Youth discuss sustainability at Youth Circle hosted by DEWA

Dubai, UAE, 22 May 2016. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has today hosted a Youth Circle session entitled Youth and Sustainability. The session is part of the Youth Circles initiative organised under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to listen to the next generation and learn their ideas, views and solutions for challenges. This will help the government to provide a better environment to realise their dreams and aspirations, and enable them to play a key role in the UAE’s development.

The Youth Circle was organised at the Reading is Positive Energy exhibition at Zabeel Park. It was attended by HE Shamma bint Sohail Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA, and a number of DEWA’s younger staff. The young men and women actively participated in the session which discussed the role of young people in the sustainability of resources. They enriched the discussions by presenting constructive ideas related to the role of young people in achieving the sustainable development of the UAE.

“The UAE is a young country and its leadership depend on the youth in building the future. The Youth Circles is one of the tools adopted by the government to achieve this goal as it focuses on the most important issues for the future. Sustainability is one of the key pillars for the future that are important, especially for us as young people. We are the ones who will bear the results of the dependence on fossil fuels. Nonetheless, we will be the ones to reap the fruits of sustainability,” said Al Mazrouei.

“Sustainability is not the responsibility of the government alone. It is important for each one of us as it affects both individuals and society as a whole. Each one of us is responsible to support the UAE’s efforts to implement sustainability programmes. Young people are the renewable energy, generating innovative ideas and coming up with solutions to meet the challenges of the future,” added Al Mazrouei.

Al Mazrouei thanked DEWA for organising the Youth Circle, and said that the leadership and the government are listening to the ideas and suggestions of the next generation, where they will be implemented with the active joint participation of the government, the next generation and society as a whole.

The Minister called on the public and private sectors to organise Youth Circles to meet young employees and listen to them and transform their ideas and energy into practical programmes and innovative solutions for the challenges they will face. 

Al Tayer thanked Al Mazrouei and the Emirates Youth Council for selecting DEWA as the first government organisation in the UAE to host the Youth Circles. He also commended DEWA’s young staff who participated in the Youth Circle.

“I am pleased to organise this session at the Reading is Positive Energy tent, which was launched by DEWA in cooperation with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, to support the directives of our wise leadership to raise a cultured generation of readers who contribute to enhancing the country’s cultural development. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum once observed that, “Thinking collectively and having open dialogues with the team at work create new ideas and bring us closer to success.” DEWA strives to actively participate in initiatives involving the youth, both in DEWA, and in society in general. This supports its efforts to achieve the Dubai Plan 2021 for Dubai to be a city of happy, creative, and empowered people who are loyal to the UAE, DEWA’s vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility, its efforts to contribute to the sustainable development of Dubai, and to achieve the strategy to reduce carbon emissions in Dubai by 16% by 2021. This is achieved by encouraging our youth to actively take part in different government and private organisations in Dubai, and seek employment among all sustainability sectors, through positive, while working to enhance the growth and prosperity of Dubai and the UAE across all areas,” said Al Tayer.

“DEWA contributes to the sustainability of Dubai in while focusing on the 3 main elements of environmental sustainability, social and economical sustainability in the energy, water, and environmental sectors, and social services. It implements large-scale projects that contribute to achieving the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to make Dubai a global centre for clean energy and green economy, to increase Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources to 7% by 2020, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050,.”

DEWA aims to achieve this through the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site project to generate electricity from solar energy in the world. It will produce 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. The solar park will help reduce 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

 “Organising the Youth Circle to discuss young people’s efforts in the sustainability of resources, emphasises our recognition of the important role of the UAE youth in promoting the sustainability of environmental resources. This is achieved by devising and implementing pioneering world-class environmental projects. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders and the cornerstone of the sustainable development. This is based on the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum that governments cannot carry out sustainable development without meaningful partnerships with youth,” concluded Al Tayer.

The Youth Circle saw fruitful discussions on sustainability. The young people who participated in the session presented constructive ideas that would contribute to the sustainable development of the UAE. Topics discussed by DEWA’s young employees included the role of youth in spreading awareness and best sustainability practices in the media and social media, producing short videos on sustainability and including them in light entertainment programmes. Other topics included making sustainability as a lifestyle by making simple changes in daily lives, including sustainability as a subject in the school curriculum, and publishing e-books on the rational use of resources. Others were the development of smart apps on sustainability and rationalisation, and encouraging the private sector to invest in sustainability.