Dubai: A special hands-on orientation for nearly 7,000 students from ten Dubai schools will be the highlight of the opening ceremony of the Fifth Dubai International Sport Versus Crime Conference to be inaugurated at the Dubai Police Officers Club on Monday (January 26).
To be attended by some of the top sports and law personalities, including former Argentinean football legend Diego Maradona, the three-day conference will deal with the connection between crime and sport and the power of sport to transform society.
This year’s conference has ‘Sports and Deliquency’ as its main theme and speakers will discuss the positive effects of sports as an important factor for change within society. Educationists will also have the opportunity of presenting various studies and papers on the main theme of the conference.
The formal opening of the three-day conference — with Dodsal, Al Futtaim Motors, Saudi German Hospital, Planet Pharmacies and Mag as main sponsors — will be held at the Dubai Police Officers Club at 10am on Monday.
Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is scheduled to be the chief guest for the opening ceremony. The ceremony will be followed by the start of the main session at 12 noon.
“We have a confirmed list of 7,000 students from ten schools from Dubai and we have planned a programme that will seek to educate and enlighten these kids based on the main theme of this conference,” Colonel Dr Jasem Khalil Mirza told Gulf News.
“Besides the orientation we will also have a parade and other allied activities built around the main conference theme so that the children get involved in the entire event. The basic idea is to educate and make the kids think about the benefits of sport in their lives,” he added.
Jon Williams, Managing Director, Al Futtaim Motors, one of the main sponsors of the event for the second year running, was more than pleased to support such an initiative with Dubai Police. “Sport is one of the strongest tools in structuring our future due to the role it plays in educating our children in values such as discipline, teamwork and leadership. The future of society depends on how our children grow and hence we are more than willing to back such a fantastic initiative,” Williams said.
“This year marks six decades of Toyota in the UAE. And while we pride ourselves of being an integral part of the growth witnessed by the UAE, we also want to share the cumulative responsibility of educating our young ones while using sport as a medium,” he added.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, Dubai Sports Council, the annual event will run from January 26 to 28.
