Festival and a fresh idea boost enthusiasm amid Zika concern

Sarah Khamis rounds up the topics and stories making waves on social media this week

The Qasr Al Hosn Festival has sparked a lively discussion on Twitter. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court – Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, continues to impress the world with his outstanding achievements. One of his latest ideas was his call to induct a young minister – under 25 years old – into the cabinet. Other obvious topics that were discussed fervently included the Zika virus as well as the celebration of the Qasr Al Hosn festival.

Fresh idea

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s idea to nominate a young minister to join the cabinet not just impressed the UAE community, but it was widely discussed by twitteratti from across the Arab world. Sheikh Mohammed rightly said that “the youth have hopes and dreams, issues and challenges. They are the reason why societies prosper or fail. They are our hope for the future.”

@Dofreemind posted screenshots of Sheikh Mohammed’s tweets and commented that while graduates across the world are looking for employment prospects, @HHShkMohd seeks to appoint them as ministers. This explains why he is an “exceptional leader”.

Sheikh Mohammed has demonstrated a new level of creativity by planning to empower the youth, commented @AlghailaniA.

@Najla from Jordan thought this was an exceptional act, while @Precisereach commented: “exceptional leaders make exceptional decisions. This is what makes Dubai so special. It’s an initiative that ought to amaze the whole world.”

Reem @reem1almarzouqi considered it to be a “very bold move, which will boost my ambitions”. Having graduated last year, she wondered whether she could nominate herself.

@A3_93 said: “This is a great opportunity for the deserving person. Good luck to whoever will be worthy of this trust.”

Concern over Zika

The concern that the Zika virus has been causing among people across the world is apparent from some of the tweets.

@aswadalkarim was alarmed after UAE travellers had been issued warnings and urged to take precautions against mosquito bites.

Another tweet by @WHO_Europe_RHN that found multiple mentions was this one: “WHO urges European countries to contain the spread of Zika.”

Citing a case in Texas, @sbcrisis drew attention to the fact that the disease could be sexually transmitted.

@genekam7 wondered why it was so hard to develop a vaccine against Zika.

Dr Amy @fupebibo said that Zika, which had been first detected in Brazil in May, could have arrived in South America much earlier, while @pahowho noted that “only one in four people with #Zika infection develops symptoms”.

Joao @jra1851 questioned the ecological impact of the chemicals that are used to eliminate mosquitoes.

Meanwhile, @Arab_News shared a positive piece of information: an Indian company claims to have developed the world’s first Zika vaccine.

The Ministry of Health @UAEMOH sought to quell fears saying that the disease is not contagious and that mosquitoes carrying the virus do not exist in this country.

Focus on heritage

The Qasr Al Hosn Festival offers a glimpse of the old UAE, as many Twitter users noted.

@FranceEmirats encouraged people to join in the festivities to celebrate tradition.

@ShujaRabbani perhaps would have been happy if Dubai had organised a similar event. “Abu Dhabi seems to be so close to Dubai, yet so far away,” he commented.

Giving an update on the traffic situation, Lana @iwilleaturbrain wrote: “Everyone is getting off early today because of the traffic that’s gonna happen because of the festival.”

Not just the festival, but even the invitation card did not escape the attention of the twitterati. Noura @x —_Ns shared a short video of the musical invitation card.

“This is very creative; I wish I can work with this team. Love the idea of this card.”

On Twitter: @SarahKhamisUAE