in store for the UAE in 2013

Are you a New Year’s Resolutions person? I’m not. I used to dutifully complete my list of intentions for the new year, but they didn’t last much past the 10th of the month really, so now I don’t even go through the charade. And whilst its common for people to make (and of course break) New Year’s resolutions are they an option for other entities, like countries for example?

Well in yesterday’s paper there were several previews, plans and various stories on changes in the UAE for the coming year – maybe not resolutions exactly – but close enough in my opinion. These are the ones I really like.

thanks to emirates247.com

1. City recycling project to be rolled out across the Emirate (Dubai Municipality): homes from Jumeirah to Al Barsha will be making use of the service by March.
2. Geographical coordinates for each building (Dubai Municipality): this was actually part of number 1, but so good I thought it deserved its own spot. Every building will be labelled with its geographical coordinates which will make it easier to give and get directions. Using your smartphone you will be able to take a photo of the bar-code on the building and load the relevant info about the location.
3. Drivers with clean sheets are in line for gifts worth at least AED 500 (Dubai Police): well behaved drivers with no fines or Salik violations will receive gifts as part of a new “white points” scheme. Drivers who go 12 months with no fines will be eligible for prizes.
4. Automated fare system to keep people on the move (RTA): commuters will be able to use their Nol cards to pay for taxi fares (yay no more stressing over the 200-dirham-note-change-debacle). Metro, bus and water taxi users will also be able to pay via a swipe of their smart phones.
5. Human-rights committee forms in response to EU criticism of the UAE (FNC).

There were also two stories related to marking the 7th anniversary of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, taking office as the ruler of Dubai. The first was that ALL intersections on Dubai’s Al Khail road will be opened on the 4th of January. Now if you live on my side of Dubai then this is very exciting news indeed, as some of these intersections have been in progress for the entire period I have lived here (yes 4 odd years and counting). And the other was a call by HH Sheikh Mohammed to honour the “unknown soldiers” in the UAE – those construction workers, janitors, gardeners, maids and other people who play an active role in our society but mostly go unnoticed. He encouraged people to take photos with their staff and tweet them as a celebration of the working men and women. What a lovely idea.

And what about you – have you made any resolutions this year? If you are like me you might enjoy this article on how to make your New Year’s resolutions “stick”.

Good luck 🙂