MOFAIC Youth Council..Post-pandemic diplomacy, ambition and hope for the future

Since its inception, the Youth Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation adopted the slogan "Diplomacy of the Future, Ambition and Hope". Its vision aims to prepare a promising generation of innovative young diplomats who contribute to achieving the vision and agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and thus support the National Youth Agenda.

The Council has worked since its establishment and through its agenda to enhance the lifestyle of young people by encouraging the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, promoting good mental health, adopting positive thinking as a basic value, building life skills, as well as honing and developing the skills, abilities and competencies of the Ministry’s youth, and demonstrating the role and efforts of the UAE in empowering young people and embracing their aspirations and hopes, and advancing diplomatic work based on knowledge and innovation to achieve excellence in foreign policy.

During its two previous sessions, the Council focused on empowering youth competencies by providing platforms to ensure tacit learning between leaders and youth and building a link that works to transfer experiences and knowledge.

Through the Ministry’s firm belief in the importance of the voice of youth, a permanent seat was allocated to the MOFAIC Youth Council in the various committees and work teams at the Ministry. These committees are in turn tasked with developing and enhancing the quality of life, and creating a positive work environment in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The Council's achievements to date feature (7) participations in support of the National Youth Agenda and (15) initiatives, in addition to (12) youth circles that were held in the presence of over 1,500 young men and women.

In its second session, the Council launched a special series of talks under the theme Diplomacy in Action -"Men who accompanied the founder of the UAE”, featuring figures who played a valuable part in the country's foreign policy. This series aimed to support UAE foreign policy through supporting the sustainability of information, transfer of expertise, and strengthening communication between the various generations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, where more than 700 employees took part in (6) sessions.

In line with the MOFAIC Youth Council strategy, adopted to enhance quality of life and create a positive work environment, the Council launched “Al-Maylis”, informal sessions that bring  together MOFAIC decision-makers and the Ministry’s youth. These discussions brought forth the challenges faced by young people in the Ministry, in addition to observations or suggestions that can be implemented to tackle them. Accordingly, two sessions were held between His Excellency Khaled Abdullah Belhoul, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the youth in the Ministry. Among the multitude of ideas implemented and put forward during the Al-Maylis sessions is the idea of “remote work”, one of the proactive steps adopted by the Ministry, that strengthened its readiness in facing the Covid-19 outbreak, and thus facilitating rapid response.

The Council has worked towards strengthening international relations and partnerships and the role of soft power, in addition to serving the foreign policy of the UAE. The MOFAIC Youth Council thus signed a Memorandum of Understanding - the first of its kind worldwide - with the Council of Young Diplomats at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to further enhance cooperation, with no similar memorandum previously signed between any two foreign ministries in this field. Based on this memorandum, a series of joint workshops and talks were held between diplomats from the two countries and representatives in the missions of the UAE and the Russian Federation in the world. The memorandum of understanding also enhances the sustainability of dialogue platforms between the two councils.

In this context, the Youth Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in cooperation with the Diplomatic Youth Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, held an virtual youth workshop entitled "The Future of Diplomacy Post-Covid-19” in the presence of more than 110 members of the two councils and young people affiliated with the foreign ministries of the two countries.

During the period of remote work and to enhance continuous communication between the leadership and employees, in line with the strategy of the Youth Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the National Youth Agenda, the “3 x 3 Bulletin” initiative was launched. It aimed to enhance the love of reading and acquiring knowledge among the youth of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation by suggesting digital books, documentaries, and virtual courses, selected by a leadership figure in the ministry.

In this context, the Council issued (5) bulletins that included the choices of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan - Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, H.E. Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh - Cultural Advisor to H.H. the President of the UAE, H.E. Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar - Minister of State, and H.E. Yacoub Yousef Al Hosani - Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Organizations Affairs, in addition to HE Abdel Nasser Al Shaali - Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Economic and Trade Affairs. The Bulletin was broadcast on various digital platforms to reach the largest possible number of readers. These platforms include: the council's e-mail, the ministry's internal digital platform and WhatsApp, where more than 200 employees joined the council's group.

It is worth noting that the Youth Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation was formed by a decision of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in 2018, with the aim of empowering and activating the role of youth and motivating them to be creative, innovative and actively participate in strengthening Emirati diplomacy. This decision came to reinforce the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to give young people exceptional opportunities to lead the march towards the future, and enable them to carry out their mission and achieve the objectives and goals of the UAE Centennial 2071.