion to support business continuity on top of previously announced economic incentive packages.
The FCSA report outlines that the economic measures have been accompanied by supportive healthcare measures. These include the conducting of the largest number of examinations on the population level compared to the other countries, with the tests ongoing on a daily basis and contributing to the detection of many cases. It also highlights the establishment of 13 drive-in testing centres across the UAE and a number of field hospitals that have been opened to ensure the highest levels of health and safety.
The FCSA report also includes the measures taken to reduce burdens on the private sector, with the various financial stimulus packages amounting to AED 86 million. These include extending automatically expired residencies for employees and workers for a period of three months, cancelling administrative fines for expired permits until the end of the current year, and reducing electricity and water services fees for dealers in the tourism, hospitality and trade sectors by 20% for a period of three months. It concludes with a reference to the regulatory measures taken to raise awareness of preventive measures and to preserve mental wellbeing in society.
New York, Dubai- 9th March 2020:
In a step to affirm the UAE’s strenuous efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the international and local levels, H.E. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, held a meeting with H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) and Deputy Chairman of the UAE’s National Committee on SDGs, leading a delegation representing the UAE to discuss the SDGs and opportunities to enhance cooperation efforts to achieve them.
The attendees tackled several relevant topics on SDGs while focusing on the state-of-the-art technical trends, strategic partnerships, the youth’s pivotal role, and the importance of supporting the implementation of data-based sustainable development initiatives around the world.
In this connection, H.E. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation Affairs and Chairperson of the National Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals hailed the UAE Government efforts at the international and local levels to achieve the SDGs 2030.
“The UAE’s commitment to supporting global efforts to achieve SDGs is entirely consistent with the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul in peace, to build a sustainable future for future generations. This legacy is based on the optimal management of our resources to serve the best interest of the UAE’s development and prosperity and the world at large,” H.E. Reem stated.
H.E. Al Hashemi added: “Supporting the SDGs has been a fundamental pillar of the UAE journey that started generations ago. This has established its position as a role model in development and prosperity and creating a better future for generations to come. Today, the UAE is taking the lead in combining development policies and strategies with these global goals.”
H.E. Amina Mohammed stated, "It gives me an eminent pleasure to meet again with the UAE delegation. The UAE has always been a UN member committed to supporting global efforts to achieve SDGs. It is such a meeting to help highlight the extent of UAE leadership’s belief in the active role of coordination and consultation at the international level to achieve a prosperous future for the generations to come.
H.E. Amina said: “We are pleased with the United Nations to exchange expertise, experiences, and data with the UAE delegation. Indeed, the UAE is leading the efforts dedicated to adopting innovation and technology to achieve the SDGs.”
On his part, Lootah stated: “We are visiting New York to emphasize our commitment that every person in this world, no matter where he or she lives, could live a life free from poverty, hunger, and disease.”
H.E. Lootah highlighted the role of public and private sectors and organizations in this process by saying: “Effective communication and participation between experts in international organizations and public and private sectors all over the world, are the way that would enable us to share experiences and innovations designed to support countries in their journey to achieving the SDGs.”
“These meetings are a genuine opportunity to discuss visions and ideas that would contribute to promoting dialogue and partnerships at the international level to proceed with the journey to achieve the SDGs,” H.E. Lootah added.
During the meeting, H.E. Lootah reviewed with the Deputy Secretary-General the efforts made by UAE globally to raise awareness on SDGs. They also discussed other topics including the UAE SDG Photography Award organized by the UAE National Committee on SDGs, in partnership with the Hamdan bin Mohammad Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), in addition to the mobile exhibitions organized for the winning photos in the most critical events sites that attract a broad audience. They agreed that such activities would boost up the UAE’s reputation as a global contributor committed to implementing and raising awareness on the global goals of sustainable development. The delegation presented a copy of the Photography Award Book to H.E. the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, who praised the efforts made by the UAE to raise awareness on SDGs.
With Sights Set to Take Effective Steps in Support of SDGs
UAE- 25th January 2020
With the participation of the National Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals, the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work held its first meeting in 2020.
Her Excellency Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation Affairs and Chairperson of the National Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals expressed her pleasure to meet the members of the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work.
