The Department of Community Development hosts the first-quarter meeting for the taskforce’s leaders of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination

The Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi held the first-quarter meeting for 2022 for the taskforce’s leaders of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination 2020-2024, which the Department oversees the following up of its implementation with partners.

Abu Dhabi, 20 April/WAM: The Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi held the first-quarter meeting for 2022 for the taskforce’s leaders of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination 2020-2024, which the Department oversees the following up of its implementation with partners.

The meeting held in the presence of executive directors of the 13 entities implementing the strategy, and chaired by His Excellency Mohamed Helal Al Balooshi, Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Affairs, reviewed the progress in implementing the strategy, action plans, and expected outcomes for the year 2022.

The Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination contains six pillars: “Education, Employment, Social Care, Universal Access, Health and Rehabilitation, and Enablers”. The strategy aims to transform Abu Dhabi into an inclusive and accessible society for the people of determination, in cooperation with partners in the government, private and third sectors.

During the meeting, H.E. Al Balooshi reiterated the importance of continuing the efforts  in implementing the strategy by all relevant parties within well-defined plans including targeted and meaningful outcomes, so it creates the desired and positive impact on the lives of People of Determination and their families, pointing out that  the  strategy conforms to the vision of the leadership to support People of Determination and is in line with the social-sector agenda to provide a dignified life for all members of society.

He   added, (this word does not make sense in this context, suggest to delete) that the Department of Community Development continues its efforts in cooperation with all partners to achieve the highest rates of happiness and life satisfaction by People of Determination, in order to build a society where every individual enjoys the utmost quality of life and is able to fulfill their dreams and aspirations. This way, Abu Dhabi will emerge as a model for empowerment and inclusion of diverse segments of society. He stated that the executive plan of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination for 2022, includes 21 strategic initiatives that will be implemented across its six pillars.

He added that we will focus during this year on translating the policies and systems that were designed in the strategy's first year, into tangible results for People of Determination and their families. H.E (please confirm this is correct protocol?) Al Balooshi emphasized that effective communication and linking all strategic pillars are key to attaining the strategic goals.

The Department of Community Development Enablers’ taskforce, led by Her Excellency Dr. Layla Al Hyas, Executive Director of the Social Monitoring and Innovation Sector, and Acting Executive Director of the Community Development Sector at Department of Community Development, presented a set of key initiatives that were implemented. Those implemented ncluded the  completion of the design phase of  the initiative for “establishing an integrated care system for People of Determination and their families”  that resulted in the  design of  the Abu Dhabi service catalogue for People of Determination and their families, encompassing inclusive health and  rehabilitative services, inclusive education services and inclusive living services along with the sustainable funding solutions for 22 prioritized services across the three aforementioned areas. This   will enable People of Determination and their families to access these services at an affordable cost. And this year 2022, the focus will be on the phased implementation of the outcomes of this system.

The team also presented the plan of “the training and capacity building on inclusive practices” initiative, as its second phase will be implemented this year 2022, further enabling the entities with the necessary knowledge and skills in the area of disability inclusive development to enhance People of Determination inclusion and empowerment. Attendees addressed the initiative as well of the “Integrated system of governance for the People of Determination sector”, in addition to the “Social Protection scheme for People of Determination” initiative that will ensure safeguarding of People of Determination rights.

 

The Social Care taskforce, led by H.E. Abdullah Al Kamali, Executive Director of the People of Determination Sector at the Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination, highlighted the full and successful completion of the initiative of “the People of Determination database in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which was launched last year. The database will inform the policy and programme development process across all taskforces, with comprehensive and accurate data on People of Determination and their current status.

 

 

The alignment of the unified national classification of disabilities in the UAE was also discussed and whereas 70% of the initiative was completed by adopting and circulating to the concerned authorities the third edition of the Disability Classification Manual in Abu Dhabi, with the Unified National Classification of Disabilities. Discussions were also held regarding the community awareness initiative based on the rights prospective on disability that will focus on the importance of educating people of determination and their families, as well as the initiative of the family support system caregivers for the People of Determination, and the initiative of “the service officer for People of Determination”.

