Abu Dhabi opens beach for people with visual impairments
Abu Dhabi has opened a beach designed for people with visual impairments as part of a major government drive to broaden access to public spaces and champion inclusivity. Abu Dhabi City Municipality joined forces with the Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination to develop the 1,000-square metre beach, located near the Gate 3 area of the Corniche. Authorities on Friday said the beach had been 'designated exclusively for the visually impaired, offering a safe and enjoyable environment with comprehensive security, safety, and entertainment facilities'. The beach – which is free for visually impaired visitors and one guest – includes a variety of facilities set up to cater to the needs of people with visual impairments, allowing them to enjoy a day out at the beach while maintaining their independence. Abu Dhabi City Municipality has ensured that the designated swimming and leisure area on the Corniche includes tailored services designed specifically for the visually impaired. These include: • A dedicated vehicle service for People of Determination to facilitate transportation to the beach. • Paved guidance pathways with specialised tactile tiles extending along the walkway. • An instructional Braille signboard detailing the proper use of the swimming area. • A fenced pathway equipped with a guiding rope and alert bells at both ends emitting sound cues to direct users to the swimming area. • A designated swimming zone supervised by a trained lifeguard to ensure safety. • A Braille service guide providing comprehensive details to ensure a seamless experience for visually impaired visitors of all ages. The leisure space also features accessible walkways for people with disabilities and the elderly, dedicated restrooms for those with disabilities, floating wheelchairs designed for access to the waters, complementary drinking water stations, free transportation services for people with disabilities and senior citizens and designated parking spaces. The beach is open from 6am until midnight each day, with swimming permitted from 6am until sunset. A licensed nurse is also available on-site throughout the beach's operating hours to provide first aid assistance, if required. In December 2023, the Department of Municipalities and Transport teamed up with Mubadala, the emirate's strategic investment arm, to put in place remote control-operated ramps that allow people with disabilities to enjoy the waters independently. Solar-powered tracks – designed by Greek company Seatrac – are fitted with a chair which transports users from the sands to the sea. Beach-goers can use the rails of the ramp to lower themselves into the sea and to lift themselves back into the chair. The Seatrac system will be launched at Corniche Public Beach, Corniche Family Beach, Corniche Sahil Beach, Al Bateen Public Beach and Al Bateen Ladies' Beach.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
14 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Faith beyond sight: Blind Pakistani pilgrim's lifelong Hajj dream fulfilled
Among the millions of pilgrims in Mina, 63-year-old Pakistani Habibullah stands out. For him, this year's Hajj is not merely a pilgrimage but the culmination of a lifetime of unwavering patience and profound faith. Born sighted, Habibullah lost his vision at 18. He then dedicated his life to teaching Islamic jurisprudence in Pakistan, memorising the entire Holy Quran in Braille. Speaking to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), he tearfully recounted his lifelong dream of Hajj, praying daily to visit the Grand Mosque. "This Hajj season, my dream came true," he shared. "It is true that I do not see the Holy Kaaba, but I feel it in my heart, as if it resides within me. Knowledge and education are light; true darkness is the absence of knowledge, not vision." His profound inner light and unwavering faith define him. "I was a blind child," he reflected, "but today I am a successful man thanks to my knowledge, my faith, and Allah's choice to bring me here." With a smile of certainty, he concluded, "The blind child I was decades ago has achieved great success today. I am happy and grateful to Allah." His story is a testament to profound faith and perseverance, fulfilling a four-and-a-half-decade dream of Hajj.
