Students Irene Paneda and Nahuel Rosa want to leave a legacy when they graduate from New York University Abu Dhabi and depart the UAE.
The legacy they have decided on is to build a community garden in a seemingly quiet, but densely populated area of Abu Dhabi City.
The garden, which would be a first for the city and maybe even the country, would not be run by the municipality, but made and tended by the locals and expatriates who live around it.
“It’s very important for us to be connected to the community where we live,” says Nahuel, 23, from Argentina. “The whole idea of a social project that engages the community has always been important to us with our education.
“We are both on full scholarships here and this country has given us so much, we wanted to use what we have learned.
“We realised that there are so many social groups that didn’t interact with each other. We wanted to create a platform to allow them to do that.”
Musahamati (my contribution), an Abu Dhabi Awards competition for young people aged 16 to 23, chose A Garden For All as this year's winner. The win means their dream of a community garden will become a reality.
The young pair, now in their final year of studies, are working on the project with the Executive Affairs Authority.
Community gardens traditionally go much farther than providing an area of green space for families to relax or play in.
They are areas that encourage social interaction between neighbours and different generations, and an opportunity for people to grow fresh produce, thus improving their health and understanding of sustainability.
Over the past 20 years or so such gardens have been springing up around the world, especially in Western Europe, the United States and Australia.
In some large cities, non-government organisations have set up to help low-income groups establish their own community gardens. In the US there is also a push to turn abandoned plots of land into fruitful gardens.
There is no standard size for a community garden. It entirely depends on its purpose and the wants of the community.
Irene and Nahuel are now working with the authority and municipality to determine the Karama garden’s size and where it should be.
“It’s all down to the people who live here,” says Irene, 21, who is studying political science. “It isn’t about us saying ‘this is what you should have’, it’s an organic process. People need to be involved in setting up the garden.”
There is unlikely to ever be two identical community gardens, because each one is designed and managed with that particular local community in mind.
“We don’t need it to be very big,” Irene says. “We want to focus on the process of it. Ideally, local farmers can give input about what plants are good in the heat. It would need things like trees placed strategically for shade but the rest can be organic.”
Irene and Nahuel, who studied together at Pearson College in Canada, gathered opinion over a few months in the Karama neighbourhood by standing outside a mosque offering coffee and dates to anyone prepared to share their views.
When asked about a possible garden, the response was an overwhelming “yes please”.
“One day when we were here the imam took the microphone and shared the idea with everyone in the mosque and a conversation and debate started happening,” says Nahuel, a psychology student. “People were very enthusiastic and kind about it. They want it.
“So one very important step is to develop different programmes to involve the community – educational programmes, health programmes, recycling programmes or sustainability programmes. And women-only times.”
Many of the large houses in the neighbourhood, which are all surrounded by tall concrete walls, are occupied by Emirati families who, despite their common roots, remain strangers.
Khalifa Obaid, a Customs officer, lives in a villa with his wife and three young daughters who can be heard from the street playing behind their high wall.
“It would be very nice for the children especially if there was a space around here,” says Mr Obaid, 35. “It is different now, when you live in a city you maybe don’t know the neighbours.”
He moved to the area a year ago from Al Bateen, where he grew up. He misses the family gatherings that attracted just about everyone on the street.
“We had a lot of gatherings, usually on a weekend, especially a Friday, but now nobody does the same,” Mr Obaid says. “I usually have to go to Al Bateen to see my family.
“I’d like somewhere safe for my children to go, and my wife, and it would be very good to meet my neighbours in the community.”
The idea of community gardening is not entirely alien to Abu Dhabi. Across the city there are fragmented examples of people using public land to do some sort of gardening, usually growing produce.
Outside a handful of small yet popular cafes, pavement slabs have been pulled up and the ground planted with seeds.
On a much larger scale, the new Mushrif Central Park is being billed as "a place for the entire community". It is being redeveloped to sustainable standards and will include quiet zones for older people, a botanical garden and children's playgrounds.
While researching in Abu Dhabi, Irene and Naheul discovered the important role traditional medicine plays in Emirati heritage. This, the locals said, should definitely form part of their new garden.
“An Emirati lady at NYU brought me to her house to see the small garden that they have,” Irene says. “There I was talking to her mum and she was telling me about the medicinal plants.
“I got the sense that this was a women who was passionate about her garden, and I realised it would be such a good platform for that passion and that knowledge to be channelled.”
One of the issues in Abu Dhabi is the mass departure of residents at the weekend. Jasim Al Naqbi, an Emirati, lives alone in the Karama neighbourhood from Sunday to Thursday then returns to his family in Fujairah.
The father of five wants to expand his family, and does not want to move them all to the capital because it “has a different sense of community” from the Northern Emirates.
“I remember one day we saw an ambulance and we didn’t know what had happened until someone said a neighbour died,” Mr Al Naqbi says. “On the east coast people all live together. Everyone knows each other.
“Here, people live on the same block but they don’t know each other. I really appreciate what these two are doing because this neighbourhood really needs something, especially for the kids.”
munderwood@thenational.ae
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Command%20Z
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WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
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Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
Brief scores:
Manchester United 4
Young 13', Mata 28', Lukaku 42', Rashford 82'
Fulham 1
Kamara 67' (pen),
Red card: Anguissa (68')
Man of the match: Juan Mata (Man Utd)
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
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