Staff at an Abu Dhabi authority dedicated to championing the needs of young children across the emirate never lose sight of their crucial mission.
For each time they walk into work at the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, they are reminded of the significance of their roles.
The authority's offices have been carefully designed to hark back to the innocence of childhood, with colourful artwork adorning the walls, a display of giant pencils drawing the attention of visitors and even a multicoloured printer taking pride of place.
It focuses the minds of team members on just who they are there to serve each day when they start work, say officials.
The ECA shapes key policies on health, family support, child protection and early learning aimed at supporting the capital's next generation.
“We are trying to create this environment to remind everyone why we are here, for whom do we work and who is our focus group,” said Thamer Rasher Al Qasimi, executive director of special projects and partnerships at the ECA.
“It is basically the children. And that is why you see this fun, joyful ... place.”
ECA general director Sana Mohamed Suhail told The National the authority sets out its goals to support families and to work with other departments across various sectors to achieve this.
“Our primary mandate is to oversee the early childhood development sector. So it's a very specific mandate,” she said.
“We work a lot with health, child protection, family support and early learning and education."
The ECA has an enabling and enriching role in its relations with these different entities, supporting children up to the age of 8, Ms Suhail said.
“We are very eager, we are very passionate. We do not claim that we are the best or have all the solutions."
Ms Suhail emphasised the work done by Mother of the Nation Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.
“There definitely is a lot of programmes and we know that with Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak our leadership have always been active on the children's agenda.
“We do believe that we do have the passion to pioneer this field.”
The authority was established under a decree by the President, Sheikh Khalifa in 2019.
On Tuesday, it will bring together more than 50 speakers concerned with child development at the two-day World Early Childhood Development forum Yas South Skate Park in Abu Dhabi.
Experts will debate and suggest the best family-friendly policies to help with raising children.
The forum will also focus on age-appropriate technology, 21st-century lifestyle, emotional well-being and social interaction for young ones.
It will also discuss how to let children play and exercise safely in a hot climate and how Covid-19 has affected disabled children.
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The team
Videographer: Jear Velasquez
Photography: Romeo Perez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG
Video assistant: Zanong Maget
Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
