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UAE mulls plan to promote walking, cycling
UAE mulls plan to promote walking, cycling Asma Ali Zain / 25 February 2014 The plan would look into providing residents with more options to walk, cycle, exercise, provide easy access to sports facilities as well as educate them on the health benefits of physical activity. The UAE is working out a national plan to encourage its residents to get physically active, even if for 30 minutes a day. The plan would look into providing residents with more options to walk, cycle, exercise, provide easy access to sports facilities as well as educate them on the health benefits of physical activity in a safe environment. It would also address concerns on urban designs and infrastructure and introduce polices in schools. Also see the eight cycling and walking tracks to come up in Dubai by 2015 Policy makers have said that physical activity is critical for population health. Marking it as a public health priority, they said that lack of physical activity is the fourth leading risk factor for global deaths while at least 219,000 deaths occur annually in the region. Guided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UAE, along with other GCC countries, on Monday drew the first draft of a regional policy on physical activity at a high-level forum being held for the first time in the region. The regional draft will help the UAE government chalk out its own policies that, according to the UN General Assembly, should be in place by 2025. The countries have pledged to reduce physical inactivity by at least 10 per cent over the next four years. The UAE is part of a region where statistics show that over 50 per cent of women are physically inactive, an issue that has led to high rates of deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and heart diseases, discussed experts at the meeting. “We are developing a regional plan that will guide countries to develop their own policies by addressing challenges,” said Dr Ala Alwan, Regional Director of Eastern Mediterrenean Regional Office (Emro). “The main aim of this forum is to raise awareness on physical activity and the need to tackle the issue with participation of the society and other decision makers,” he explained. Different sectors such as urban planning, health, education, employment and transportation have been roped in to develop a comprehensive strategy. “We now need action on behaviour change through awareness raising and skills development,” he added. “Everybody has the right, and should be able to walk freely, and to have leisure sites and sports available and accessible, regardless of age, gender and culture,” said Dr Alwan. “Urban planning sectors should ensure that streets and parks are available for people to walk in and exercise safely. The education sector should ensure that physical education and activity are an integral part of the school curriculum. The transportation system should be easily accessible so that people rely less on their personal cars. Employers should provide employees with the opportunity to exercise at the worksite,” he added, urging governments to focus policies on these key factors. Several countries such as the UK, Australia and the US shared their experiences in implementing the laws that would enable PA. asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Public sector asked to learn from strategies of corporates
Public sector asked to learn from strategies of corporates Afkar Abdullah / 25 February 2014 Experts at the third day of International Government Communication Forum 2014 suggest governments should heed to public opinion. Governments must learn from the communication experiences of the private sector, according to communication experts in a session during the third day of International Government Communication Forum 2014 (IGCF 2014). The experts were of the opinion that while the private sector worked on improving the methods of communication with its audience and strengthening these to optimise efficiency, the public sector in general and governments in particular relied on unilateral messaging, targeting audiences without heeding to public opinion or citizen feedback. The session explored how best practices from the private sector’s rich experience in communicating with its stakeholders can be drawn upon to develop the nascent public sector’s communication experience. The session also highlighted the media’s perception of the difference between the communication strategies adopted by the public and private sectors. The interactive session was steered by Bill Daley, former White House chief of staff and commerce secretary under Bill Clinton, Bryan Dumont, president of APCO Insight, who is an expert in providing opinion research, Marwan Zawaydeh, chief corporate governance officer at Etisalat, and NartBouran, head of Sky News Arabia. Paula Yacoubian from Future TV moderated the session. Explaining how the private sector can help develop the nascent public sector’s communication experience, Daley said: “The public sector needs to become more modern in using the tools of communication and research just as the private sector does. However, governments deal with complicated communication as they have a filter for everything they do. Governments are able to learn about processes and technology but they do not have the same ease as the private sector in communicating their messages. He added: “It has always been important for governments to be transparent. Now with social media, anyone can be a reporter so it is very difficult to build trust. Often, the private sector, when confronted with a problem, has time to find the cause of that problem, whereas governments do not have the time to investigate before communicating. If in such a situation the government miscommunicates, the trust is broken and government credibility stands to be lost.” Underlining what the public sector can learn from the communication experiences of the private sector, Bryan Dumont explained: “Private sector companies know how to build brand and how to measure results of communication. In the changing landscape, private companies are finding it difficult to have one-way communication as they also have multiple stakeholders, so the era of pushing messages is going away. “There is a lot that governments can learn about the techniques of communication from the private sector, such as truly listening to stakeholders and their expectations and the need of corporate positioning to be authentic and in the area of building emotional relationships. Human beings