H.E. Al Hashemi emphasized the necessity of concerted efforts to provide accurate and up-to-date data, which contributes to advancing the UAE’s competitiveness in sustainable development dossiers.
“The statistical work system requires integration in all aspects of the statistical work and data collection. We should have a mutual understanding of the working mechanism in the next stage with sights highly set to achieve the vision of the UAE wise leadership in areas of sustainable development, and to move steadily forward to realizing goals of the UAE Centennial 2071,” she stated.
H.E. Al Hashemi underlined that more efforts must be exerted to make data accessible to all, and strive hard to promote and further boost up partnerships between government and local entities along with the private sector. She also touched upon areas of improvement in the statistical work by saying: “We have to invest in the mutual advantages generated by the enormous volumes of data, knowledge, and experiences to serve best the important initiatives and projects dedicated to supporting the statistical work, and enhance the achievement of the SDGs in UAE.”
H.E. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi availed the opportunity to extend her sincerest appreciation to all the national statistics centers for their dedicated efforts to provide data and further enhance the UAE’s competitiveness in various global competitiveness reports. She stressed: “The UAE today is a role model in areas of developing strategies for achieving the SDGs. We look forward, through our meeting, to unifying the efforts of statistics centers to identify solutions to challenges and turn them into genuine opportunities.”
H.E., the State Minister, concluded her statement by giving weight to the fact that UAE deserves that everyone pushes himself to the limit to bring our homeland to the level of developed country worldwide, and create a better future for present and future generations.
H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) and Deputy Chairperson of the National Commission on SDGs, thanked H.E. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi for attending the meeting and the directives and remarks she presented.
H.E. Lootah added: “Our work in the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work and the National Committee on SDGs focuses on the significance of data and statistics in achieving the indicators of the UAE National Agenda 2030, constant quest to further boost up the achievements, and adopting innovation as a systematic work approach to achieve the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071.”
While highlighting the significance of this meeting, H.E. Lootah pointed out that joint meetings constitute a real opportunity to discuss visions and ideas that would add value to the dialogue on supporting partnerships between statistics entities to move forward of achieving the SDGs.
He also stated: “This would enhance our work in parallel with global efforts exerted to achieve sustainability. It would also help identify priorities, discuss challenges, and review a range of innovative and effective solutions that contribute to accelerating the pace of achieving the SDGs in the UAE.”
Commenting on the significance of the meeting, Abdullah Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Acting Director-General of the Statistics Center- Abu Dhabi (SCAD), assured SCAD’s commitment to achieving the SDGs. He said: “This meeting was of outstanding importance and meant to exchange experiences, reviewing the best practices in the field of sustainability, and highlighting the vital role of statistical data in supporting the sustainability process. It also dedicated to identify the best methods to take advantage of the statistical data, improve its quality and make them accessible to the public, and channel them in the manner that contributes to the UAE’s progress and prosperity and the world at large.”
Al Suwaidi added: “The United Nations and the member states that endorsed the Global Sustainability Agenda 2030 acknowledged the importance of providing data and statistics of development indicators as unified criteria for identifying efforts to achieve the SDGs. in view of that, all countries committed to achieving their SDGs strive hard to provide the latest figures and data on sustainability and make them accessible.”
Promoting Initiatives
Arif Al Muhairi, the Executive Director of the Dubai Statistics Center (DSC), highlighted the significance of this meeting by saying: “The statistical work system requires integrating all relevant aspects of the statistical work, data flow and developing a mutual understanding of the working mechanism through cooperation between statistics entities in the UAE.
Hailing efforts to hold this meeting, he commented: “This meeting was held with the participation of the members of the National Committee on SDGs as a genuine realization of the interest that the UAE’s wise leadership attaches to promoting initiatives and partnerships that best serve to achieve the SDGs. It is held to emphasize the importance of joint work, harnessing innovative solutions, and benefiting from the data revolution to achieve the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.”
For her part, Dr. Hajar Al Hubaishi, Executive Director of the Ajman Statistics and Competitiveness Center, emphasized: “The meetings of the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work are held according to a general framework dedicated for the process of developing and implementing statistical work in the UAE. This could be realized by achieving coordination and integration among official statistical entities, government authorities, and the private sector institutions to ensure that the flawless flow of data effectively and systematically.”
