The UAE government announced that 2019 will be officially proclaimed the Year of Tolerance to strengthen the nation’s role of encouraging stability and prosperity in the region.
Leaders took to social media to announce the move, following on from the Year of Zayed in 2018 and the Year of Giving in 2017.
The announcement came days after it was revealed Pope Francis will visit Abu Dhabi in February, a sign that the UAE is welcoming and tolerant of all religions.
In November, a World Tolerance Summit in Dubai attracted regional leaders and national figures.
The President, Sheikh Khalifa, declared 2019 the Year of Tolerance, highlighting the UAE as a global capital for acceptance through its legislative and policy goals.
"Instilling values of tolerance carries on Sheikh Zayed's legacy and teachings," Sheikh Khalifa said on Saturday.
“It is one of the most important attributes that we can impact on our people and the global community to ensure the safety, stability and happiness of peoples across the world.”
Those thoughts were echoed on social media, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, tweeting: “Dear brothers and sisters, the President... has issued a directive to announce 2019 as the Year of Tolerance in the UAE, with the aim of solidifying the international role that the country plays as the capital of co-existence and meeting of civilisations.
“Tolerance is the cornerstone of advanced societies, intellectually and humanely, and is one of the tools of empowering civilisations and ensuring stability and flourishing of nations.
"In 2019, we will endeavour to establish this value and lead the intellectual, media and research production movements to reaffirm this value in our region, which has suffered a lot because of extreme allegiance to ideologies or factions or parties.”
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said the "world today needs universal human values to be promoted for the sake of future generations".
It was announced the theme will be an extension of the Year of Zayed, as it upholds the values of tolerance and co-existence that the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, established among the people of the UAE.
This year, the UAE announced it will be a global co-ordinator for co-operation within a new Global Tolerance Alliance to promote acceptance around the world.
An agreement on tolerance was signed by dignitaries from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and the US – as well as the Emirates Human Rights Association, Higher Colleges of Technology and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.
The papal visit will be marked with a Mass at Zayed Sports City on February 5, where more than 100,000 people are expected to attend.
Pope Francis will also visit Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Founder's Memorial.
The Special Olympic World Games, to be held in Abu Dhabi from March 14-21 in 2019, are also expected to feature heavily in a year-long series of events promoting tolerance.
It will be the first time that the Games will be held in the Mena region, and are expected to attract more than 7,500 athletes from around the world and an estimated 500,000 spectators.
Athletes will compete in a variety of events at 11 venues in Abu Dhabi. These include Zayed Sports City, the National Exhibition Centre, the Yas Marina Circuit and the Abu Dhabi Yacht and Sailing Club.
Other venues are the New York University Abu Dhabi, Khalifa International Bowling Centre and the Armed Forces Officers Club.
Tolerance-themed events and publications will continue throughout 2019.
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Read more:
2018 declared Year of Zayed
UAE's Catholic community prepares for Pope Francis' historic Abu Dhabi mass
Everyone is excited: Catholic community can't wait to see the Pope and attend public mass
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Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
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Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
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"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
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Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Our legal consultant
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RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
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The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
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Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
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