emirates7 - Since 2021, the Ministry of Community Development (MoCD) has held more than 57 educational seminars targeting more than 3,200 members of the community, including children, adolescents, parents and family protection specialists.

These seminars are part of the efforts to introduce laws, programmes and preventive initiatives to protect children, and educate families about the negative impact of drugs and prevention methods. The ministry’s educational vision is based on the protection of children towards correct and balanced child upbringing in support of the ministry’s goals and objectives to promote family stability and their well-being.

Eman Hareb Al Falahi, Director of Social Protection Department at the MoCD, revealed that in 2021, about ten workshops were organised, benefitting 507 people in disseminating the culture of child rights in the community. The ministry also implemented four specialised workshops within the Children Coordinators programme in sports and cultural clubs at the Special Olympics UAE to train 51 specialists to enhance child protection efforts at clubs.

She said, "The ministry strengthened its educational efforts by targeting more than 750 early childhood children with four workshops as part of "I Do Not Accept" preventive awareness programme to protect children and train them not to accept abuse through appropriate methods. The ministry also organised 20 workshops to increase the awareness of families about the negative impact of drugs and ways to prevent them. It targeted approximately 1,225 people in addition to six other educational workshops entitled "Together towards a domestic violence-free environment" bringing together 450 people in collaboration with MSF's regional office."

During the first quarter of 2022, the ministry organised more than 13 educational workshops targeting more than 200 people from different categories in the community. On Emirati Children’s Day, a workshop was held as part of the "I do not accept" preventive awareness programme to protect children and introduce them to the Child Rights Law. Organised in Abu Dhabi Libraries and supervised by the Abu Dhabi Department of Tourism and Culture, the workshops were attended by 52 children. About six workshops were also held to educate families about the impact of drugs at Customers’ Happiness Centres in Um al-Qaiwain, Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah, Dibba Al Fujairah and Bani Yas bringing together 445 people. Other awareness workshops about Child Rights Law were carried out targeting 77 parents and staff in a number of schools while other awareness sessions about the Child Rights Law targeted municipality officials in the UAE for 28 participants.

Al Falahi emphasised that the ministry is very keen to disseminate the culture of child rights in the community through awareness workshops about the Child Rights Law "Wadeema" and its executive bye-laws.

The ministry focuses its efforts on supporting child protection coordinators in sports clubs affiliated by UAE Football Association Special Olympics UAE to support children who may be exposed to abuse while engaging in sports activities, working to solve their problems in cooperation with all Child Protection Units as stipulated in federal law No. (3) of 2016 on Child Rights Law "Wadeema" and relevant childhood authorities to a safe and stimulating environment and help them appropriately.

To complete this process, this year, the ministry continues to train more than 120 coordinators in the UAE football Association and Special Olympics UAE.

Last year, the Ministry implemented a series of workshops for children in early childhood, as part of the "I do not accept" programme and the means children can resort to in the event of any kind of abuse. All events are carried out using (kahoot) applications to deliver information to children in an innovative way based on attractive techniques for children aged between three and eight years. The application asks questions that help children answer them in an innovative way, especially about their protection against abuse and bullying through an electronic system. After taking feedback from children, the application corrects their perceptions about certain values and informs them of the child rights enshrined in the law.

In 2021, the MoCD continued its sustainable development role through awareness programmes and initiatives in collaboration with the National Drug Prevention Program (SIRAJ) under the Drug Control Council and the Ministry of the Interior. Together, they organised a series of 20 awareness workshops.

Part of "My protection a priority" campaign titled "Together towards a Family Violence-Free Environment" in collaboration with Medicines Sans Frontiere (MSF) regional office in the UAE, the ministry launched a series of awareness workshops last year about the prevention of domestic violence.

Six workshops were organised targeting some 450 adults and young people, women and men, and people of determination on the protection methods against abuse in all its forms.