Since 2017, signs in the UAE indicating wheelchair access in locations from airports to beaches have dropped the word "disabled" in favour of the more empowering phrase "people of determination". The inspired signs have altered perceptions. People in wheelchairs are no longer seen as being less able but rather, as possessing qualities that imbue them with the determination to get on with their lives, regardless of their circumstances. One such person is 28-year-old Shobhika Kalra, a Dubai resident who was diagnosed with a genetic condition as a teenager and whose campaign to improve accessibility for fellow wheelchair users across the UAE and beyond has now been honoured in her native India. Wings of Angelz, a campaign group co-founded by Ms Kalra in 2014, has achieved a tremendous amount, including the installation of more than 1,000 access ramps across Dubai. Such community champions play a vital role in highlighting issues that those responsible for the fabric of our cities sometimes fail to appreciate.
But while accessibility for all might not always have been at the top of the fast-growing UAE's to-do list, much has changed over the past few years. Ms Kalra was inspired in part by an initiative called "my community, a city for everyone", launched in 2013 by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai, to make the city fully accessible by 2020. The phrase people of determination was adopted and has been embraced by many such initiatives since, including this year's Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi.
There is still much to do. Accessibility remains an afterthought for many developers but must be incorporated in new buildings, shops and public spaces. Owners of older properties should be encouraged to make their buildings wheelchair-friendly. By working together, groups such as Wings of Angelz and a government responsive to the needs of every visitor and resident can help the UAE become a truly inclusive nation, welcoming to all.
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
US federal gun reform since Sandy Hook
- April 17, 2013: A bipartisan-drafted bill to expand background checks and ban assault weapons fails in the Senate.
- July 2015: Bill to require background checks for all gun sales is introduced in House of Representatives. It is not brought to a vote.
- June 12, 2016: Orlando shooting. Barack Obama calls on Congress to renew law prohibiting sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
- October 1, 2017: Las Vegas shooting. US lawmakers call for banning bump-fire stocks, and some renew call for assault weapons ban.
- February 14, 2018: Seventeen pupils are killed and 17 are wounded during a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
- December 18, 2018: Donald Trump announces a ban on bump-fire stocks.
- August 2019: US House passes law expanding background checks. It is not brought to a vote in the Senate.
- April 11, 2022: Joe Biden announces measures to crack down on hard-to-trace 'ghost guns'.
- May 24, 2022: Nineteen children and two teachers are killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
- June 25, 2022: Joe Biden signs into law the first federal gun-control bill in decades.
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Alaan
Started: 2021
Based: Dubai
Founders: Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien
Sector: FinTech
Investment stage: $7 million raised in total — $2.5 million in a seed round and $4.5 million in a pre-series A round
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: PlanRadar
Started: 2013
Co-founders: Ibrahim Imam, Sander van de Rijdt, Constantin Köck, Clemens Hammerl, Domagoj Dolinsek
Based: Vienna, Austria
Sector: Construction and real estate
Current number of staff: 400+
Investment stage: Series B
Investors: Headline, Berliner Volksbank Ventures, aws Gründerfonds, Cavalry Ventures, Proptech1, Russmedia, GR Capital
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices