In case you needed a Sunday dose of aww…

Dubai’s Ruler believes strongly in the importance of the UAE’s youth, and is more than happy to go out of his way to make that point known.

This month, we saw Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, pay a visit to six-year-old Emirati girl Mahra Al Shehi, after a video appeared of the youngster rehearsing one of Sheikh Mohammed’s speeches to recite at a school assembly.

The Sheikh was so touched by the video he visited the Sharjah school to have her recite it for him in person.

sheikh-mo

Sheikh Mohammed and Mahra.

Well now a new video has popped up showing a young Emirati boy recite a poem for Sheikh Mohammed at a horse racing event in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Mohammed beckons a Yas TV presenter halfway through the poem to hold the microphone up for the boy himself.

What is the poem about?

The Arabic poem honours the armed forces of the UAE, who keep the country safe.

The boy mentions in the poem how Sheikh Mohammed did not raise cowards, and that the people of the UAE would gladly give their lives in order to protect the country from border to border.

More…
*Sheikh Mohammed on why Dubai Creek is so important*
*Video of Sheikh Mohammed giving actress casual greeting goes viral*
*Sheikh Mohammed fills his private plane with aid and sends it to Haiti*

The poem also honours the late founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

SHEIKH MOHAMMED ON WHY HE APPOINTED A MINISTER OF YOUTH

Earlier this year Sheikh Mohammed reshuffled the UAE cabinet, appointing a Minister of Youth Affairs. In a letter on LinkedIn he explained why…

minister of youth

Oxford University master’s degree holder Shamma al-Mazrui is the Minister of Youth Affairs.

“The changes [in the UAE government] reflect what we have learned from events in our region over the past five years. In particular, we have learned that failure to respond effectively to the aspirations of young people, who represent more than half of the population in Arab countries, is like swimming against the tide,” the leader explains in his open letter.

In the letter, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed explains just how important listening to the youth of the UAE is: “We do not forget that the genesis of the tension in our region, the events dubbed the “Arab Spring,” was squarely rooted in the lack of opportunities for young people to achieve their dreams and ambitions.”

He even acknowledges that the youth have something to offer that his generation doesn’t: “We believe that they are faster than us in acquiring and processing knowledge, because they have grown up with tools and techniques that we lacked at their age.”

– For more about Dubai straight to your newsfeed, follow us on Facebook.

Images: Instagram/@uae_barq