UAE answers the call for ‘Determined People’: paper

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ABU DHABI, 13th May, 2017 (WAM) — With the announcement of the new National Policy to Empower People of Determination on Thursday, the UAE has consolidated the strategies it has developed over the years for people with special needs into a comprehensive, solution-driven programme of integration that offers a strong guarantee of delivering the results, according to a local newspaper.

“A sweeping, grass roots-strengthening initiative, what distinguishes the policy beyond its acuity is the empathy and equality invested in the new nomenclature it has created for people in this segment. As stated by Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, individuals with special needs will now be referred to as the determined people,” The Gulf News said in an editorial, describing this thinking, and awareness in society as a reinvigorating validation of the spirit and courage of the determined ones that has been long overdue.

Beyond the nomenclature, the paper noted, the national policy also distinguishes itself with its nuts-and-bolts approach. “All the different facets of society meant for the determined ones health, rehabilitation, accessibility, education, social security, public life, cultural integration will be finessed for delivering results.”

Emphasising that this, indeed, is the only way to bring about real inclusivity and rescue the term from the theoretical morass it has been mired in, the paper said that serving as a guarantor to achieving this goal will be an advisory council that will oversee and implement the policy to its fullest.

Another highlight of the policy, whose time too has come, is the launch of a national registry for new-borns with disabilities and delayed developmental issues, it said. “Offering an invaluable database, this registry will be a critical tool with which to hone future strategies.”

“Ensuring that the determined ones stand their ground on the same level as their fellow human beings is as much a part of national progress as are its other indicators. Till such time as people of determination become an indistinguishable part of the mainstream as social contributors, the efforts to erase the lines that separate them from the rest of society must go on,” The Gulf news concluded.

Source: WAM/Mahmoud