Ibrahim Salim (Abu Dhabi)
His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Fund, announced the launch of National Identity Clubs in schools and universities in the country, as part of the Fund’s relentless efforts to activate the slogan it has adopted as a basis for work, which is “A Strong and Sustainable National Identity,” whose pillars are empowerment, productivity and responsibility.
His Excellency said during the closing ceremony of the Sandooq Al Watan summer programmes and the launch of the National Identity Clubs: “This slogan actually represents a response to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, that pride in national identity is pride in the features and characteristics of the UAE society and a deep understanding of the aspirations and ambitions of this society and the principles, values and lifestyle that it is keen on.
His Excellency added: “His Highness the President of the State also confirms to us that pride in the national identity is an affirmation of what the whole world knows about the sons and daughters of the Emirates in terms of good morals and sound behavior, and what the country is distinguished by in terms of authentic history, immortal heritage, flowing vitality and successive achievements.”
The ceremony included honoring distinguished students and teachers and distributing excellence medals to schools, universities and colleges that participated in the National Fund’s programs. It also included a presentation that included the tasks, objectives and work mechanism of the National Identity Clubs in schools and universities, in addition to a number of discussion sessions for schools and universities that addressed reviewing the annual agenda for annual activities and initiatives, the organizational and administrative structure of the National Identity Clubs and the communication mechanism within the framework of the Identity Clubs Network.
The ceremony was attended by university presidents in the country, 500 distinguished school and university students, in addition to teachers, university professors, and Yasser Al Gergawi, Director General of the National Fund.
The new phase will witness the establishment of national identity clubs in every school, college and university, to be a platform for the student to demonstrate his ability and enthusiasm throughout the academic year to serve his country, to belong to its goals and objectives, and to be loyal to its leaders and symbols, as well as to celebrate the sublime human values prevailing in it.
His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said: “I am honored to extend, on my own behalf and on behalf of all of you, the highest expressions of thanks and gratitude to His Highness the President of the State, may God protect him. We pledge to His Highness that we will always live up to His Highness’s expectations of us, in loyalty and love for this country, and that we will exert every effort to enable students in all schools and universities of the country to be keen on their identity, proud of their religion and language, aware of the history, heritage and culture of the country, and its prestigious position among the countries of the world, and proud of what this leads to in terms of the superior ability of our dear country to actively and effectively contribute to the process of development in the world.”
His Excellency announced that the number of participants in the National Fund’s summer programmes this year reached 24,000 male and female students in schools, colleges and universities, and he expected this number to increase every year until these programmes include most of the male and female students in educational institutions in the country.
His Excellency said: “Today, we announce the establishment of the National Identity Clubs, and we affirm that we at the National Fund see in these clubs an embodiment of a fundamental principle in the journey of our beloved country, which is the keenness to work collectively with a team spirit in order to achieve the lofty goals of the nation and the citizen.”
His Excellency added: “National Identity Clubs will embody the virtues of teamwork, whether through creating effective channels for communication, understanding, and exchanging opinions and ideas, or by committing to clear and specific goals for work, or by jointly linking with the progress of the school, college, university, or society in general, in addition to adopting high expectations and levels of performance for everyone and ensuring that the student’s life is enriched and his/her abilities for sound thinking are developed.”
His Excellency pointed out that he had previously spoken about the role of national identity clubs, and that they would be a field for implementing initiatives and projects to serve society and humanity. Examples of these initiatives include working to improve the general climate in schools, colleges and universities, including caring for the surrounding environment, organizing meetings and seminars, celebrating national occasions, and providing quality of life programs, such as programs to combat obesity, learn languages and modern technologies, and others.
His Excellency expressed his hope that the National Identity Clubs would be a space for activities and programmes that aim to focus on the Arabic language, encourage culture and arts, and spread the values of beauty and good intellectual taste.
Regarding the scope of work of these clubs, His Excellency stressed that it is a broad and unlimited field, and that their success depends on the efforts of their members in planning and implementation. The success of these clubs also depends on the efforts of the competent teachers and faculty members who supervise them.
His Excellency added: “The national identity clubs are of great interest to the National Fund, which is keen on their success and celebrating their achievements. In this context, I am pleased to announce the launch of the National Fund’s special digital platform to contribute to achieving efficiency and effectiveness in the work of these clubs, by providing channels for coordination, exchange of expertise, and joint work between members of each club, or between different clubs.”
He said: The National Fund, with the participation of community institutions, will launch a grants and awards programme to celebrate excellence and achievement, and provide support and assistance to national identity clubs, so that these clubs will be successful by all standards.
Following the launch of the “National Identity Clubs in Schools” by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, His Excellency signed the “National Identity Clubs Pledge” to be the first to sign the pledge, in preparation for it to be signed by school students who join these clubs in all the Emirates of the country. The pledge confirms the commitment of the sons and daughters of the Emirates who join these clubs to be good citizens who are proud of their values, identity, belonging to the nation, and loyalty to the leadership, and to work together with their colleagues to serve their community, under the slogan “We teach, we work, and we are dedicated.”
For his part, Yasser Al Gergawi, Director General of the National Fund, stressed that the launch of the National Fund for National Identity Clubs in schools and universities represents a major step towards activating the slogan that the Fund has adopted as a basis for its work, which is “A Strong and Sustainable National Identity” with the pillars of empowerment, productivity and responsibility, in addition to working to build an Emirati generation that adheres to its national identity, is proud of its history and culture, and is capable of effectively contributing to building society, and providing a supportive environment for developing national belonging among students through educational, cultural and social activities that enhance national identity.
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