Mohammed to honour 43 top position holders

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will honour the first 43 UAE top position holders in various fields, in a grand ceremony on December 1 in Abu Dhabi. They will be honoured with special national medals, a special yearbook apart from having their names incorporated in the government's archives.

The Ministry of Cabinet Affairs said that hundreds of top achievers and innovators in social, economic, scientific, literary and educational fields were nominated by the public in more than 85,000 shares and comments through Arabic hashtag #Awa'el_Al Emarat- Emirati First Position Holders.

On November 14, Sheikh Mohammed took to twitter to call upon the public and his followers on social media networks to nominate the first 43 role models in the UAE to honour them as part of the celebrations of the UAE's 43rd National Day on December 2.

"We like first places, appreciate those who work for them," Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs, stressed that Sheikh Mohammed constantly follows the public's participation and nominations and expressed his satisfaction with the wide response to his call.

He noted that Sheikh Mohammed himself has nominated a group of individuals for the honour.

A special committee, Minister Al Gargawi noted, is reviewing the nominations and is verifying the eligibility of nominees in collaboration with the relevant authorities.

According to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's directives, the honouring of the first position holders will be an annual tradition that will promote the Emiratis' passion for top places and for being the first to venture into new fields, Al Gargawi further noted.

"This will also highlight the Emirati top-achievers who worked sincerely since the establishment of the UAE towards consolidating the union and raising its flag high in all circles," Al Gargawi said.

On her part, Ohood Al Roumi, Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office, in a call-in radio talkshow, said a large team is working 24|7 on filtering the participations and nominations to produce a short list and communicate with the relevant authorities and parties to verify the eligibility of nominees.

She noted that Sheikh Mohammed's initiative is very much about his own philosophy of leadership as well as his passion for first places, and that he focuses on highlighting success stories in the UAE as sources of inspiration for the coming generations.

Sheikh Mohammed, in his call for the nominations, said that the public can nominate people from any field, including the first UAE coach, pilot, or other professions where they were the first to achieve their goals.

"We Emirati people value all those who aim to be number one and to set an example for their country; hence the idea of honouring 43 distinguished individuals on the occasion of the UAE’s 43rd National Day."

"We want the community to nominate the top achievers, such as first Emirati doctor, female ambassador, first Emirati to climb Mount Everest or those from other academic, sports, social and professional fields, so as to honour and show our appreciation to them during the UAE’s 43rd National Day celebrations," Sheikh Mohammed added.

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