Arab Government Sustainability Fellowship celebrates graduation of its first cohort
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – The Arab Government Sustainability Fellowship, the region's first-of-its-kind initiative to empower public sector leaders in sustainability, has celebrated the graduation of its inaugural cohort. Organized by the UAE Government Development & Future Office, in collaboration with the Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO), one of the League of Arab States organizations, and the Posterity Institute, this milestone marks a significant step in ongoing Arab efforts to strengthen environmental governance.
Supported by PepsiCo, the Fellowship brought together 45 government officials from across the Arab region. Through intensive training and discussions with leading regional and international experts, participants were equipped with practical tools to drive sustainable transformation in the public sector.
Ohood Al Roumi: Sustainability is at the Core of Future Governance
H.E. Ohood Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, said: 'Sustainability is at the core of future governance – it is key to preparing governments and societies for the rapid changes the region and the world will face in the coming years and decades across all areas of human activity.
'The Arab Government Sustainability Fellowship shows the UAE Government's commitment to driving joint Arab action, as well as starting a new chapter where regional governments take the lead on sustainability, with clear goals and real results. Equipping government talent with future skills enables them to respond to today's challenges, adapt to tomorrow's changes, and create promising opportunities for future generations.'
Nasser Al-Qahtani: Supporting Institutional Change and Building an Innovation-Driven Future
H.E. Dr. Nasser Alqahtani, Director General, Arab Administrative Development Organization, League of Arab States, said: 'Sustainability requires collaboration across borders, sectors, and generations. Through this Fellowship, ARADO proudly supports the transformation of our region's government institutions, building a shared future rooted in innovation, resilience, and impact.'
Turning Point for Public Sector Sustainability
'This fellowship marks a turning point in how our region approaches sustainability in the public sector,' said Dr. Yasar Jarrar, Managing Director of the Posterity Institute. 'Through the Irth Institute, we are building a new generation of government leaders who are equipped not just to respond to today's climate and policy challenges but to shape a more sustainable, inclusive socio-economic future for the Arab world. True resilience will come from the ability of our institutions to embed sustainability into the core of economic planning, governance, and social progress.'
Skills and Partnerships for a Sustainable Future
Wael Ismail, PepsiCo Vice President for Corporate Affairs in Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan, said: 'Climate change is already impacting our region in real ways, and tackling it requires governments and businesses to work side by side. This fellowship is a strong step toward building the skills and partnerships we need for a more sustainable future. As a knowledge partner, PepsiCo is proud to contribute insights from decades of work in agriculture, youth empowerment, and community development across the Middle East.'
Arab Government Sustainability Fellowship
The Arab Government Sustainability Fellowship is a flagship initiative led by the Irth Institute to empower a new generation of public sector leaders across the Arab World. Designed by the region, for the region, the Fellowship equips government professionals with the skills, knowledge, and networks needed to drive sustainable transformation in their institutions and communities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Robert Pether conditionally released in Iraq after four years in jail
A Dubai resident has been conditionally released from prison in Iraq after his family campaigned for four years to secure his freedom. Robert Pether, from Australia, along with his Egyptian co-worker Khaled Radwan, who both resided in Dubai at the time, were jailed in August 2021 and fined $12 million after a contract dispute between his employer and authorities in Iraq. Despite his release, Mr Pether is still barred from leaving Iraq and Australian authorities say he continues to face legal proceedings. However, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the development was a 'positive development'. "I know the personal toll Mr Pether's detention has taken on him and his family and hope this news brings a measure of relief after years of distress," she said in a statement. Simon Harris, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister, said in a statement that Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein had contacted him to confirm the release of Mr Pether, whose family currently live in Ireland. "I welcomed this as a first step to his being allowed to return to his family in Roscommon," Mr Harris said. But there are concerns about Mr Pether's health and any outstanding charges against him, he added. Contract dispute results in jail Mr Pether and Mr Radwan were arrested when they travelled to Iraq for what they thought was a routine business meeting. Employed as an engineer in Dubai for CME, Mr Pether was contracted to work on the central bank's headquarters near the Tigris River. The men were detained at the meeting. They each received a five-year jail sentence and were ordered to pay $12 million by an Iraqi court. The dispute was over a $33 million contract awarded to CME in 2015. The project was put on hold a year later, with plummeting oil prices and Iraq's war against ISIS put forward as the main reasons. Work resumed in 2018, with CME working for 39 of the 48 months as set out in the contract. Payment was received for 32 of those months before being withheld. CME was asked by the central bank to extend the contract by three months to make up for work that was suspended due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Pakistan govt begins cancelling passports of deportees
Pakistan's government has initiated cancelling the passports of deportees due to fake documents and beggary to discourage such practices. Data released by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development showed that over 7,800 Pakistanis were deported from 2019 to 2025 for different charges, including beggary. All of these deportees' passports are being cancelled, the Pakistani media reported. Most of these deportees are from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which house a higher number of South Asian diaspora. As reported by Khaleej Times last month, the South Asian government stated that all deportees' passports will be cancelled upon arrival in the country and a first information report (FIR) will be filed against them for illegal practices. In addition, the government also announced that the deportees will be placed on the passport control list, ensuring that they don't travel abroad for five years. The Ministry of Interior has started placing these deportees' names on the passport control list to ensure that they don't travel abroad. The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources earlier this week discussed the matter of deportees and discussed steps taken to prevent such incidents. Millions of skilled Pakistani workers are employed in various countries, contributing immensely to the country's foreign exchange reserves. More than 5.5 million Pakistanis live and work in the UAE and other neighbouring Gulf countries. Millions of South Asian nationals visit Dubai, UAE and other regional countries for tourism. Pakistanis in the UAE have welcomed the government's decision to cancel the passports of deportees and put them on the passport control list for illegal practices because these initiatives will ease travel and visa restrictions for genuine visitors. The Senate Standing Committee recommended that the ministry initiate criminal proceedings against agencies for their involvement in sending deportees abroad. However, the question of legality of cancelling passports for crimes committed in foreign countries was also raised by a senator during the meeting.
