Tag Archives: education
Adihex: Culture and heritage on exhibit
Adihex: Culture and heritage on exhibit Silvia Radan / 5 September 2013 With no pomp, no ribbon cutting, the 11th Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Adihex) opened its doors at 11am on Wednesday morning. For the next three days, until September 7, 39,000 square meters of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre is being taken by 600 national and international organisations promoting the widest variety of products and services related to outdoor camping, hunting, falconry, horse riding and Arab culture and heritage. “The Adihex is one of the most important annual events of its kind, dedicated to the preservation of culture and heritage. We continuously aim to achieve greater success year after year, especially since Adihex is the only exhibition specialised in the culture and heritage in the Gulf region, and as such maintaining success is surely more difficult than just achieving it,” declared Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, chairman of adihex Higher Organising Committee and Culture and Heritage advisor at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court. An instant eye catcher at the exhibition is Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority’s (ADTCA) pavilion, the biggest of them all. “We are as big as last year, over 1,200 square metres,” said Saeed Al Kaabi, manager of traditional productions at ADTCA and in charge of the pavilion. “The concept is inspired by the Qasr Al Hosn, Abu Dhabi’s oldest fort. The architecture of the old walls is reproduced here, at a smaller scale, of course. Inside, we have about 40 Emirati traditional handicrafts and activities represented. We have a coffee shop offering free Arabic coffee, tea and dates; a souk where handicraft makers supported by ADTCA sell their products; a corner where Emirati ladies demonstrate the art of saddu and tally; a VIP majlis designed in the style of an old Emirati house…. We have falconry and from 4pm till closing time at 10pm we have Emirati folklore,” Al Kaabi told Khaleej Times. The ADTCA pavilion is also the host of the Arabic Coffee competition, which this year will give away Dh50,000 in prizes in several age and gender related categories. “So far we have about 30 people registered in the competition, but we never close the registration. Sometimes, a person comes just as the competition is about to start and enters it,” explained Al Kaabi. It is close to never that a non-Emirati dares to enter such a local competition, but so far this year an Egyptian national is challenging a few dozen Abu Dhabi Bedouins at Arabic coffee brewing. Coastal traditions are represented too with a full size dhow boat and several miniature ones. Their makers sit next to them, singing sea tunes from the past while making fishing nets. “I made this boat four years ago and my friend here, Khalifa Khamis Ismail made the miniature boats. Dhows are always made by the sea and in Abu Dhabi we still have a workshop in Al Bateen, part of the Emirates Heritage Club,” said Saif Al Benghazi. Since Adihex began 11 years ago as a wild falcon preservation project, getting falconers to give up their wild birds and go for farm bred ones instead, environmental issues are still big at the exhibition today. “This year we focus our presence at Adihex on falconry, so we promote the Falcon Hospital and our falconry research project in Mongolia, which we started in 2010,” said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, secretary general of Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital plays a major role at Adihex, as it sets up a clinic where all falcon buyers may check the birds prior to purchase, free of charge, to make sure they are not getting a sick falcon. Since the hospital also has a pet and animal rescue centre, it brings here some of its rescued cats and dogs, ready for adoption. “It’s amazing! In the first hour of the opening we had one dog and two cats adopted, as well as four falcons for checkup. Last year, the adoption didn’t start until the last two days of Adihex,” revealed Dr Margit Muller, director of Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital. Adihex has prepared a full programme of shows from 5pm till 8pm that includes a short film on Adihex and equestrian, birds and camel shows, which will repeat every evening of the exhibition. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
17,467 tickets issued forusing phones while driving
17,467 tickets issued forusing phones while driving Staff Reporter / 4 September 2013 The Abu Dhabi Police Directorate of Traffic and Patrols issued 17,467 tickets during the first seven months of the year against motorists who were caught using their mobile phones while at the wheel. The directorate called upon motorists to avoid using mobile phones while driving, warning them of the risks of speaking on their mobiles as well as, reading and writing text messages, as it could lead to serious traffic accidents due to a motorists lack of concentration. Manager of the Serious Accidents Investigation Branch at the Directorate Major Abdullah Al Suwaidi, said committing such a violation also inhibits proper physical control of the vehicle’s steering as the motorist is preoccupied with holding his/her mobile device to identify the caller or to communicate with others. Maj Al Suwaidi urged drivers to avoid this bad habit so as to ensure their safety and to not disrupt traffic and cause traffic congestion. Moreover, he called on them to consider that their life is more precious than the time wasted by answering a phone call, particularly since traffic accidents occur in less than a second. He also stressed that the directorate has tightened traffic control on internal and external roads for drivers who are caught using mobile phones while driving. Violators will face a fine of Dh200 and four black points on their traffic record. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Outgoing calls suspended for 3m cellphone users
Outgoing calls suspended for 3m cellphone users Haseeb Haider / 2 September 2013 Telecom providers etisalat and du have suspended the service for almost three million subscribers who were late in updating their information during the last phases of ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign, launched by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA). This means that a subscriber cannot make any outgoing calls, however he can receive incoming calls and text messages. Both etisalat and du have started to gradually cease their services for subscribers who were targeted during the previous stages. These subscribers were previously informed to update their information but failed to do so even after their service was suspended for three months. The total number of subscribers whose subscriptions have been cancelled is almost two million. ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign, launched in July 2012, successfully entered its fifth phase, on schedule with the previously announced timeline, announced the TRA. The campaign was initiated in collaboration with etisalat and du to increase mobile subscriber awareness on the new registration procedures for mobile phone services. It also seeks to highlight the important role the subscribers play in protecting their SIM cards to maintain their privacy to avoid any misuse that may occur, since the registered subscriber of the number will be legally and financially accountable. The subscribers and licensees etisalat and du are participating in the process of updating information and registration in order to put into action the new policies and procedures set by the campaign which has a timeline of 18 months until the beginning of 2014 and divided into six stages in order to successfully include the whole country in the registration process. Etisalat and du have finished targeting four groups of subscribers and will now target around four million subscribers during the remaining stages of the campaign. On the launch of the fifth stage of the ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign, Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director-General said: “The campaign focuses on the procedures that will be taken by the TRA in order to ensure the transparency in dealing with mobile subscribers and protecting their privacy if misuse occurs by users who use mobile services not registered under their names.” According to latest statistics registered during the month of August 2013, more than 12 million subscribers have registered and updated their data packages. This number continues to increase as more subscribers register. Al Ghanim called upon subscribers to register and update their data in order to avoid disconnection of their service, saying: “The licensees suspended the service for almost three million subscribers who were late in updating their information during the last phases of the campaign. He added: “The TRA encourages e-registration and encourages the licensees etisalat and du to make sure the facility is available to e-register which goes in line with the new registration procedures and to smoothly facilitate the process.” He said: “Companies can arrange with etisalat and du in order to register a large number of subscribers through one visit to the company’s office, in order to facilitate the registration process for subscribers who may find it difficult to do so individually.” The TRA confirmed that the current and targeted numbers mentioned above are approximate numbers that may increase or decrease, as the total number of subscribers in the telecommunications sector is subject to change as it is controlled by several factors such as the decrease due to cancellation of many subscriptions or the recycling of numbers by operators. haseeb@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
