Inside the FNC: Students learn the role of the consultative body

At a forum to raise the FNC’s profile, a student said she knew more about US politics than she did about those in her own country, reinforcing appeals by council members to the ministry to better engage citizens before the next election.

Dr Ali Rashid Al Noaimi, Vice Chancellor of the UAE University, delivers a speech at a political awareness forum hosted by Ministry of FNC Affairs at UAE University in Al Ain. Ravindranath K / The NatShow more

AL AIN // Two hours into an awareness forum held this month at UAE University, a student asked: “What is the Federal National Council and what does it do?”

It was a shock to many of the organisers to find so little was known about the consultative body after so much time had been spent talking about it.

The audience, most of whom were political science students from Zayed University and UAE University, applauded for what they believed was a courageous question – one that had been on the minds of many, but which most had been too embarrassed to ask.

As disappointing as it was, the question was a sign that the forum had successfully tickled the students’ curiosity, and officials thanked the young woman for speaking up.

Marwan bin Ghalita, an FNC member who was on the first panel, took a moment to tell the students about the council.

“Sometimes you think, ‘Why don’t they [the Government] consult me for a law?’ They do, through the FNC,” Mr bin Ghalita said. “The 40 members represent the whole UAE. The FNC is your voice.”

The real question should be, why would a political science student be ignorant of the FNC?

During one of the forum’s breaks, Latifa Salem, a final-year political science student at Zayed University, said she was aware of the political system in America but not in the UAE because “it is not on the syllabus”.

“I only know a little bit about the FNC,” Ms Salem said. “But we don’t know the basics.”

Other students gave similar responses, which goes a long way to explaining the low turn-out for the previous election, only 28 per cent. Many had blamed it on low political awareness, which is still clearly an issue less than a year before the next FNC elections.

Several FNC members have called on the Ministry of State for FNC Affairs to help engage the nation before the polls.

The ministry has been building up momentum through initiatives including the introduction of school parliaments and forums such as the one at UAEU.

But the issue here seems to be with the basics, as Ms Salem put it.The well-organised forums that run without a glitch neglect to address questions such as: “What is the FNC and why should people care about it?”

The lack of material in the syllabus means these forums need to cover these simple questions to bring everyone up to speed.Sadly, without a more basic approach, turnout may not improve drastically by the time the next elections are held.

One thing is certain. A low turn-out will mean FNC members will again blame the Ministry of State for FNC Affairs and the National Election Committee for what they would consider to be a lack of effort to increase awareness.