While attending ‘Foreseeing Future Police’ Forum

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, April 7th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, attended the ‘Foreseeing Future Police’ Forum on Tuesday. The forum was organized by the Decision-Making Support Center at Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters and took place at the Police Departments Complex in Abu Dhabi, with the participation of an elite group of international experts in this field.

His Highness stressed the keenness and attention given by the country’s leadership to provide ways to ensure further leadership into the future, as well as to empower citizens and institutions to drive modernization and innovation forward in order to meet the different types of challenges and overcome potential obstacles that may face the next generations of UAE citizens. “This would ensure further prosperity, stability, and happiness for every citizen, resident, and visitor to this sacred land,” he said.

Moreover, His Highness added: “We strive diligently to maintain the UAE police’s leading position on par with its global counterparts, by making good use of the solid scientific and cultural foundations that have been established thanks to decades of generous support and tireless national efforts; supported by the unwavering trust bestowed by both local and international communities to this prominent institution.”

The forum’s opening ceremony and debates were attended by Lt. General Saif Abdullah Al Sha’far, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior; Lt. General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of the Dubai Police and General Security; Major General Dr. Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; in addition to police commanders in the UAE and a number of senior officers at the MoI.

Lt. General Al Sha’far, Secretary General of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, indicated that the forum is the first of its kind in the UAE to discuss the strategic future foresight in policing. He pointed out that the forum represents a platform for interaction with international experts in order to explore potential future changes that may affect governmental activities.

Furthermore, he stressed the keenness of the UAE Government to foresee the future across the country’s various institutions, as a key factor in strategic and applied planning, through advanced means and technologies, which provide planning theories coupled with appropriate solutions that would enhance the efficiency of leaders and officials’ decisions for the benefit of society.

Participants in the forum discussed the history of future studies and their importance, as well as the work mechanism of the associated organizational units and future plans, integration between strategic planning and the foresight sciences, in addition to the role of international organizations and associations specialized in future foresight.

The forum is considered the first of its kind in the UAE and is a response to the guidelines and policies set by the UAE Government, which stress the need to make future foresight in the country’s institutions a key factor in strategic and applied planning, through advanced means and technologies, which provide planning theories coupled with appropriate solutions that would enhance the efficiency of leaders and officials’ decisions and provide decision makers with an opportunity to set up plans and ensure readiness.

For his part, Colonel Dr. Salah Obeid Al Ghoul, Director of the Decision-Making Support Center at Abu Dhabi Police, confirmed that future foresight has been a common practice throughout the country’s history, long before being given the contemporary scientific definition. He explained that future foresight is based on planning and study of statistical data in a scientific and elaborate manner; noting that future foresight cannot be linked to prediction or occultism.

Colonel Al Ghoul also stressed the need for the police institution to avail of such sciences and to make future foresight a fundamental component of development. He also noted that the subsequent governments in the UAE have developed a keen interest in this important concept, which became an essential characteristic of distinguished leaders.

The Forum sessions were moderated by media personality Samah Ahmad, from Abu Dhabi Media. International expert Amy Zalman, CEO and President of the World Future Society tackled future studies and strategic foresight around the world. She emphasized the importance of creating an organizational unit specialized in future foresight in any security-related organization. Such a unit would guarantee the success of the organization and contribute to establishing a clear vision of the future. Mrs. Zalman also gave an overview of the World Future Society’s work and activities around the world, in addition to its role in shaping the future of police bodies.

Paul Saffo, Director of the Institute for the Future, and pioneer in strategic foresight, discussed the integration between strategic plans and future foresight. He cited several examples that demonstrate the impact of future foresight on the success of organizations that apply such a concept as a pillar for strategic plans. He also provided advice based on his personal experience about running futures centers and ways to establish strategic plans.

Additionally, global strategist Marc Goodman, Founder of Future Crimes Institute, and author of Future Crimes, reviewed the advantage of future foresight in police institutions. He also gave live examples that prove the success of future foresight in supporting and enriching strategic plans. He also explained the mechanism of developing futures centers within police bodies and emphasized that future foresight provides strategic planners with valuable knowledge on the optimal ways to draft strategies and plans.

The Forum also included an open dialogue among participants and attendees, which highlighted the importance of foreseeing the future and the efforts of the competent authorities in this regard.

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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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