Dubai Essential

In order to stimulate community initiatives, Ministry of Social Affairs announced that nomination is now open to “Emirates Social Award” which gives individuals, companies, private and government sectors recognition of outstanding contribution in the scopes of social welfare and development.

The emphasis placed by United Arab Emirates to promote the distinguished values of Social responsibilities is in the light of UAE government strategy that comes under the auspices of His Highness Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and with the blessing of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The Award is an integral part of the Social commitment to bridge the gap between the companies and the community. The award calls upon businesses to uphold their social responsibilities and at the same time to develop appropriate mechanisms to recognize those that are aware of their social responsibilities to give them greater and wider opportunities.

The Ministry believes that philanthropists are doing their part in the community from their ethical commitment, and their aim is to contribute more for the betterment of society. Thus, it is incumbent upon the community to appreciate and honor them through the Emirates Social Award. This award criteria depends on international standards of social recognition, these standards are a result of intensive studies conducted globally to strengthen the role of individuals, private and government sectors role in supporting the service of society and those in need.

According to this initiative, the Ministry of Social Affairs extends a humanitarian acumination invitation to the community members and the private and public sectors to participate in applying for the Award. The fact that it is a sign of community interest in social responsibility and recognizing it’s importance, the award grants various categories and includes: Rehabilitation, training and employment, minor care, orphans, children with unknown parentage, abused children, people with special needs, elderly, widows and divorced with limited income. In addition to contributing to the development of local communities and infrastructure development in social service facilities, the Award aims to increase their participation in social development programs and support social commitment in all its aspects.

The UAE is focusing on sustainable development for the advancement of the society to the best international standards, and seeking to set an example for its citizens in fulfilment of the ministry’s achievements. The Ministry of Social Affairs is looking to place this award as a great addition that contributes to advancing and enhancing the social initiatives, as well as drawing attention to community development, acting as a helpful tool to further dedication to charity and to guarantee enhancement of society while fostering cooperation between all elements.

The Ministry will start receiving applications for participation as of today’s date and will continue until Sunday, 21st February 2010. Visit www.esaward.ae for more details.

DubaiKidz.biz, the best and first online resource for families in Dubai, today reveals its new website design loaded with new features such as an interactive map of nurseries.

To celebrate the launch of the new site, DubaiKidz.biz is giving away a prize a day throughout February these include a hotel stay and family brunch at Kempinski Hotel, event tickets, baby activity classes, family photo sittings, party entertainment, spa and shopping vouchers and plenty more.

Founder Petra Sander and her business partner Amelia Wilson have been busy updating and redesigning the new site, which was last month awarded its second UAE Web Award.

“When I launched DubaiKidz.biz in 2005, I did all the design and programming work myself in a simplistic manner that I could easily maintain and up date,” explains Petra. “While we haven’t changed the look and feel of the site too dramatically, as we know that our readers appreciate the neat and tidy look of it, Amelia’s new design will look fresher and offer new features, like a Google map of all the nurseries in the Dubai area and we hope to be doing the same with the schools listings soon.”

Since 2005, many new features and services have been introduced to the site including the E-zine, an online magazine containing articles about motherhood in the UAE written by mums for mums, a free newsletter service, which is distributed to more than 4,400 subscribers bi-monthly, and Facebook pages that keep 1,500 fans up-to-date with vital information for parents in the UAE.

The popular site, which saw more than 19,000 site visits or 34,800 page views, during December 2009, provides a valuable source of essential information for families, especially first-time mums.

“New mums often feel isolated – they have just left their job and living in Dubai often means that they’re far away from family and friends. Being online is another mean of being in touch and not feeling left alone with all the changes and challenges that you face as being a mum,” Petra said.

One of Amelia and Petra’s greatest challenges is staying on top of all the new things happening; new shops and schools or nurseries that open their doors as Dubai grows so rapidly.

“More of today’s mums are working and don’t have much time to sort out activities for the weekend and appreciate our What’s On section, which covers a diverse range of activities from theatre and flea markets to music and sport lessons – even the latest sales!” added Amelia.

In what promises to be a busy year for the business, 2010 will also see the launch of AbuDhabiKidz.biz and the team are also looking at setting up franchising opportunities that will see the sites concept expand to other regions in the GCC and even perhaps across the world.

The Dubai Metro Red Line opened on September 9 2009. 10 of 29 stations planned were operational on the first day:

Dubai Metro Stations - Red Line

This short video shows some of the various coins and notes used in Dubai.