The National at 12: we are always changing with the times

Even as our birthday coincides with an unforgettable moment in the UAE’s history, The National will continue to be at the forefront of reporting on the country and the world

The first edition of The National newspaper sits in the stands in Abu Dhabi. Andrew Parsons / The National

This weekend marks the 12th anniversary of The National newspaper's 2008 launch. We won't be marking the day in person with our team as we usually do, but there will be some quiet contemplation of our past.

The National's first edition hit the streets on April 17, 2008 and featured a front page picture of the winning smile of Sharjah resident Nabeel Kamran, then 12 years old, who had become the first child in the UAE to undergo a life-saving kidney transplant. Much of our focus in 2020 remains on healthcare reporting as the country commits to an expansive programme of testing and patient wellbeing in the face of Covid-19. The advances in health care in the UAE are among the many developments The National has been recording in our 12 years.

Nabeel Kamran at his home in Sharjah five years after his story about organ transplant was published in The National in 2008. Pawan Singh / The National

At the time of launch, the country's skyline was changing daily as buildings rose and cranes operated almost everywhere you looked. Abu Dhabi was busy preparing to stage its first F1 race the following year and Dubai was racing towards the completion of the world's tallest building. We began life committed to bringing you high-quality reporting on the region's biggest stories. We are equally dedicated to that promise today.

But in many ways, the story behind how the headlines get to you today is an equally compelling narrative.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been held at Yas Marina Circuit every year since 2009. Mark Sutton/Sutton Images

Three years ago, after being acquired by International Media Investments, The National underwent a comprehensive relaunch of the print edition and a complete digital transformation led by a new management team. That programme of renewal now shows up in almost every corner of your digital lives – through alerts, social media, video, podcasts, newsletters and via our website and app – as well as in our currently subscriber-only award-winning print edition.

Last month, we underwent another phase of digital transformation, moving the paper from one bustling newsroom in Abu Dhabi to a collection of newsrooms assembled in the homes of our staff in the UAE, following the Government directive to work from home and to stay safe. It is a process that has also been undertaken in London by our bureau team and by our correspondents and contributors around the world as restriction of movement orders become a part of daily life almost everywhere.

Sanitation workers from Tadweer on the first day of the UAE cleaning campaign. Victor Besa / The National

A commuter enters the new sterilisation area at the entrance of the Abu Dhabi Central Bus Terminal.Victor Besa / The National

A woman and her children seen during cloudy skies in Al Furjan area in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

A man wearing a protective face mask crosses the foot bridge near Al Karama area in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

A man seen during the evening in Al Furjan area in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

A delivery driver wearing a face mask at downtown Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

The view of the Burj Khalifa without any visitors in Downtown Dubai in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Boki Prekovic plays each afternoon from his balcony to keep residents stuck at home entertained. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Two men on a boat wear face masks on Dubai Creek. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A worker wearing a protective suit disinfects a globe in a public garden, in Algiers. Reuters

Muslim worshippers circumambulate the sacred Kaaba in Makkah's Grand Mosque. Saudi Arabia extended curfew restrictions on Islam's two holiest cities. AFP

Moroccan health workers scan passengers arriving from Italy on March 3. AFP

A Jordanian police officer is seen at a checkpoint on March 25. Reuters

A Jordanian health worker pictured on March 31. Reuters

People travel on an overcrowded train on the outskirts of before a curfew ordered by the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on March 26. Reuters

Palestinians gather at the beach as the sun sets over Gaza City on March 28. EPA

A member of a medical team sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus outbreak at a tuk-tuk three wheel motorcycle in Shobra district in Cairo, Egypt on April 3. EPA

A Moroccan health ministry worker disinfects a man walking a dog in the capital Rabat on MArch 22. AFP

In Algiers, Algeria, a woman seen in an empty bus station. Reuters

A Tunisian Red Crescent member prepares food packages to be delivered to the elderly and needy families on March 31. EPA

Workers disinfect desks and chairs in the Lebanese Parliament in central Beirut on March 10. AFP

Travellers returning to Kuwait from Egypt, Syria and Lebanon arrive to be re-tested at a Kuwaiti health ministry containment and screening zone in Kuwait City on March 16. AFP

A worker disinfects a house in a neighbourhood in the central Iraqi holy city of Najaf on March 23. AFP

Doctors test a resident of Baghdad's suburb of Sadr City for the coronavirus on April 2. AFP

Kuwaiti policemen wearing protective masks wait at Sheikh Saad Airport in Kuwait City,b efore transferring Kuwaitis arriving from Iran to a hospital to be tested for coronavirus on February 22. AFP

Iranian sanitary workers disinfect Qom's Masumeh shrine on to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on February 25. AFP

A view of beds at a shopping mall, one of Iran's largest, which has been turned into a centre to receive patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran on April 4. Reuters

A Lebanese employee wearing a protective mask looks at a bed in a ward at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital where the first coronavirus case was admitted on Feburary 22. AFP

Medical staff in protective gears distribute information sheets to Iraqi passengers returning from Iran at Najaf International Airport on March 5. AFP

Employees of the Fatih Municipality wearing protective suits disinfect the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul on MArch 13. AFP

Sanitation workers from Tadweer spraying the pedestrian crossing on Hamdan and Fatima Bint Mubarak Street on March 27. Victor Besa / The National

Colin and his wife Hilda run a marathon on their balcony on March 28 while the City of Dubai is under a Stay At Home policy to keep residence safe from the spread of Covid-19. Antonie Robertson / The National

school buses parked outside Global Village on April 1. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The new screening drive-thru for COVID-19 at Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Working from home brings challenges to every person used to working in a busy office environment, they are not unique to this newspaper, but it is fair to say that this era is one of intense learning and great development for The National.

The daily demands of our digital and print products have grown in this period as you, our readers, seek fast and accurate reporting about the pandemic. Our working lives are now punctuated by videoconferences and instant messages rather than office dialogue and phone calls, as stories break and facts are checked. Our days are driven forward by a mix of smart technology and good old-fashioned enterprise undertaken by a committed team of reporters, editors, photographers, videographers and design and production staff.

As a paper and as a country at large, we are stronger now than we have ever been. Our communities are more connected – albeit in a physically distanced way – and our respect for each other grows daily.

We don't know when we will all be back together in one newsroom, but two things we do know for sure: that our 12th birthday coincides with an unforgettable moment in the paper's and the country's history; and that The National will be at the forefront of reporting on the UAE and the world overcoming the great challenges of today.