Dr. Hajar went on to say: “The joint meeting earned special importance as it is held with the participation of the members of the National Committee on SDGs. This definitely, contributes to developing a data environment that supports the efforts exerted to achieve the SDGs in the UAE through devising tools and means to ensure the provision of accurate and up-to-date data. They all are meant to contribute to the efforts exerted to achieving sustainability in the UAE by implementing various strategic initiatives and projects.”
On his turn, H.E. Humaid Rashid Humaid Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Executive Council of Umm Al Quwain, shed light on the commitment of Umm Al Quwain Emirate to coordinate and combine efforts of the national statistics entities and provide support to them to make optimal use of data and the best methods of collecting and analyzing them.
He pointed out: “This is done to support the national statistical work systems, to implement the best practices in this vital sector and to take advantage of the methodologies designed to support sustainable development dedicated to realizing the directions of the UAE Government and its federal and local authorities to achieve the SDGs. Such efforts will finally lead to promote methods to achieve our national agenda and the UAE Centennial 2071.”
On the other hand, H.E. Najwa Yaacoub, Executive Director of RAK Center for Statistics & Studies, singled out the need to conclude partnerships in the field of statistical work to support the SDGs.
She stated: “This meeting is one of the active channels of communication with the strategic partners to contribute to pursuing the achievement of the SDGs. Moreover, it is an opportunity to develop the appropriate statistical work mechanisms to harness innovation to achieve sustainable development, one of the catalysts for realizing growth in many other vital sectors.
H.E. Najwa Yaacoub mentioned that the meeting agenda focused on expanding the methods to support and measure the UAE National Agenda designed to contribute to achieving the SDGs 2030. Also, the agenda focused on the importance of data and statistics to support decision-making processes and achieving the anticipated achievements at the level of the UAE and the world at large.”
Dr. Ibrahim Saad, Director of the Fujairah Statistics Center, underlined that the meeting received additional importance as it is being held to enhance the position of statistics in sustainable development.
He pointed out: “The statistics sector receives immense care and attention of the UAE’s wise leadership based on the importance of its active role in policy and decision-making, as well as contributing to establishing development projects.”
Dr. Ibrahim indicated that providing accurate statistical information contributes to drawing strategic plans for sustainable development in the UAE, and enhances the flow of data and indicators between the government departments and private sector institutions.
Dr. Ibrahim concluded by stating that “This would have positive implications in realizing developments in economic and social growth. It would absolutely enhance methods adopted to achieve the SDGs 2030 and boosts the UAE’s competitiveness in global reports and indicators.”
Dubai, the United Arab Emirates- 16th February 2020
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) participates in the Global Women’s Forum Dubai 2020 (GWFD 2020) scheduled to be held today under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during 16-17 February 2020 under the theme “The Power of Influence”.
As per the forum agenda, FCSA is participating in several main sessions, in addition to introducing an innovative digital interactive screen designed to display the most recent facts and figures on the UAE journey in empowering women, and its achievements in the most important global competitiveness reports and indicators on women empowerment and gender balance.
FCSA would also introduce a special report on the role of women in development in partnership with the Dubai Women Establishment, National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, and the Arab Youth Center.
On its participation in GWFD 2020, H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, FCSA Director-General stated: “FCSA is proud to actively participate in GWFD 2020 by contributing to the main agenda and providing the essential support to this important global event. GWFD 2020 is a platform to document the UAE sustained achievements in realizing gender balance and women empowerment in all areas.”
“FCSA would make sure to shed light on the UAE notable achievements in areas of laws, procedural improvements and the results achieved due to accurate and updated data, and their repercussions on the most important global competitiveness reports and indicators,” H.E. Lootah added.
Plenary Sessions
H.E. Hanan Ahli, Executive Director of the Competitiveness and SDGs Sector at FCSA, said: “FCSA would showcase its experience in several dossiers on women’s empowerment and their relationship to achieving SDGs 2030 through supporting decision-makers. Such support is realized by providing and making the accurate and up-to-date data accessible to them, and introducing legislative and procedural improvements to laws on women and their role in society, as well as the economic and knowledge development processes.”
