The Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs (MFNCA) is organising the first “Elections Lab” in collaboration with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) at the latter’s headquarters during UAE Innovation Month 2019.
The initiative seeks to raise political awareness and promote political participation in the community, in addition to engaging the youth in the electoral process and coming up with ideas and proposals for employing advanced technologies to upgrade the electoral experience in the UAE. It reflects the Ministry’s commitment to empowering the youth and channelling their potential to develop the electoral and political process and drive sustainable development.
His Excellency Tariq Hilal Lootah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of State for FNC Affairs, said: “Young people’s ideas are the primary engine driving our empowerment, progress, and future-building efforts. The innovative ‘Elections Lab’ initiative allows us to establish communication with the youth, encourage them to propose creative solutions for raising political awareness, promoting political participation, and improving the overall parliamentary experience.”
“The initiative reflects the Ministry’s commitment to consistently upgrade our approach to improving political awareness among various segments of the community, including the youth,” H.E. added. “We strive to embrace young people’s innovative ideas and employ them to broaden our scope and encourage a larger segment of UAE citizens to play their part in the country’s political life and sustainable development.”
The “Elections Lab” will explore challenges to the electoral process, proposing pragmatic future solutions to address them. It relies on experiments and models approved by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation (MBRCGI) and aims to come out with avant-garde ideas for an improved electoral process.
Dr Abdul Latif Al Shamsi, Director of the Higher Colleges of Technology Complex, expressed his happiness to be collaborating with the Ministry of State for FNC Affairs to launch the “Elections Lab” initiative, which seeks to enhance political awareness and promote political participation among young people in the UAE, and introduce them to the FNC’s role in discussing social issues and decision-making processes in the UAE.
“The initiative seeks to tap into young people’s creativity to develop the UAE’s political life and engage an entire generation of young Emiratis,” Dr Al Shamsi said, noting that students have previously participated in many FNC-related activities, including working as volunteers at polling stations and attending Council meetings. The HCT has cooperated with the Ministry on curricula to introduce a “culture of political participation” course to the Emirati Studies major.
“The youth are the driving force behind building the future,” Dr Al Shamsi said. “Our wise leadership has placed a great deal of faith in them, and they are now playing a major role in terms of decision-making in the UAE and in achieving national objectives and visions. It is essential to engage our youth early on in national and social issues; HCT students have access to practical education in an educational environment centred around innovation.”
The Higher Colleges of Technology have launched several initiatives to hone students’ skills in terms of debate and constructive dialogue, in addition to student councils formed according to the same mechanisms used to form the FNC. Furthermore, the “Shorik” initiative allows students to discuss the challenges they face and express their opinions and suggestions for developing student life, while their participation in volunteer work in general embeds a sense of national responsibility in them.
The “Elections Lab” initiative is a landmark addition to the MFNCA’s record and portfolio of innovative initiatives that promote creativity to facilitate the electoral process and encourage the youth to come forward with their proposals for engaging larger segments of society in the electoral process.