ABU DHABI // The National Archives has partnered with Google to launch a digital exhibit on the foundation of the UAE available online from Monday.
The exhibit, showcased through the Google Cultural Institute, includes documents, photos and videos related to the country's unification 43 years ago.
Abdulla El Reyes, director-general of the National Archives, said he hopes that the resources help both Emiratis and expatriates understand the country’s history ahead of National Day on December 2.
“People participating in these National Day celebrations will have a better understanding of the importance of this day,” Dr El Reyes said.
The resources show events including the 1971 signing of the Independence and Declaration of the Union by Sheikh Zayed, founder of the UAE, as well as the first flag-hoisting and the first collection of stamps.
The UAE is the first Arab country to make available parts of its archives through the Google Cultural Institute, Google said.
The company’s cultural project began in 2011 and aims to bring cultural content online, including artwork, religious artefacts, historical photographs and manuscripts.
The institute has published archives from the US and the Netherlands and also has worked with the National Museum of Iraq and Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar.
Google initiated the idea about a month ago and teams from its institute and the National Archives began working together on collecting the documents.
“They have the technology, with which people can get online and explore history in a more exciting and interactive way,” Dr El Reyes said.
“Having these photos, documents and videos online will help other people around the world to explore the founding of the UAE.
“It is the fastest tool to reach our consumers, the researchers, and seekers of knowledge around the world.”
Dr El Reyes said that for him, the collection’s most fascinating historical record is the hoisting of the flag at the Union House in Dubai on December 2.
Many people don’t know there was another flag hoisted by Sheikh Khalifa at the same time in Abu Dhabi, he said.
The online records also will help younger generations of Emiratis as well as expatriates in the UAE become more familiar with the country’s history, Dr El Reyes said.
“Everybody has the latest technology, so it is much faster and easier to reach the vast majority of even Emiratis,” he said.
Dr El Reyes said he thought the archives should have more documents available online after working on the online exhibit — not just for the creation of the federation, but also for the country’s entire history.
“This is a very interesting moment for us. I think at the end we put together something we can be proud of,” he said.
“We have millions and millions of documents that go back to the early 16th century with the arrival of the Portuguese in the area.”
Amit Sood, founder of the Art Project and head of the Google Cultural Institute, said he hoped the archival project with the UAE encourages other Middle Eastern countries to share their own history.
“I hope it sends a message in the region,” said Mr Sood.
“We need more partners to come tell their story.”
The records are available at www.google.com/culturalinstitute.
lcarroll@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
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