Abu Dhabi, January 7 / WAM / His Excellency Yasser Al Gargawi, Director General of the Watani Fund, affirmed that His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the Fund’s Board of Directors, directed the Fund to focus during 2025 on strengthening the concept of national identity among everyone, through all its activities and programs, under the slogan “A strong and sustainable national identity, empowerment, productivity, responsibility”.

He noted that the Fund formed a supreme committee to develop all its programs and activities, and added many new initiatives that meet this direction, which were recently approved by His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak and the board members. He pointed out that the new plan includes 19 main initiatives targeting about 14 categories of Emirati society, and work began with the start of this January, including the “National Identity Pioneers” initiative, which will launch during the second week of this month.

He stressed that all initiatives aim to deepen pride in national identity as the core and foundation of the Watani Fund’s mission, objectives, and work.

Al Gargawi added that all the Fund’s programs will work on two main levels: everything related to programs for pride in the characteristics and principles of national identity in the UAE, and programs for developing the capacity for productive work, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Regarding the most important community groups targeted by the Fund, he pointed out that the Watani Fund works with everyone to strengthen national identity in the country, including all sectors of society, foremost among them schools, colleges, universities, families (including women and children), youth, people of determination, senior citizens, elite individuals, artists, cultural and intellectual leaders, in addition to research and study centers, media institutions, government ministries and authorities, as well as civil society organizations, religious figures, the business sector, and foreign communities.

Al Gargawi explained that the Fund will work in the areas of strengthening national identity in cooperation with all parties in society, through a creative model of community partnership consisting of three elements: the National Identity Pioneers program, which is organized for members of the target entity and its employees, with the aim of education, awareness, and empowerment; the second focuses on relying on the shared resources of the Fund and the entity it works with to implement activities and initiatives supporting national identity; and the third element is providing an opportunity for those interested among members of the entities the Fund works with to participate in an intensive public service project, under the supervision and follow-up of the Fund.

Regarding the most important initiatives focusing on pride in national identity, Al Gargawi explained that they include a large group of programs all centered on celebrating and taking pride in the characteristics and principles of national identity known worldwide about the sons and daughters of the UAE.

He added that the “National Identity Pioneers” initiative, launching in the second week of this January and touring all emirates, institutions, and universities of the country, will represent the first launch to strengthen national identity among all segments of Emirati society, noting that it is a flexible program aimed at training participants from all groups to take pride in the authentic values and principles of Emirati society.

Al Gargawi noted that His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak directed that this program be implemented during 2025 with more than 14 Emirati entities, institutions, and authorities, and that the door be opened for everyone to participate. He pointed out that the Watani Fund has completed preparing the knowledge content for the program and training the trainers who will implement it with various groups.

He explained that the program will be organized throughout the year in schools, colleges, and universities, and then commence implementation in other entities in society, noting that the program will be continuously developed to suit the needs of different entities and groups.

He mentioned that the “National Identity Pioneers” program will be developed according to three main models: the first model lasts one week, the second two weeks, and the third three weeks. This will be implemented with full flexibility, allowing the second and third models to be executed either in one continuous period or in separate intervals, depending on the nature and circumstances of each participating entity.

Al Gargawi said that the role of the Watani Fund in this program is to prepare the educational and awareness materials related to the program, provide instructors, prepare evaluation, follow-up, and improvement systems, in addition to organizing an annual meeting for all graduates of this program, with the aim of achieving communication, acquaintance, and joint work among them, thereby affirming the continuity of their positive impact on society.

He explained that the National Identity Pioneers program will serve as a locomotive for all other initiatives of the Fund, becoming the common factor in various other activities, as it represents the component that provides awareness of the main concepts of identity, its elements, objectives, and advantages for the individual, family, and society.

He pointed out that the Fund has a variety of initiatives, including the Arabic Language: The Language of the Holy Quran program, the program on awareness of the role of environment and nature in shaping national identity, National Identity Clubs, the program for producing intellectual and artistic works on national identity, the program for activating the role of media in pride of national identity, the National Identity Caravans, a research program in the fields of national identity, and others.