Persons with special needs in Dubai very specially need you and me

Salman Khan visits the Dubai Centre for Special Needs

Dubai's largest special needs centre could shut down unless it urgently raises funds, the emirate's daily tabloid 7 Days reported Thursday. Quoting a school official, the report said that the Dubai Special Needs Centre which had been severely hit by the economic downturn would need new donors to keep it going. The emirate which has made several initiatives to care for persons with special needs has been challenged by the economic downturn.
Dubai's commitment to caring for those with special needs has been demonstrated by a holistic approach aimed at making the emirate a better place for everyone. Driven by the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the emirate aims to add to its social wealth by encouraging a positive attitude towards people with disabilities, sensitising communities on disability issues and improving their access to facilities.
The glitzy glamour of a catwalk is usually associated with a high profile fashion show and designer clothing. Despite the presence of most of the world's luxury brands in the city, Dubai recently opted to showcase not the world's best fashion designers, but those who may well lead the world's fashion in the years to come; designers with special needs.
The show was held at the Raffles Hotel at Wafi City, Dubai, under the patronage of Sheikh Majid Bin Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and in the presence of Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum who gave away the prizes to the winning designers.
The large and appreciative audience packed to capacity inside the hall watched the models in their smart outfits strike a pose, walk down the ramp, half-turn and walk back. It was difficult to believe that the designs were the work of persons with special needs. The large number of arab women present, showed a keen interest in the abayas and sheilas intricately embroidered with sequins and crystals. Evening wear, casual wear and even coloured abayas were among the elegant clothing showcased. The designers certainly did Dubai proud.
“This show represents a leading endeavour to encourage and support talented designers with special needs, and is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as well as with Dubai Culture's strategic objective of identifying and nurturing artistic talent in all segments of the community and creating cultural opportunities that contribute to the growth of the country,” said His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the DIFC and Managing Director of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture).
The programme was implemented in collaboration with the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre and The Events Agency, as a Development Programme for Talented Special Needs Fashion Designers. Founder of the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre, Mr. Ahmed Khoury said, “The purpose of this show is to prepare these talented designers to access the fashion domain, train them especially for this career and make new strides into a new horizon.”
International fashion designer Marwan Harzallah who supervised the project said, “The project took two years and now the talented designers have become capable of bringing out the best they have. Definitely, history will recognise that Dubai is the first city in the world that has revived people with special needs in the world of fashion and beauty.”
More recently, Dubai Culture launched a website to choose twelve winners from among forty artworks themed on 'water' by persons with special needs. The competition conducted in association with Beautiful People, a Dutch initiative for a social and sustainable coffee concept, that works on behalf of artists with special needs, will be open till end August.
The winners will be announced by Her Royal Highness Princess Haya at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, where all forty artworks will be on exhibition from October 31 2009.
The winning artworks will then be featured in crockery sets which will be sold to raise money for the Dubai Art Studio for persons with special needs.
The current economic crisis is a challenge that has gravely affected people around the world. Jobs have been lost, savings wiped out and some people have lost their homes and been literally thrown into the streets. Yet, those of us who have full command of all faculties can resolve and work hard knowing that at some point in the future, we would overcome. But, those persons with special needs could well be looking out for your hand and mine, to help them cope up. Would we?

Make a donation to the Dubai Special Needs Centre
Vote now for the best artwork by an artist with special needs

The only swine now are bankers?

A rather strong statement indeed. The global economic crisis and the accompanying credit crunch have not only focused more attention on bankers but evoked strong and caustic comments from people who would normally be weighing every word before saying it.

According to India's leading business daily, The Business Standard, AirAsia Bhd’s Tony Fernandes has said that the biggest threat to the global airline industry isn't the swine flu outbreak. 'We've been through SARS, bird flu, tsunami, you name it,” Fernandes the founder and chief executive officer of Southeast Asia's biggest discount carrier, said at the Paris Air Show this week.” “The only swine now are bankers.”

