DCD organizes ceremony to honor winning ideas on ‘Wyakom’ platform

The ceremony witnessed the participation of H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi; H.E Eng. Hamad Ali Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary of Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi; in addition to other officials.

The ceremony announced 9 ideas that made it to the final stage, including: the The Well-Being bank is based on the principle of solidary time exchanges. People donate time performing tasks they know how to do and borrow the time services they need. The ultimate goal is to promote well-being by strengthening a sense of self-worth and social support ‘Senior’s Recreation &The Senior's Recreation & Activity Centre is a centre dedicated to senior citizens and residents. The goal of the center is to organize a variety of social, recreational, and training activities, and to provide them with support services that enable them and their loved ones to participate in community events. The center also enables them to engage in physical and mental activities to help them explore new interests.

‘Emirati volunteers in hospitals to help Emirati elders’ by guiding, monitoring, and facilitating their medical checkups to enable them to better understand medical instructions; We are an intellectual digital platform and application that connects seniors and family members individually or as a group directly with professional life coaches through a private and personalized digital experience – chat, audio, video and anonymous as preferred. This digital connection connects with a certified Life Coach from anywhere and anytime, where you can be assured of a convenient and personalized solution for personal well-being & development and family cohesion; and the ‘Community Garden”, a space for a variety of activities including gardening, catered to the residents of Khalifa City; Abu Dhabi-born inclusive employment hub, Inclusive, proposes Khalifa City to host regular community support sessions led by People of Determination. Regular community meet-ups will provide more People of Determination the opportunity to gain awareness of resources available in Abu Dhabi for disability inclusion and gain employment through networking and meeting opportunities. that proposes hosting regular sessions led by people of determination to raise awareness of resources available in Abu Dhabi for disability inclusion and gain employment through networking and meeting opportunities; and lastly, “Rewarding increased physical activity or weight loss achieved by members in schools”, an incentive program for school students, which offers them various rewards for increasing their physical activity levels, thus encouraging weight loss and physical fitness among children.

H.E Eng. Hamad Ali Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary of DCD, said: The ‘Wyakom’ platform contributed to promoting the participation of community members in creating positive changes by making their voices heard. It also aided in gaining a better understanding of current social issues and challenges, as well as identifying innovative and effective solutions directly from the community. The 5 themes of Wyakom are "Work-life balance, personal safety and security, subjective well-being, social connection, and housing".

H.E Al Dhaheri added: “DCD is working on offering the necessary support for the implementation of the winning ideas in collaboration with partners from the private, third, and governmental sectors, to achieve our vision of offering a dignified life to all members of the community. We are also well aware that social responsibility is the first step towards addressing various societal issues and challenges.”

H.E Sheikha Al Hosani, Acting Executive Director of Social Monitoring and Innovation Sectorat the DCD in Abu Dhabi, said: “Through the ‘Wyakom’ platform, we seek to find innovative solutions to social issues from the contributions of community members. This platform reflects our dedication to engage the community in driving positive change. We see their proposals as pillars to building effective solutions to various social challenges and promoting the quality of life in all aspects, including work, health, social connectivity, and social services.”

H.E Al Hosani added: “The platform attracted 117 ideas, which included 17 ideas on housing-related issues, 14 related to work-life balance, 25 on self-wellbeing, 11 on personal safety and security, and 50 on social communication, The submitted ideas went through several rounds of evaluation to arrive at 9 finalists, and today's ceremony was to award the top 3 finalists that were chosen The ‘Wyakom’ platform allows community members to submit plausible solutions to identified societal challenges. It aims to elevate the quality of life and promote the happiness and prosperity of the community.

H.E Eng. Khalfan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Executive Director of the Sub-Municipal Operations Sector in Abu Dhabi City Municipality, expressed happiness over the success of the first phase of the platform in Khalifa City, which attracted ideas that highlight the needs of community members. These ideas were taken into consideration and top three winners were chosen, in collaboration with the DCD after evaluating all submitted ideas.

H.E. Al Nuaimi elaborated that the ‘Wyakom’ platform also contributed to identifying solutions that promote the development of Khalifa City. The platform serves as a bridge to establish more connectivity and collaboration with the community, in line with the leadership’s directives to enhance quality of life by providing community members with the means to achieve happiness, prosperity, and their aspirations.

H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of DCD, felicitated the top three winners, including Dr. Patricia Fidalgo who proposed the ‘Well-Being Bank’, Suzan Safa won the second place for her idea to encourage and reward school students for practicing physical activities, followed by Sara Abdulla Al Nahdi for her idea to place Emirati volunteers in hospitals.