Middle East Eye
2 days ago
- Middle East Eye
Exclusive: Greece to lobby Egypt against Haftar endorsing Turkey-Libya maritime deal
Greece is expected to ask Egypt to intervene to dissuade the government in eastern Libya backed by General Khalifa Haftar from ratifying a maritime agreement with Turkey, Middle East Eye can reveal. Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis is expected to raise the issue with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on Wednesday, two regional officials with knowledge of the matter told Middle East Eye. Libya's internationally recognised government in Tripoli signed a contentious maritime demarcation agreement with Turkey in 2019 that ignored Greece's claims to exclusive economic zones, including via major Greek islands like Crete and Rhodes. Greece countered that maritime agreement the next year by signing its own deal with Egypt. Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has opposed Turkey's ambitions for years and is backed by Cairo along with the UAE. Any move by eastern Libya to endorse Turkey's position would represent a sea change for the eastern Mediterranean, where regional actors hope to develop potentially lucrative natural gas deposits. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters It would be a major boost for Ankara's bid to assert itself as the dominant maritime power in the region as it would put all of Libya's factions in line with Turkey's claims. If the deal is pursued it could reawaken maritime tensions in the region which saw Greece and Turkey edge close to conflict in the summer of 2020. Greece and Cyprus are already alarmed. But any recognition of Turkey's maritime claims could also irk Israel. Greece, Cyprus and Israel want to develop gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean and build a subsea electrical inter-connector, but those projects have stalled. If Haftar-controlled eastern Libya ratifies the maritime deal, it could provide cover to Syria's new government to strike its own accord with Ankara that includes Northern Cyprus, a breakaway region whose independence is recognised only by Turkey, one of the regional officials told MEE. Saddam Haftar opens dialogue with Turkey Eastern Libya would also find itself in direct confrontation with the Egypt-Greece maritime agreement. Cairo did not recognise all of Greece's claims to exclusive economic zones via its islands in that 2020 agreement, but a wide swath of it contradicts the Turkey-Tripoli deal. The Tobruk-based Libyan House of Representatives in June established a committee to review the deal Tripoli endorsed. Israel's Netanyahu lobbying US against F-35 sale to Turkey, sources say Read More » Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for Haftar-controlled eastern Libya to consider signing a maritime deal with Turkey. The shift represents just how fast the region is reordering itself. In 2019, Haftar launched a months-long offensive to take Tripoli with the backing the UAE, Egypt and Russia. Turkey successfully intervened to defend its ally, sending mercenaries, soldiers and drones. But Khalifa Haftar is now courting Turkish support. In April, his son and potential successor, Saddam, paid a landmark visit to Ankara. Libya's eastern and western governments are jockeying for influence and access to the country's oil riches - the largest in Africa. Greece was able to lean on Egypt in 2020 to counter Turkey because ties between Ankara and Cairo were strained. Libya was just one flashpoint in the relationship. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi came to power after leading a 2013 military coup, that overthrew Egypt's democratically elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi. He was an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As late as 2019, Erdogan refused to recognise Sisi's legitimacy. However, in recent years Ankara and Cairo have patched up ties. Any effort by Egypt to lobby eastern Libya against the Turkey deal could inflame tensions in the recently thawed relationship.
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Jackie Chan understood "nothing" his costar Chris Tucker said during 'Rush Hour'
Actor and filmmaker Jackie Chan has an interesting revelation about the first Rush Hour movie. During his recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, he shared his working experience in the film and the challenges he faced while shooting it. Rush Hour is a 1998 cop action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna from a story by LaManna, with Chan and Tucker as mismatched police officers who are assigned to rescue a Chinese diplomat's abducted daughter. Its box office success led to two sequels: Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007). On talking about the film, Chan said, "The whole movie, I don't know what Chris Tucker's saying," he added, "Not a clue." Chan later shared that in "every shot" his dialogue was "different" because of how much he struggled to understand. "My dialogue coach sits right behind the camera," he continued. "Every scene, every shot, different dialogue." When asked if he ever shared about the challenges he faced, Chan replied, "Yes" "I asked my dialect coach, 'What did he say?' He speaks so fast!" said Chan. Chan said he ultimately learned English by listening to country music, as the songs are slower, reported People. This revelation about Rush Hour film came after Chan opened up about his favourite films in the trilogy. "I don't know. You know what, the first one: little money, little time," said Chan about the original 1998 movie, adding,"We shot it like, 'Go, go, go, go!' The second one: a lot of money, a lot of time. The third one: too much money, too much time." "Too much money is no good," Chan added. On the possibility of Rush Hour 4, Chan revealed during his December 2022 appearance at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia that he was "talking" about it.
