UN General Assembly adopts resolution recognising the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment

On 28 July the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that recognises the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. The resolution passed with 161 votes in favour and 8 abstentions. The substantive parts of the resolution do not provide specific details as to the content of the right. The resolution affirms that realising the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment requires full implementation of existing international obligations concerning environmental law. In meeting these obligations, the resolution calls on all stakeholders, including states, international organisations, and businesses to take action for bringing about a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for all.

August 9, 2022

World Government Summit, Dubai: Women in Leadership Roles for More Resilient Societies

The under-representation of women in management and leadership positions represents one of the main issues that hampers gender equality worldwide and a main priority for governments and women's rights organisations that pursue the objective of eventually closing the gender gap.

April 6, 2022

Bahrain – Accelerating Progress on Women’s Empowerment

International Woman's Day on 8 March was an occasion to celebrate women’s achievements and assess the gains made in addressing the gender gap worldwide.

March 17, 2022

Qudwa-PISA Global Competence Forum: Incorporating Local-Global Competence into School Curricula

On February 19, the 2022 edition of the biannual Qudwa-PISA Global Competence Forum was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The event, organised under the patronage of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in collaboration with the OECD and the Bussola Institute, brought together a diverse panel of international education professionals, decision makers and policy experts. During the day-long event, prominent speakers shared valuable insights and exchanged best practices with the aim of advancing education and preparing the students of today and tomorrow to navigate increasingly complex and interconnected societies.

February 28, 2022

The Qudwa-PISA Forum – Showcasing Global Competence Education at Dubai Expo

Next week, under the theme “Preparing students to live in an interconnected world”, a ground-breaking educational event will bring together over 150 international policy experts, teachers, and decision-makers to discuss the essential skills that young people need to acquire in order to live in a more globalised and interconnected world.

February 11, 2022

A Workweek Aligned with the West

Have you ever dreamed of a four-and-a-half-day workweek? It is no longer wishful thinking in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Last week, the Emirati authorities announced that all government institutions would align their workweek with the Western standards.

December 15, 2021

BUILDING BRIDGES

On February 3, 2019, Pope Francis began his three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, the first of a Pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Gulf region. The visit comes on the invitation of Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and follows on the meeting the Crown Prince held with the Pope at the Vatican in 2016. On the agenda during his time in the UAE, the Pope will have a meeting with members of the Muslim Council of Elders, engage in an interreligious dialogue, and hold a public mass for an estimated 125,000 worshippers.

February 4, 2019

AN HISTORIC CHARTER

The visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was not just a visit, it was history in the making. As the first visit of any Pope to the Arabian Peninsula, it represented a turning point in the gridlock of animosity between Muslims and Christians that extremists have forced upon us in areas like Egypt, Iraq and Syria. His Holiness’ Papal Mass attended by 130,000 people in Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi was not just a Mass, it was a commitment by both Muslims and Christians to repudiate the idea that the relationship between the two religions is a zero-sum game.

February 4, 2019