 

 

In the Universal Access pillar, the existing teamwork led by H.E. Mohammed Hamad bin Fahd Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the Transport Sector at the Department of Municipalities and Transport, discussed the achievements in the pillar which includes seven initiatives that are being implemented in partnership with the relevant entities, including the “Universal Access to Buildings, Facilities and Transport for the People of Determination” initiative led by the Department of Municipalities and Transport, where the analysis of the standards of “UAE code for the qualified environment were completed and sorted according to the relevant departments in the Department and external parties, to be circulated during 2022 for each authority, according to the specialization in order to complete the comparison report with the UAE Code for the qualified environment and start activation.

 

The “Universal Access to housing for People of Determination” initiative was discussed, led by the Abu Dhabi Housing Authority. The Abu Dhabi Housing Authoriy is  is working to analyze the gaps in the system of providing housing services for the People of Determination, with the aim to develop a comprehensive plan to address these gaps. The Abu Dhabi Digital Authority continued the presentation of the universal access pillar by detailing the expected outcomes of the "Universal Access to the Electronic and Smart Systems, Services, and Information” initiative that aims to include digital accessibility standards for people of determination within the “Tamm” application and platform as part of the improvement plans of digital channels in 2022. As for the “Universal access to inclusive cultural, entertainment, and touristic programs” initiative led by the Department of Culture and Tourism, the team shed  light on the expected plan and outcomes including a detailed assessment of the accessibility of all cultural sites and a work plan to improve accessibility to these facilities, in addition to adopting an accessibility classification system for events and tourism establishments such as hotels, based on studied criteria.

 

 

The Abu Dhabi Sports Council indicated to the work plan during 2022 for the universal access initiative to the sports programs which includes preparing a number of sports clubs for the People of Determination. The Abu Dhabi Airports team presented the achievements of the "Inclusive Air Travel Experience" initiative and the plans for 2022 that include equipping the new airport with arrangements and services to be inclusive for People of Determination.

 

 

Lastly, Abu Dhabi Ports concluded the presentation on the universal access pillar by reviewing the achievements of the "Inclusive Marine Travel Experience" initiative, which aims to make the cruise ship terminals 1 and 2, Sir Bani Yas and Marsa Mina accessible to people of determination. A situation assessment and gap analysis were undertaken to improve these facilities up to international standards. 

 

 

 

The taskforce representing the health and rehabilitation pillar, overseen by the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi and led by Her Excellency Dr. Hind Al Zaabi, Executive Director of the Healthcare Facilities Sector, highlighted the key findings of the current situation assessment and gap analysis for the initiative called "Developing a Unified, Comprehensive and Integrated Assessment Framework for People of Determination". The 2022 plan included completion of the development of the unified, comprehensive and integrated assessment framework for people of determination.

 

H.E. Engineer Thamer Al Qasimi, Executive Director of the Special Projects and Partnerships Sector of the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, presented the achievements and outcomes of the “Early Childhood Integrated Intervention system”, initiated under the health and rehabilitation pillar and led by the Early Childhood Authority. The current situation analysis in the field of early intervention for children from birth to 8 years is completed. In addition to developing the integrated framework for early intervention in Abu Dhabi and preparing a plan to implement the framework, and the efforts will be focused in 2022 to developing and implementing four pilots that will have an impact on the lives of children of determination and their families.

 

The "education pillar" team of the Department of Education and Knowledge, led by Manal Al Dosari, Acting Executive Director of Planning and Strategic Affairs Sector, presented the department's plan to implement the “inclusive education model in Abu Dhabi, which includes the launch and implementation of the inclusive education policy and framework.

 

The "employment pillar" team of the Abu Dhabi Human Resources Authority, led by H.E. Hamad Al Shibli, Executive Director of the Policy and Institutional Development Sector, said that the approval process has begun for the "Inclusive Employment Policy for People of Determination" initiative. The team highlighted its achievements and unveiled plans for a number of projects that have been activated within the “Inclusive Employment Program” initiative, including the functional vocational classification of People of Determination, a job registry for people of determination in the Abu Dhabi government, an electronic system for job application and matching for People of Determination, and a project to develop a guide for employing the People of Determination in Abu Dhabi.

 

 

The meeting was concluded with an appreciation of the integrated efforts of all parties and a general discussion of the recommendations of the next phase within the framework of the pillars of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination.