A centre offering guidance and support for young Emirati couples about to get married has been launched in Abu Dhabi.
The Medeem Centre for Family Nurturing was approved by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and is part of the Medeem initiative, launched in April by the Department of Community Development.
It will support engaged couples through educational courses, awareness and guidance programmes, and community initiatives, while promoting Emirati wedding celebration traditions.
Six primary services will be available at the centre – a rehabilitation programme for engaged couples, family counselling, family mediation, post-divorce counselling, child custody arrangements, and educational and awareness initiatives for parents, families and children.
It is the latest move to support the emirate’s strategy to encourage young Emiratis to start families. It is one of several efforts aimed at promoting marriage.
On Thursday, Sheikh Khaled was briefed on the Medeem initiative, as well as the centre’s services and facilities.
He emphasised the need to help engaged and newly married couples develop the necessary skills and knowledge to ensure they enjoy a successful married life.
It is hoped the project will help Emirati couples to build families, while enhancing social cohesion and contributing to the sustainable development and prosperity of society.
The Medeem Centre shows the government’s dedication to fostering a thriving Emirati society in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled said.
During his visit, he was shown the functions of the Journey of a Lifetime Experience, a facility designed to support couples planning their wedding.
AI technology is used to make wedding planning interactive as couples decide on elements of the celebration, including themes, designs and scents. The facility also offers counselling sessions.
Authorities hope the initiatives, part of the Abu Dhabi Family Wellbeing Strategy, will foster stable and cohesive family units across the emirate.
Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, chairman of the Department of Community Development, said the centre was a significant enhancement to community services in Abu Dhabi.
Hamad Ali Al Dhaheri, undersecretary of the department, said the new facility would help newly-weds to build stable marriages.
"The Medeem Centre for Family Nurturing was established with a clear vision, which is to help Emiratis lead a successful marriage journey and a fulfilling family life," he said.
"The primary goal of the centre is to prepare engaged and newly married couples with a sense of responsibility towards forming lasting and blessed relationships.
"This is a goal that each member of a family is responsible for contributing towards, thereby creating a happier society in Abu Dhabi."
A programme encouraging Emiratis to marry was announced last month. Similar initiatives are in place in Dubai.
At the start of the year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, launched a Dh208 billion ($56.63 billion) strategy to double the number of Emirati families in the emirate within a decade.
The move is aimed at “providing housing, improving living standards, identity, values, social cohesion, health care, and developing future skills in our upcoming generations", Sheikh Mohammed said at the time.
Dr Elizabeth Monier, an assistant professor in modern Arabic studies at the University of Cambridge, told The National that the strategy emphasised efforts to "increase the number of families, not just on the population".
“The family is the basic unit of society upon which the cohesion of the state as a whole rests," she said. "By prioritising the family unit, there is a clear emphasis on cohesion.”
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Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
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Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
9.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
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Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
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