The National
4 hours ago
- The National
Abu Dhabi's Fahid Island plans give us another peek at the city's extraordinary future
Developer Aldar Properties this week announced its plans for Fahid Island, the sliver of land that sits between Abu Dhabi's Yas and Jubail islands and connects via the road-and-bridge network with Saadiyat. By doing so, we now have a more complete picture of the plan for this quartet of isles that cluster from the mainland near Zayed International Airport to the top of Abu Dhabi city and the Mina Zayed district – and a better sense of the city's present and its prospective future. The developer said at the launch of its Fahid master plan that it will deliver a range of luxury apartments, townhouses and villas to the island, as well as a range of other amenities. Aldar described the project as being designed to draw people from around the city to use its leisure facilities and it was expecting international interest in the scheme. Next door, development of Jubail Island carries on at pace as regular users of the Saadiyat highway will testify. JIIC, the investment company at the heart of the island's development, has previously said the project will combine six residential village estates. Jubail will also be home to a branch of Gordonstoun school, via a licensing agreement that will use the storied Scottish institution's expertise and curriculum. The plan also allows for the majority of the island to remain as a salt marsh and mangrove sanctuary. The natural beauty of Jubail's Mangrove Walking Park is already a fixture of the city's ever-expanding visitor experience. With each passing year, both Saadiyat and Yas, which bookend Jubail and Fahid, become more impressive environments. On Saadiyat, the multi-sensory experience that is TeamLab Phenomena opened in the cultural district earlier this spring. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum are rapidly moving from architectural dream to built reality. So too the Natural History Museum, which promises to be a time capsule that takes visitors back to millions of years ago. Louvre Abu Dhabi has been a much-loved fixture of Saadiyat since it opened in late 2017. Banks of housing stock are fast emerging from the ground, which also hosts prominent education establishments, restaurants, hotels and a long ribbon of luxury housing at its far boundary, known as Hidd. With each passing year, both Saadiyat and Yas, which bookend Jubail and Fahid, become more impressive environments Yas, the buffer before the mainland, rightly stakes its claim as a world-class entertainment destination with its concert arena, F1 track, multiple theme parks - Warner Bros, Yas Waterworld, Ferrari World and Seaworld - as well as hotels, offices, several hues of residential stock and a full suite of leisure pursuits. The latest announcement, delivered last month, is arguably the biggest headliner of them all: the arrival of Disneyland within a decade. Experts say the Disney effect is already in motion, with the announcement instantly creating more interest in the residential property market in the city. That may provide mixed news for those seeking to move to the island, with prices likely to increase, but the overall impact of Disney's arrival is largely positive. Certainly, its presence will also accelerate growth in some sectors of the job market, too. If the Disney effect is at work at one end of that chain of islands, the Bilbao or Guggenheim effect has also been long talked about at the other end, in the context of the cultural district. The introduction of the Guggenheim to the Spanish port city, now almost 30 years ago, helped kickstart economic development and urban regeneration. Its impact will be felt differently in Abu Dhabi, however, sitting as it will do within Saadiyat's constellation of cultural stars, but there is also little doubt the Guggenheim will have an effect in Abu Dhabi, too. It is easy to forget now that Saadiyat and Yas were only connected to the city in 2009, with the opening of the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge and associated motorway that linked these islands with the mainland and the city and the complete offering we see now. The opening of that infrastructure was the moment that the exquisitely detailed scale models of what the future might look like began their journey towards the present. Around the same late aughts period, famed architect and urbanist Rem Koolhaas remarked 'the Gulf is not just reconfiguring itself, it's reconfiguring the world', in reference not just to the plans that were emerging across in the region. Perhaps people also took it to mean that the spectacular was possible in a way that had once been impossible, such as the world's tallest building opening in Dubai in 2009. It also used to be traditional to frame pieces about Abu Dhabi internationally with the idea of something extraordinary happening in the desert environment. With hindsight, those portrayals only told a fragment of the whole story, being overly focused on the possibility of structures emerging from barren ground rather than what was supporting that development in the first place. What they missed were the intangible assets of the city and the country, such as the safety of society – UAE cities are consistently ranked the safest in the world – and the certainty and confidence that means those visions were always destined to become reality. As much as the renderings and sketches are there to entice – in Fahid today, just as they were for yesteryear Saadiyat – it is that certainty about today that makes the possibility of tomorrow so exciting.
