Building bridges of best practices is what 21st century needs: Shamma Al Mazrui tells Aqdar World Summit in Moscow

MOSCOW, 30th August, 2019 (WAM) -- While addressing the Aqdar World Summit in Moscow, Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth, said, "Building bridges of best practices is what the 21st century needs and the Aqdar World Summit in Moscow this year is the opportunity to do just that – build bridges between nations that advance global empowerment by and for communities."

In her keynote address on the second day of the four-day world gathering, Shamma Al Mazrui stated, "I believe Youth are central to the success of this mission. The most important thing the UAE has learnt about youth empowerment in the last three years is that the best policies and programmes are done by youth for youth. That is, the end-users are the creators of the programmes and policies they need in the same way that iPhone customers give Apple the feedback to design the best new versions of the iPhone."

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the 3rd edition of Aqdar World Summit in Moscow continued on the second day. It is being held in conjunction with the Moscow Global Forum "City for Education", under the theme "Global Empowerment of Communities: Experiences and Lessons Learned".

Experts offered their insights on ways to empower individuals in various key sectors of our economy with a key focus on the topic "The Technical, Intellectual and Food Security: The Strategic Pillars to Empower Communities and Youth – The UAE Model".

Al Mazrui further stated, "Global problems are a collective challenge; every one of us must be given the opportunity and authority to help solve them. Especially the youth. When no one leader or government has the answers, the only way to solve them is by sharing the experiences we have that lead to our failures and successes and then collaborating to achieve them. The UN Sustainability Development Goal #17 gets to the heart of this collaborative practice."

Commenting on her topic "Beyond the Rhetoric – A living Case Study of Youth Empowerment in the UAE’’, she said, "When it comes to youth empowerment, the UAE walks the talk. The UAE has built a truly ground-breaking youth-led National Youth Strategy in three years that works. It is a successful case study in its own right about what we have learnt so far, however, what makes the UAE’s youth empowerment a "living" case study is that it will never be complete. We believe nations must have a dynamic and comprehensive youth strategy that evolves, matures and is as nimble as the needs, talents and potential of the youth themselves. We will never arrive, and I think the code we are cracking is something innovative worth sharing and discussing among nations."

Al Mazrui said in conclusion, "The UAE and Russia are two countries that pioneer new frontiers. In preparing for this Russia trip, I was reminded of a very special anniversary that the UAE and Russia share: 2nd December, 1971, were groundbreaking days for us each. On this day, the UAE was born as a nation. The Soviet Union landed a spacecraft on Mars long enough to transmit data back to Earth for the first time. Empowering youth is the most critical frontier for humanity of the 21st century. That makes it the number one catalyst for true innovation and investment. Aqdar 2019 is our opportunity to embark on a big new mission to empower youth together."

Aqdar World Summit is organised by Khalifa Empowerment Program, Aqdar, in cooperation with INDEX Conferences & Exhibitions and the support of a number of local and international bodies.