ABU DHABI // Education is the most “powerful vehicle for positive change” in the world, Queen Silvia of Sweden said in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Queen Silvia told the first Fatima bint Mubarak Motherhood and Childhood Forum it was hugely important for the world to ensure children’s rights and help young people to reach their potential.
“Looking at the state of the world around us and the difficulties many children are facing, it is easy to despair,” she said.
“Much progress has been made but still too many children die and suffer, and many more do not reach their full potential. It is our duty to make sure children’s rights are fulfilled.
“We need the children as much as they need us. We need to foster brave and responsible citizens of tomorrow. We need to prepare for ideas and innovation, which will solve not only the problems of today but those of tomorrow as well.”
The forum At Emirates Palace hotel was organised under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
It attracted leading educators, policymakers, scholars, social workers and experts from around the world to discuss early childhood development.
The forum coincided with the UN’s Universal Children Day, which is to highlight child welfare, and UAE Innovation Week.
Queen Silvia, who collected an award for her contribution to childhood development, spoke of the all-important early years when children were not “framed by norms and limitations”.
“I believe we can all unite around education and embrace it as a core theme of today,” the founder of World Childhood Foundation said. “Education is the most hopeful powerful vehicle for positive change. With education, vicious circles of poverty and discrimination can be broken and sustainable development can be expected.”
A video message from Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the UN, was also played during the forum, in which he thanked Sheikha Fatima, the Mother of the Nation, for her efforts in childhood development in the UAE and beyond.
Mr Ban said that while the world was celebrating children’s day yesterday, it was important to remember that violence against children had increased and that it was crucial that child rights were ensured across the world.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, gave the opening speech on behalf of Sheikha Fatima.
A panel discussed the state of UAE education, with members including Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, Dr Ali Al Nuaimi, director general of the Abu Dhabi Education Council, and Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs.
They talked of how the country’s leadership had improved standards of education immeasurably since its foundation.
Another discussed the role of parents, caregivers, teachers and state policies in laying a solid foundation for children’s personal development and in enriching their experiences, perspectives, skills, mental abilities and interests.
The final panel talked about best practices in early learning and innovative solutions to foster great care-giving, teaching and inclusion of children with special needs.
The forum also announced the Fatima bint Mubarak Motherhood and Childhood Award, which will have 10 categories.
A committee has been established to set out the details of the award.
akhaishgi@thenational.ae
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Rating: 4/5
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Conflict, drought, famine
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It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
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Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
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Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
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It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
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