Ambassadors ready to promote treasures of emirate and nation



ABU DHABI //Eighty-four Emirati graduates, described by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority as ambassadors, are ready and eager to present themselves as the faces of the emirate both here and around the world .

The men and women are graduates of the 10-week Abu Dhabi Ambassador Programme, an initiative sponsored by the ADTA and meant to promote Abu Dhabi's treasures through its own people.

This latest batch was the largest group of graduates since the programme began in 2009.

"These ambassadors will represent our emirate, but not only by promoting it as a tourist destination," said Atef Al Bastaki, the director of the ADTA programme, during the graduation ceremony yesterday at the Armed Forces Officers Club.

"They will also be representative of our cultures, our traditions, within their respective companies and authorities - both in and out of the UAE," he said.

The participants were selected from 27 organisations in the private and public sector, including Abu Dhabi and Al Ain municipalities, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the Emirates Foundation, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi.

Nasser Al Reyami, the tourism standards director at the ADTA, said the course had expanded and developed each year. The 2011 programme included sessions on tourism entrepreneurship opportunities in event management, mastering the art of public speaking, understanding tourists and role-playing as tourist guides.

"But we are not training tour guides, we are training ambassadors who know how to represent their country and speak of its beauty to everyone, whether tourist, resident or a person they meet abroad," Mr Al Reyami said.

Each of the graduates will participate in at least three or four events each year, he said, from taking part in the Formula One events at Yas Island to joining the ADTA on one of its projects outside the country.

The graduates themselves are eager to get started. Sultan Al Mansouri, a senior at Abu Dhabi University working towards a degree in human resources management, said he shared all he learnt with family and friends. "We were taken to places in Al Ain that I knew nothing about, showing me my country in a whole new light," he said. "I will be using everything I learnt daily, every time I interact with anyone who wants to know more about my country."

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.