H.E. Ahli stated: “FCSA aims through its participation in GWFD 2020 to showcase the adopted best practices in UAE which in total designed to achieve sustainable development. We would also present UAE’s success stories in harnessing the competitiveness strategy to achieve humanitarian goals, in addition to the most important lessons learned in producing and making data on women’s empowerment accessible to the public.”
An Interactive and Figure-Based Screen Highlighting Emirati Women Leadership
As part of the its input to the forum, FCSA plans to reveal an interactive display screen to all visitors and guests to view the recent data, statistics, and indicators of global competitiveness achieved by UAE in addition to all that related to supporting and enhancing women’s leadership, pioneering and social role in UAE. This data is displayed in a unique interactive visual style which facilitate displaying and explaining the data and indicators smoothly and simply.”
Noteworthy, the second edition of GWFD2020 would tackle several thematic subjects that present diverse insights and international experiences from around the world. Part of the prominent dossiers that would be addressed is the role of women in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and their contribution to achieving SDGs and the innovation industry. GWFD 2020 agenda would also address other several topics, namely peace and prosperity, the role of governments in developing strategies to ensure gender balance, and harnessing modern technology to achieve this balance and the most effective empowerment in all areas.
In recognition of Inventing the Geospatial Data Hub for SDGs
Dubai, UAE- 6th February 2020:
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) succeeded in putting firm hands on the “Excellence in GIS Implementation (EGI) Award” in the category of GIS Sustainable Development. FCSA received the award during its participation in the “GOVWORX’20” Conference recently organized in Dubai by "GISTEC" Company.
The award is granted to federal and local government authorities to recognize their contributions to implementing geographic information systems (GIS). FCSA received the award in a credit of the efforts exerted to develop the "Geospatial Data Hub for the Sustainable Development Goals”, which is part of the “Geospatial Statistical System” initiative launched to expand the scope of implementing the geographic information, and achieving the optimal use of the geographic planning in statistics, surveying, measuring indicators, and monitoring the UAE progress is the area of sustainable development.
H.E. Mohamed Hasan, Executive Director of the National Statistics and Data Sector at FCSA, availed this opportunity to highlight the FCSA commitment and relentless efforts exerted to the most advanced technologies in the area data sciences to ensure getting accurate information. He pointed out that this achievement is the result of fruitful and active partnerships between FCSA and several federal and local government authorities in the UAE.
“We are proud of this remarkable achievement made by FCSA. It is my pleasure to extend my appreciation to the team who invented, developed, and accomplished the geospatial data project for the sustainable development goals,” he added.
Noteworthy, the “Geospatial Statistical Systems” cover three underpinning pillars. The first pillar deals with the single map, which is the fundamental pillar for survey planning and conducting geographical analyses. In addition to the single map, there is the national map of the seven emirates, designed to present the demographic data, and community facilities in the health and education sectors.
The second pillar addressed the issue of empowering the national geographic statistics, including national administrative statistics data and the national survey data. Such data take advantage of the demographic data sets and community facilities to enrich data and support statistical analysis.
The third pillar covers the Geospatial Data Hub for the Sustainable Development Goals, with sights set to make the FCSA’s statistical indicators public. The hub established by the FCSA has been linked to the UN Stats Open SDG Data Hub, which is designed to monitor and record the countries’ progress in achieving the SDGs through the feature of synchronizing and sharing the data provided by the FCSA’s hub.
Since its birth in 2007, the annual Excellence in GIS Implementation (EGI) Award has become the most prestigious award in MENA and India in the area of GIS. It is given to authorities and organizations which excel in using GIS implementations and earn the highest scores as per the criteria set by the EGI independent jury.
International day of sign language
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, received, at his office at the Amiri Diwan, the members of the Higher Committee for Coordination of Statistical Work at the State level
Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development
Highlights of H.E Noor AlKhulaif, Minister of Sustainable Development
Intro to UNCEBD Task Team Training Competencies Capacity Level
UN Regional Hub for BIG DATA in UAE WEBINAR SERIES
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