do not respond to communication in a rational way and governments need to have the capacity to evoke the same emotions and champion the interests of its stakeholders. And lastly, all of this has to be measured to know the true impact.” Highlighting how the private sector can contribute to the development of new communication methods for governments, Marwan Zawaydeh said: “The public sector is heading in the right direction and is following the footsteps of the private sector to be closer to the customer via bi-directional communication. To give you an example, a majority of telecommunication companies moved from being government entities to becoming private companies. “The shift demanded these companies to become more customer-oriented for ensuring the continuity of customer satisfaction on one hand, and catering to evolving demands on the other. Towards this process, a strategy had to be created to develop work structures and improve customer feedback mechanisms across all available channels of communication.” NartBouran highlighted the media’s perspective on the relation with governments. He said: “Today, communication is no longer restricted to one party and is more of a dialogue. Our experiences are based on mutual dialogue generated from listening to the public. I see the need to rebuild our systems to adapt to internal communication and handle the sheer amount of data we receive and send every day.” He added: “There are two elements that dominate the relationship between the government and media: transparency and trust, and this depends mainly on the government to provide us with accurate information and data that easily reflect the level of constructive cooperation with the media. In return, the media must respect the privacy of some government sources and maintain the confidentiality of the sources to ensure the continuity of mutual trust and the flow of information and data in a way that serves the interests of both parties and keep the general public informed of what is happening around them.” afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Arrest warrant issued for President Yanukovych
Arrest warrant issued for President Yanukovych (AP) / 24 February 2014 Calls are mounting in Ukraine to put Yanukovych on trial, after a tumultuous presidency in which he amassed powers, enriched his allies and cracked down on protesters. Anti-Viktor Yanukovych protesters outside parliament in Kiev.-AFP Ukraine’s acting government issued a warrant on Monday for the arrest of President Viktor Yanukovych, last seen in the pro-Russian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, accusing him of mass crimes against protesters who stood up for months against his rule. Calls are mounting in Ukraine to put Yanukovych on trial, after a tumultuous presidency in which he amassed powers, enriched his allies and cracked down on protesters. Anger boiled over last week after snipers attacked protesters in the bloodiest violence in Ukraine’s post-Soviet history. The turmoil has turned this strategically located country of 46 million inside out over the past few days, raising fears that it could split apart. The parliament speaker is suddenly nominally in charge of a country whose economy is on the brink of default and whose loyalties are torn between Europe and longtime ruler Russia. Ukraine’s acting interior minister, Arsen Avakhov, said on his official Facebook page Monday that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Yanukovych and several other officials for the “mass killing of civilians.” At least 82 people, primarily protesters, were killed in clashes in Kiev last week. Avakhov says Yanukovych arrived in Crimea on Sunday and relinquished his official security detail then drove off to an unknown location. After signing an agreement with the opposition to end a conflict that turned deadly, Yanukovych fled the capital for eastern Ukraine. Avakhov said he tried to fly out of Donetsk but was stopped, then went to Crimea. Tensions have been mounting in Crimea, where pro-Russian protesters raised a Russian flag on a city hall in one town and scuffled with police. Russia maintains a big naval base in the Crimean port of Sevastopol that has tangled relations between the countries for two decades. Yanukovych set off a wave of protests by shelving an agreement with the EU in November and turning toward Russia, and the movement quickly expanded its grievances to corruption, human rights abuses and calls for Yanukovych’s resignation. “We must find Yanukovych and put him on trial,” said protester Leonid Shovtak, a 50-year-old farmer from the western Ivano-Frankivsk region who came to Kiev’s Independence Square to take part in the three-month protest movement. “All the criminals with him should be in prison.” The speaker of parliament assumed the president’s powers Sunday, even though a presidential aide told the AP on Sunday that Yanukovych plans to stay in power. The speaker, Oleksandr Turchinov, said top priorities include saving the economy and “returning to the path of European integration,” according to news agencies. The latter phrase is certain to displease Moscow, which wants Ukraine to be part of a customs union that would rival the EU and bolster Russia’s influence. Russia granted Ukraine a $15 billion bailout after Yanukovych backed away from the EU deal. U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said the U.S. is ready to help Ukraine get aid from the International Monetary Fund. The European Union, meanwhile, is reviving efforts to strike a deal with Ukraine that could involve billions of euros in economic perks. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is visiting Kiev on Monday and Tuesday. The protest movement has been in large part a fight for the country’s economic future — for better jobs and prosperity. Ukraine has struggled with corruption, bad government and short-sighted reliance on cheap gas from Russia. Political unrest has pushed up the deficit and sent exchange rates bouncing, and may have pushed the economy back into a recession. Per capita economic output is only around $7,300, even adjusted for the lower cost of living there, compared to $22,200 in Poland and around $51,700 in the United States. Ukraine ranks 137 th worldwide, behind El Salvador, Namibia, and Guyana. Ukraine has a large potential consumer market, with 46 million people, an educated workforce, and a rich potential export market next door in the EU. It has a significant industrial base and good natural resources, in particular rich farmland. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
