Dubai: The UAE has launched a new landmark initiative called ‘Zayed the Inspirer’ which will serve as a global platform to share inspirational stories from around the world.
The initiative was launched by Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior on Sunday during the sixth World Government Summit and will serve as a source of inspiration for all mankind.
Named after the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the platform, www.zayedtheinspirer.ae, marks the centennial anniversary of the birth of the UAE founder and inspirational leader. It was launched under the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
During a plenary session titled ‘The Land of Inspiration and Opportunities’, in which he was addressing Shaikh Mohammad, Shaikh Saif also announced the UAE as the “Land of Inspiration” citing examples of its leadership in encouraging others to achieve success in the face of all odds. He drew parallels from the UAE experience and success story.
“Today, we launch a new platform, a global platform of inspiration, called ’Zayed the Inspirer’ where we share with the world all the successes through which we can develop ourselves and develop the world through the exchange of experiences.”
Shaikh Saif recalled how Shaikh Zayed had inspired what today has become the UAE Space Programme.
“People may ask why Mars, why is the UAE thinking about Mars and launching probes. In 1974, Shaikh Zayed received the astronauts before they were going to space and he listened to them. When he met them and asked them if it’s possible, they explained to him the possibility of exploration,” he said.
Drawing another example from the past, he said that Shaikh Zayed also had a vision to sustain the ecosystem and make an optimal use of resources, which later lead to the formation of Masdar.
“The majority of companies back then burnt gas to get rid of it, but Shaikh Zayed, may God have mercy on him, decided to find another solution to benefit from this resource. He decided to sell gas to Japan,” he said.
Referring to Shaikh Mohammad as an inspiring leader, and one who looked at every situation positively, he said: “In 2008, there was a crisis and you [Shaikh Mohammad] spoke about opportunity. Those who saw it as a challenge remained seeing it as a challenge and failed and those who thought about it in a positive manner remained successful like you.”
“All of the initiatives launched in the UAE such as the Hope Probe, 4th industrial, Artificial Intelligence Initiative, and Expo 2020 came as a result of the inspiration of the leadership,” he continued, adding that today 80 per cent of services in the UAE are electronic.
Shaikh Saif called it the ‘Emirati inspiration’ for looking at everything as an opportunity. “The Emirati inspiration is inherited into our leadership and they pass it down to people and that was the key to success here,” he said.
At the end of his speech, Shaikh Saif presented a video that showed the success story of many start-up companies in the UAE, such as Souq.com, Careem and Sellanycar, including the first doctor from the people of determination, and then went on to highlight how the UAE has always served as a launching pad for trailblazing initiatives that positively impact the citizens’ lives.
