Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised the first Youth Circle at Dar Al Etihad in Dubai, under the title of Youth 10x, launched by Emirates Youth Council. The event supports the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote sustainable communications amongst youth, to enable them to play a key role in the prosperity of the UAE, and to help DEWA achieve its vision, mission, values, and strategic objectives.
The Youth Circle took place in the presence of HE Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA. The event included over 150 students who have benefited from the scholarships offered by DEWA, as well as students from DEWA Academy, and DEWA staff.
During the event, the participants were enthusiastic to discuss the main topics, especially the role of youth in achieving the 10x initiative, launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to make Dubai a city of the future. The audience discussed how to take part in DEWA’s efforts to shape the future, enhance Dubai’s sustainable development, and promote national identity and values.
Al Mazrui commended DEWA’s positive interaction and its hosting of the first Youth Circle, which emphasises its keen interest in youth and its participation in sharing their ideas and vision to contribute to sustainable development.
“Today’s Youth Circle is all about taking action on the ground. The true challenge is not to get new ideas or to stay here for hours debating them. However, it is when the time comes to implement these ideas perfectly, and effectively. It is not enough to be ambitious. We have to be determined to reach our ambitions. Today, each one of us should think about getting innovative ideas, implementing them, and achieving leadership by doing so,” said Al Mazrui.
“All young people in the UAE are required to do their best and attain their potential for the sake of their country. This includes talents, skills, ideas or mechanisms. The UAE along with its organisations deserve our devotion. Whatever we do now will be for the benefit of our home country and future generations,” concluded Al Mazrui.
Al Tayer, Al Mazrui, DEWA students and staff, welcomed the young people participating in the Youth Circle.
“I am pleased to be with you today to showcase our initiatives, projects and achievements that support the vision and guidance of the wise leadership to shape the future and achieve the vision of the UAE 2021, to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021, and the UAE Centennial 2071, which has developed a work programme for government organisations, that focuses on investing in UAE youth, and working towards the UAE to have the best youth with pioneering achievements by 2071. In our youth we see the future of the nation and the basis for its advancement. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said that Youth are the strength of any nation and its hope for a better future, and the country’s prosperity and future lie in their hands. UAE youth represent the potential of our nation and are the source of its wealth. Today, we are drawing the future of our nation. We are investing our wealth and directing our efforts and plans towards developing the skills and expertise of our youth, as they will drive our progress,” said Al Tayer.
“To achieve our vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility, DEWA places the participation of young people in the economic, social, and environmental development process as a strategic objective. To achieve this vision, we are creating the right environment to find a generation of young people who are willing to contribute to shaping the local and global agenda. With all the technological advancements and successful new projects of DEWA, our real capital is our people, especially the youth, over 11,000 employees of 66 nationalities work at DEWA.
Our strategy is clear and our orientation to create job opportunities for citizens, especially for young people, is a priority. A research and development centre has been established to cover various areas of clean energy. DEWA also works to enhance the competitiveness of the country and support young citizens in various fields, especially renewable energy. Our strategy is for clean energy to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power output by 2050. DEWA has provided scholarships to 50 students inside and outside the country in renewable energy, including the University of Arizona in the United States of America, as well as training youth in various research centres and international organisations such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). DEWA has also established the Assessment and Development Centre and a Productivity Measurement System. It also developed a framework for behavioural and technical competence and linked the individual objectives of each employee to DEWA’s strategic objectives,” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA supports the objectives of the UAE to be the first in smart service delivery with a 100% transformation to smart solutions and services, less than a year after the announcement of the Smart Dubai initiative and investing AED 7 billion in 11 different programmes to build one of the world’s best water and electricity smart grids, as well as supporting Smart Dubai through three innovative initiatives: Shams Dubai, Green Charger, and Smart Meters and Grids. Shams Dubai encourages building owners to install photovoltaic panels to generate electricity and connect them to DEWA’s grid. The electricity is used on site and the surplus is exported to DEWA’s network. The Green Charger builds the infrastructure and electric vehicle charging stations across Dubai, to encourage the public to use electric vehicles and contribute to protecting the environment, with 100 already built across Dubai. DEWA is also building an electricity and water smart grid. It also launched Rammas, making it the first government institution to launch an artificial intelligence chatbot. It has a global infrastructure that is considered to be the best in the world. The rate of customer minutes lost per year is 3.28 minutes, compared to 15 minutes for selected European and American electricity companies. The line loss for transmission and distribution networks decreased to 3.3%, in comparison with 6-7% in Europe, and water network loss rate fell to 8% compared to 15% in North America. DEWA is working to create a sustainable and happy future through several leading projects and initiatives, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site solar power project, with a generation capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030. We work to promote innovation through the Innovation Centre at the Solar Park, which works to enhance the country’s competitiveness and support the country’s youth in energy. It is also working on the establishment of the first hydroelectric power station in the Gulf region with a production capacity of 250MW in Hatta,” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA’s success is due to the adoption of the concept of innovation. DEWA has launched a research and development centre with a total investment of AED 500 million. DEWA also adopted Innovation Lab as a standard practice to engage its employees and launched a global employee programme, in collaboration with ExO Works, the world’s first company to explore the future of energy and water technologies and develop pre-emptive plans and strategies. In addition, we developed a qualitative internal website for DEWA’s employees entitled Afkari, and organised the Hackathon Challenge for its employees to motivate them to introduce innovative ideas and solutions. It is also taking the lead in global competition for universities to design solar-powered buildings. Dubai is hosting the Solar Decathlon Middle East for the first time in the Middle East and Africa in 2018 and 2020,” noted Al Tayer.
“Building a sustainable future is DEWA’s ultimate goal, as it strives to achieve multiple paths, including being the first government institution to embrace sustainability as part of its vision, corporate values and strategic plan. We are committed to preserving the environment by reducing the carbon footprint in line with the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy, whose goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 16% by 2021. We have built the Sustainable Building, the UAE’s first sustainable government building and the world’s largest government building to be awarded the platinum rating of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). We are also building a new headquarters, named Al-Sheraa (Arabic for sail), which will be the longest, largest, and smartest building in the world that achieves zero carbon emissions. It also contributes to the establishment of the world’s first green economy organisation, the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO) launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with the support of the UAE, and in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). DEWA also supports the Dubai Future Agenda to establish the world’s largest government accelerators and pilot projects with three emerging businesses to develop artificial intelligence, and it is committed to the success of 10x, launched by His Highness, to develop government work in Dubai, and to apply today what will be applied ten years later by the rest of the world. DEWA has received over 150 local and international awards, including the recent award of Leading Government Entity at the Dubai Government Excellence Program in 2017, which is a standard achievement for the fourth generation system (4G). DEWA’s highest award remains its ability to accomplish, innovate and contribute to building the future of the UAE, in accordance with the vision of good leadership. DEWA believes that this future will be built only by the loyal and qualified youth of the country. We remain committed to this journey towards excellence to strengthen Dubai’s global position,” concluded Al Tayer.
The Youth circle also witnessed fruitful discussions around future projects and opportunities to develop, train and share experiences, which will enhance the work and performance of the government. The participating youth presented constructive views that promote sustainable development in the country, including the need to include sustainability within various curricula, expand specialised studies on sustainability, and enhance a sense of national identity, particularly amongst youth.
DEWA continuously seeks to invest in young people. It has established the DEWA Youth Council to guide youth at DEWA, and enables them to support the development process and find innovative ways to activate the positive participation of young people in the most important issues related to them, in addition to contributing to the promotion of national identity and good citizenship among young people, ensuring greater interaction between them and senior management of DEWA, and opening a new channel of communications with the Emirates Youth Council.