He is not alone in showing anger at bankers. In March this year, the MICE industry website, MEETINGS:review reported how Dr. Daniel Thorniley, Senior Vice President, CEEMEA, Economist Intelligence Unit, outlined in very graphic terms the frightening truth about the economic downturn. He didn't mince his words either.

Listen to Dr. Daniel Thorniley …

'Swine' bankers shun jet loans, leave $36 bn gap ...

'flydubai' spreads its wings

Dubai's first low-cost airline took to the skies on June 1, 2009 with its first commercial flight to the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Underscoring Dubai's position as a regional hub, it continued with inaugural flights to Amman, Damascus and Alexandria in the following days.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of flydubai said: "This region is very dependant on air transport. It is a great credit to the vision and leadership of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that this airline has now taken off, thereby ensuring residents and visitors alike will be able to travel to more places more often."

A welcome move indeed during a time of increasing prices, job losses and depressing incomes. The flydubai model is simple, with cusotmers only paying for the services they want, according to a statement issued to the media by the airline. The ticket price includes all taxes and one piece of hand baggage, weighing up to 10kg per passenger.

Passengers have the option to purchase checked-in baggage in advance at just 40AED for the first piece and 100AED for the second, weighing up to 32kgs, subject to availability. Checked baggage is strictly subject to availability and passengers are advised to book early to secure the space, as only pre-purchased baggage can be guaranteed.

A nominal payment of 5AED allows customers to select their seat and just 50AED secures the extra legroom. Tickets are changeable for a small fee, plus any difference in the fare, and food and drink can be purchased on board.

"flydubai aims to make travel a little less complex, a little less stressful and a little less expensive," explained flydubai's CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith. "Our passengers have the option to customise their travel experience depending on what services they want and how much they want to pay.

Read more ...

Bing Bangs Google

I typed www.google.com on IE, and lo and behold, BING opens up. Try it for yourself.

Britain's got 'Hulk'

Its an international brand using 'raw meat' to promote their new brand of 'meat-scented' perfume. No blue waters, no sleek yacht, no romance. Only a stripped down version of Britain's famous talent judge.

No doubt everyone's going to be watching whether this is going to be a 'hot' sell or another marketing disaster.

Its in the Guardian ...

GCC Common Currency imminent: DIFC calls for uniform legal and financial frameworks at UAE-Saudi Conference

A stirring call for deeper integration among GCC states and particularly between the UAE and Saudi Arabia - the two largest economies of the Gulf - was jointly issued Tuesday, by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) according to a media release issued by the DIFC.

A consolidated approach between the nations of the Gulf will allow them to maximize emerging opportunities around the world and in the region, said Nasser Al Shaali, Chief Executive Officer of the DIFC Authority. He was speaking at a jointly-organised conference entitled 'Rising Giants: Opportunities in KSA' at the RCCI.

Enormous resources

Eng. Sa’ad bin Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz Al Moajil, Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry pointed out that the GCC has enormous resources. “GCC economies are emerging as an economic and financial hub for the wider region and have achieved average real GDP growth of 6.9% over 2004-2008.

“Saudi Arabia is the wealthiest economy in the GCC and plays a pivotal role in the wider region. It has the mass and volume to move things and take the rest of the GCC forward,” he said.

The Riyadh Chamber Vice-Chairman agreed that to move the GCC forward, there is a need to revisit plans in the light of the changed global scenario. “The financial geography of the region and the world has changed and steps are needed to support regional economic and financial integration”, Al Moajil added.

Call to action

In his opening address, the DIFC Authority CEO issued a call to action. “You, who are here today to represent policy makers, business leaders and some of the biggest names in the regional investment community. You have the ability and the authority to strengthen ties at an institutional level between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, promote greater links between our banking and financial services industry, and facilitate greater investment ties and capital flows.

“In Abu Dhabi and in Riyadh, 28 years ago, our leaders dreamed of formulating common regulations in various fields such as economy, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation and administration. They envisioned joint ventures, increasing cooperation among the public and private sectors, the strengthening of ties between their peoples; and establishing a common currency,” Al Shaali said.

