The Department of Community Development (DCD) in Abu Dhabi stressed that the National Sports Day yesterday as it tries to promote physical activity and a healthy lifestyle and support the efforts to encourage community members to participate in sport events and initiatives that are introduced throughout the year by DCD, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
His Excellency Mohamed Helal Al Balooshi, Executive Director of the Strategic Affairs Office at DCD, said: “The occasion is marked every year since 2015, when His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the National Sports Day. It is an important initiative that has helped generate health awareness and understanding about the importance of sport among individuals.”
H.E. Al Balooshi noted that DCD’s effort to promote and celebrate sport is in tandem with the leadership’s vision of building a robust society, explaining how sport can develop moral virtues, as well as inculcate such values as loyalty, dedication, integrity and courage.
The Department, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and social sector entities in the emirate, has undertaken many initiatives to promote sports, welfare, tolerance and a culture of giving. At the same time, it is working to provide more opportunities for adults to achieve the WHO target of 150 minutes of physical activity a week and for children at least one hour a day.
These initiatives include lectures presented at government institutions under the umbrella of DCD targeting older people, families, and persons of determination.
DCD is responsible for developing sport-related strategies, policies and standards, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, to create a sport ecosystem and regulate the sector in Abu Dhabi. By doing so, DCD aims to encourage community members to lead an active life, while also advancing the sector by increasing the number and quality of professional athletes in the emirate. Through the provision of programmes and events, the department also seeks to implement the best international sport systems that qualify athletes to compete locally and internationally.