A non-government foundation has been established at Expo City Dubai to support female tech entrepreneurs and assist start-ups that aim to tackle social and environmental challenges.
The Expo City Dubai Foundation was launched at an event in the Women’s Pavilion at Expo City Dubai on Thursday. The initiative will set out to empower and help entrepreneurs in the region and the Global South to find sustainable solutions to global challenges.
It will expand the Expo Live programme that began during the world's fair in Dubai, helping people in the UAE and around the globe to boost projects on the climate crisis, water scarcity and inequalities in health services.
Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, said Expo programmes transformed millions of lives and that the new foundation would continue to support entrepreneurs who were working to bring about change in their communities.
To those whose solutions and innovations we have yet to find, be ready
Reem Al Hashimy,
Minister of State for International Co-operation and chief executive Expo City Dubai Authority
“This marks an important milestone in our journey of transformation from a world event into a city focused on the future well-being of the people and the planet,” said Ms Al Hashimy, chief executive Expo City Dubai Authority.
“To those whose solutions and innovations we have yet to find, be ready. To the young and ambitious here in the UAE, our gates are open and calling for you.”
Focus on women and developing nations
She said the new foundation would “expand on the success of our work to date, to represent, both domestically and abroad, our spirit of solidarity and determination towards a fair and sustainable future, reflecting our nation’s proud tradition of giving and helping others".
Expo programmes supported 191 ventures from 92 countries. Initiatives included using technology to help people with disabilities in Argentina find work, the reintroduction of traditional crops to regenerate soil in Ghana, and research into desert greening in the UAE.
The independent non-profit, which will have offices in Expo City, will provide grants of between $50,000 to $100,000 and share information from previous Expo collaborations with start-ups.
“Given the challenges in the Global South and the lack of funding available for the Mena region and the Global South, we want to focus on this particular area,” Yousuf Caires, executive director of Expo Live, told The National.
Women will be at the core of training programmes, with grants to be available for global start-ups and ventures by UAE university students. “The one thing we are going to start this year is striking a partnership with the Women’s Pavilion at Expo City to create a centre for women who lead in tech businesses,” Mr Caires said.
“The reason is that we have noticed that more than a third of our start-ups are run and owned by women.
“We will turn the Women’s Pavilion into a centre that we will utilise to support women leaders who are focused on addressing social, environmental challenges. We will turn it into an epicentre to provide them support to build a global network.
“The Women’s Pavilion is the perfect space because it will empower women and will become the home of the effort to create a cohort dedicated to women entrepreneurs.”
Expo programmes included about 70 businesses run by women and there are plans to reach far more.
Share data and information
The foundation also aims to create programmes focused on agriculture and to establish initiatives for people with disabilities.
“The idea is that through the foundation we will be able to create different areas of focus, to use our current and new start-ups to generate knowledge and accelerate innovation in particular sectors,” he said.
The foundation will invite applications from start-ups and grassroots organisations in January each year.
“We are going to create a series of training and workshops and biannual events for people from the Global South and also from the UAE,” Mr Caires said.
He said the plan was to use existing data from Expo projects in a way that can benefit people around the world.
“The next step of our journey is to make a positive impact around the world by supporting innovation and problem solvers," he said. “We have 10 years of data and insights that we can put on a platform for everyone to see and learn, much like a repository of solutions."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
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Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
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Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
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Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
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%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