He pointed out that the results have not been as satisfactory as had been envisioned. “Our brotherly nations have not integrated their administration, their services, their systems, and their financial and legal frameworks. Money, goods and services and human capital does not flow smoothly across the GCC wherever there is need and opportunity for it. As members of the same family we have not combined our comparative advantages to tap into opportunities that seem impossible to individual states, but easy when approached as a bloc.”

He referred to the estimated more than $1 trillion in Arab funds parked overseas and the fact that the GCC accounts for marginal inflows of global FDI as prime examples of delay in creating opportunities.

The DIFC Authority CEO said the current global crisis is an opportunity that the GCC can utilise to create integrated systems and frameworks and common, unified and standard platforms – a true economic and financial bloc that can navigate with strength in the global economy and financial flows.

Al Shaali offered to share the expertise that the DIFC has acquired – such as world-class legal frameworks, best-of-breed regulatory models for both Islamic and conventional banking, and Best Practices in Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance norms -- to assist and facilitate the realisation of the GCC objectives.

Need for rapid movement towards integration of financial markets

Dr. Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist of the DIFC Authority, speaking about 'Opportunities for Economic & Financial Integration between KSA & UAE', said that the imminent launch of the Gulf Common Currency reinforces the need for investments in financial infrastructure -- both legal and regulatory. “We need to rapidly move towards an integration of the financial markets and payment systems in the KSA and the GCC, which are the core economies of the GCC. Financial markets in the GCC can become an “engine of growth”, by financing and supporting the massive investment required in networks (power, transport, telecommunications, oil & gas), by developing the capacity to invest, manage & control the region’s financial wealth of more than $2 trillion invested abroad, and by enabling & supporting economic and financial reforms. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE are natural allies and partners in moving to greater financial market integration to support regional economic integration, the GCC Common Market and Gulf Monetary Union,” Dr. Saidi added.

Other subjects covered at the conference included Banking Services and Capital Markets for GCC, Local and International Regulatory Developments; Linkages Between UAE and KSA Capital Markets; Development of Financial Markets in the KSA and Opportunities in Foreign Investments; and Providing a Transparent Platform for Crude Pricing in the Middle East and Asia.

Howard Handy, Chief Economist of the Saudi American Bank (Samba), stated: “Saudi Arabia’s economy has not escaped the ongoing global financial crisis and severe recession, given its openness to world trade and financial flows and its pivotal importance as the world’s leading oil exporter. Oil production has been cut back sharply in an effort to stabilize global prices, and access to global capital markets for project financing has been abruptly curtailed as a result of the de-leveraging by financial institutions in major capital markets. However, Saudi Arabia is exceptionally well positioned to withstand these shocks. This follows first, from its impressive progress on structural reform, which has propelled the Kingdom to being designated by the World Bank as one of the world’s best countries in which to do business; and second, from its solid financial balances -- large stock of foreign assets and strong fiscal position, which are enabling the government to play a powerful anti-cyclical role during the current downturn.”

Other speakers at the conference included Iain Morrison, Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking at The Saudi British Bank (SABB); Roberta Julfar, Director, Policy and Legal Services of Dubai Financial Services Authority; Jeff Singer, Chief Executive of NASDAQ Dubai; and Thomas Leaver, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Mercantile Exchange.

The conference was also briefed on the opportunities at the DIFC, whose member firms can meet all financial and banking needs including arranging Venture Capital, Project Financing, Private Equity injections, Trade Finance, Lease Finance as well as traditional banking services such as Investment Banking, Corporate Banking and Private Banking.

For more information visit the DIFC website.

Eight days a week

Looking back in time it is difficult to imagine the times when I sported a mop top and successfully braved a frenzied mob at one of Colombo's cinemas to watch 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Help'.

Reading this story of the seeming immortality of Beatlemania in today's 7 DAYS, I could not help but hark back to Paul McCartney's recent dedication to his late wife Linda and remember my favourite song, Eight Days a Week. To John, Paul, George and Ringo!