ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, June 7th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to establish a partnership to implement the “Safety Smart” program for school students. The MoU was signed between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education, as well as the Emirates Intellectual Property Association (EIPA) and Underwriters Laboratories.

The signing ceremony, which recently took place at the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, was attended by His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Minister of Education. The MoU was signed by Lt. General Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior; Marwan Ahmed Al Sawaleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education; Major General Dr. Abdul Quddous Abdul Razzaq Al Obaidly, Assistant commander for Quality and Excellence at Dubai Police and Chairman of the Emirates Intellectual Property Association (EIPA); and Barbara Guthrie, Senior Vice President and administrator of public safety at Underwriters Laboratories Company.

It is worth mentioning that the MoU aims to enhance awareness of students aged between 6 to 14 years, concerning safety, health and sustainability practices. This could be achieved by teaching students how to take care of themselves, preserve the environment, rationalize the use of its resources based on  safety and security procedures, in addition to raising their awareness and educating them on making informed decisions in the present and the future as well.

The MoU also aims to qualify and train teachers to become ambassadors for the program, through their role in educating students, developing their skills and helping them practice safe behaviors, in pursuance of the Federal Government’s strategy that aims to develop human resources and to achieve the well-being of humans, being the real wealth of the Emirati society.

HH Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan stressed the Ministry of Interior’s keenness to enhance the public safety system and spread the culture of safety and security throughout the UAE. He also noted that the “Safety Smart” program is aligned with the Ministry of Interior’s objectives, mission and strategy aimed at nurturing a new generation of students who are aware of the most important practices and tips related to Safety Smart.

Moreover, H.H Sheikh Saif bin Zayed expressed his great delight at the individuals and institutions’ ambition to develop an educational community. He said that nations progress through science and knowledge; praising the performance of the entities signing the MoU. His Highness Sheikh Saif also expressed his appreciation of the initiatives and efforts undertaken by the private sector and his hope to provide students with the most distinguished educational performance and an institutional formation that emulates the best educational institutions worldwide in order to build the homeland and strengthen its national achievements.

For his part, His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami said: “In the framework of the educational development strategy 2010/2020 which makes students the main focus for all its initiatives, the Ministry of Education is committed to achieving an integrated health awareness regarding security and safety in school environment and the surrounding environment. It is also aims to spread health awareness among school students and develop their skills; so as to practice safe behaviors in the UAE”.

His Excellency Al Qatami added: "The Ministry of Education is keen to adopt all measure to maintain students’ safety and protect them against dangers and incidents. This is exactly what prompted us to sign this MoU with our partners, namely; the Ministry of Interior, the Emirates Intellectual Property Association (EIPA) and Underwriters Laboratories. It falls in line with the ministry's plan to qualify and train teachers on ‘Safety Smart’ program, so as to be able, in turn, to fulfill their role in nurturing future generations of students who are aware of the most important practices related to health and safety and the need to preserve the environment."

For his part, Major General Al Obaidly emphasized that by taking part in the signing of such agreements, the Emirates Intellectual Property Association (EIPA) supports the UAE’s position and role in protecting intellectual property rights and contributes to spreading the IPR protection culture and practice among all society segments.

Adding further, he said: "Intellectual property protection laws are an important factor to encourage and manage intellectual creativity. This would undoubtedly contribute to supporting and developing educational participation, respecting human innovations from intellectual property rights' violations.  It would also reflect positively on improving the levels and tools of educational services and create a fertile and secure environment for smart learning, as per rated international standards."

For her part, Barbara Guthrie, Senior Vice President and administrator of public safety at Underwriters Laboratories Company, said: "We are extremely delighted to cooperate with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry Education to expand the scope of the “Safety Smart” Ambassador program to include teachers’ qualification in order to spread safety advice and instructions during school hours and different educational activities across all schools at the countrywide level."

She added: "Underwriters Laboratories' mission remains ‘working for a safer world’. Every child in the UAE and around the world deserves the opportunity to expand his knowledge about safety, health and sustainable life. This would prepare him, his family, his school and his society for a brighter future."

Barbara Guthrie also noted that Underwriters Laboratories is proud to cooperate with Interior and Education Ministries to spread the education program on safety practices. "Without this cooperation, we wouldn't be able to fulfill our dream of spreading awareness on safety practices among all children across the UAE," she concluded.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding was attended by Brigadier Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, Director General of the Headquarters Affairs at Abu Dhabi Police; Amal Mohammed Al Kous, Assistant Undersecretary for the School Environment and Activities Sector at the Ministry of Education; Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, ADEC's Executive Director of School Operations; and a number of officials and high-ranking officers. Also present were H.E Jawaan Awaidha Suhail Al Khaili, Chairman of Brighton College School Board of Directors, members of the Khalifa Student Empowerment Program; as well as representatives from the INTERPOL and Disney Land; and members of the administrative and educational staff at Brighton College School.

It is worth mentioning that the “Safety Smart” program has successfully managed so far to educate more than 518 million students and families in 25 countries around the world. To this end, educational drawings and schooling tools were prepared in more than 35 languages, in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories and Disney Education Productions (DEP) under the slogan "Total Commitment to Safety".

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Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com

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