ABU DHABI // Emiratis are vastly under-represented among United Nations’ staff because they believe pay is too low and educational requirements too high.
Weyakum is aiming to change that. The UAE social enterprise hopes to spur more Emiratis into joining the UN’s Young Professionals Programme, a recruiting initiative aimed at graduates under 32 years old.
More than 40,000 candidates apply each year to start a career with the UN through the programme, but few are Emirati.
“The UAE has always been selected as a participating country because we are severely under quota,” said Ameera Amir, the founder of Weyakum, or With You.
“I attended talks and heard discussions about how Emiratis would never be interested for a number of reasons, which included misconceptions about the UN’s pay scale as well as the educational requirements at the UN.”
The programme consists of an entrance examination and professional development, and each year countries underrepresented in the UN are invited to take part.
“The fact that the programme provides all candidates with a fair opportunity was intriguing, as I believe there are so many Emiratis who could participate as qualified individuals without being given preferential treatment,” Ms Amir said.
“I believed that all these misconceptions could be easily eliminated through awareness sessions and that is precisely what I sought to do in summer 2014.”
Ms Amir conducted a nationwide awareness programme to give all Emiratis a fair chance to participate. The group helped with writing resumes and cover letters to make sure their applications fit with requirements.
“Regardless of whether they get accepted or not, this was a big step for us all,” she said.
“The candidates were happy about the training they received with regards to how one should approach these sort of applications, write strong cover letters and tailor resumes to fit the job requirement, as they have used their acquired skill set to apply for other jobs.”
Heba Al Hashmi, 26, has applied to the UN programme through Weyakum.
“I did my bachelor’s in international studies and I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the world and work for the UN but I wasn’t sure how to do that,” Ms Al Hashmi said.
“Through Weyakum and Ameera I learnt the ropes and I hope to be selected for the coming year. Hopefully, more Emiratis will apply too.”
John Ericson, of the UN’s office of human resources management, was full of praise for Ms Amir’s work.
“The UN is seeking to increase the number of Emiratis working for the organisation,” Mr Ericson said. “One way to join the UN is to take the Young Professionals Programme recruitment examination.
“In this regard, we highly appreciate the efforts made by Weyakum, under the leadership of Ms Ameera Amir, to attract, inform and encourage qualified young Emiratis to participate in the YPP.
“Her efforts have been instrumental in increasing the number of persons from the UAE who applied for the examination in 2014 and we are grateful for her continued efforts to encourage more Emiratis to participate in 2015.”
Weyakum’s mission is to empower and equip Emiratis with the right skills needed to succeed in their professional lives, in line with the Government’s Vision 2021 to invest in providing a more diversified and competitive Emirati workforce.
nalremeithi@thenational.ae
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Hotel Data Cloud profile
Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)
Company%20profile
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
How to donate
Text the following numbers:
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*numbers work for both Etisalat and du
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
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Company%20Profile
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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
SPECS
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ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
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