Marking the World Youth Day celebrations (12 August), Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) stressed the role of Emirati youth in driving its corporate performance through capitalising on their innovative ideas and technical skills.

“RTA employs more than 400 male and female Emiratis aged below 30 who have excellent occupational abilities. To enrich their role, RTA had launched the Youth Council in 2016 comprising of Emirati employees from various agencies and sectors of RTA,” said Laila Faridoon, Executive Director of the Office of the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors cum Chairperson of the Higher Committee for Envisioning the Future at RTA.

Work Plan

“RTA has endorsed the Youth Council Plan 2018-2019 focused on four pillars; career progression, envisioning the future, engaging youth in RTA projects, and external participation,” added Faridoon.

“The first pillar relates to career development & occupational training. The second is concerned with the engagement of youth in RTA future projects and prompting them to figure out creative solutions for challenges encountered and introduce cutting-edge technologies for mobility solutions in coordination with the private sector.

“The third pillar covers the attraction of influential youths to showcase their experiences and achievements in knowledge transfer, organising exhibitions for SMEs of RTA youths, and establishing youth communication channels such as meetings, workshops and lectures.

“The fourth pillar is concerned with external initiatives such as communication with UAE Youth Council, youth councils of government entities and Meals on Wheels initiative in Ramadan to name a few,” she explained.

Activities and Programs

RTA Youth Council had participated in several activities & programmes such as Leadership Forum at RTA, ‘Engineers x Youth’ initiative at the Dubai Municipality and Building the Future held by Dubai Future Academy. It also took part in events such as Meals on Wheels and Charity Dress together with brainstorming sessions with Emirates Youth Council, Youth Leader Day, discussion panels of Dubai Int’l PM Forum, and Innovation Week among others. The 2018-2019 Plan includes an array of initiatives for upgrading the skills of Emirati youth and encouraging them to be innovative to serve RTA’s strategic objectives.

“Youth Community of Practice has been established to bring together all youth employees. Events Plan has been developed calling for direct communication channels and holding workshops and lectures. TEDx Youth initiative was launched, and an exhibition was held to highlight emerging and pioneering youth enterprises. RTA views youth as a source of power and hope for a better future, and has many plans to keep abreast of our leadership drive in this regard,” concluded Faridoon.