Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said that “attracting talents and creating future opportunities for those with potentials is a well-established approach in Dubai that embodies the visions and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum– the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in making UAE a destination and ahub for attracting potentials from Arab countries and all over the globe.”

Sheikh Hamdan’s remarks came during a visit to AREA 2071 at Emirates Towers, where the Dubai Future Foundation held an open day event to help graduates of the ‘One Million Arab Coders’ initiative find jobs in fields such as computer science, computer engineering, programing and coding.

Sheikh Hamdan stressed the importance of translating initiatives into opportunities to help advance human capabilities, which are central to community development. In this context, the ‘One Million Arab Coders’ initiative sets an example in advancing investments in human capital by giving the youth a chance to learn the language of the future.

Accompanying Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed on his visit were Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, H.E Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi; Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, H.E Omar Sultan Al Olama; Secretary General of The Executive Council of Dubai, H.E Abdullah Mohammed Al Basti; and Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai Future Foundation, H.E Khalfan Belhoul.

During his visit, Sheikh Hamdan met with a group of Arab programmers who were honoured by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the annual graduation ceremony of the ‘One Million Arab Coders’ initiative. He praised the active participation of government and private entities in the open day held at Emirates Towers by providing job opportunities in programming, IT, and data management.

Dubai Future Foundation organized this event in partnership with a group of government entities and private establishments and companies, including the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, the Executive Office of Dubai, World Government Summit, Dubai Department of Economic Development, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du), Emirates Airline, Dubai Health Authority, Knowledge and Human Development Authority, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), Hussain Sajwani – Damac Foundation, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Revo Labs, Careem and Bayt.com.

More than 375 thousand participants

More than 375,000 individuals registered for the first edition of the initiative, which seeks to train 1 million Arab coders over the next three years. Over 22,000 people from 150 countries around the world completed the programme this year. About 3,600 tutors from large companies around the world are involved in the initiative which features 1.5 million training hours.

The initiative aims to empower the Arab Youth, through providing them with job opportunities in the field of modern technologies, qualifying them, refining their skills, enriching their knowledge, developing their capabilities and building their experiences in the advanced sciences fields, while providing them with niche scientific training, helping them master the programming language and excel in it, to be ready to deal with all future digital economic requirements efficiently. This, in turn, will contribute to the advancement of Arab countries, stimulating innovation, making a positive difference.