The National’s Multimedia team pick their favourite 12 videos that they produced in 2014.
1. Circus Kathmandu helps trafficking survivors get back on their feet
Published: February 3, 2014
Circus Kathmandu was formed in 2011 in Nepal with the support of Freedom Matters, a UK-based charity that combats human trafficking in Nepal. The performers in the circus are survivors of trafficking and utilise the circus platform to spread the message of the perils of human trafficking through their performance.
2. A farrier’s role in Cavalia
Published: February 18, 2014
David Gingras is a farrier, a craftsman who trims and shoes horses’ hoofs, for a stable of 50 stallions at Cavalia. And without his meticulous grooming skills, the show cannot go on.
3. Fujairah’s Wadi Wurayah to become a national park
Published: March 15, 2014
Wadi Wurayah is home to a diverse species of flora and fauna including the Arabian Tahr which is unique to the region. The Wadi Wurayah project started in 2006 and was named a protected area in 2009. In 2010, the environmental organisation Ramsar named it one of five UAE sites on its List of Wetlands of International Importance and now work has begun to convert it into a national park.
4. Local reactions to a national fishing ban
Published: April 16, 2014
A federal fishing ban has been imposed by the UAE federal government, but local authorities are taking different approaches to implementing the ban. Two fishermen tell two very different sides of the story.
5. A History of the World in 100 Objects arrives in Abu Dhabi
Published: April 22, 2014
The third exhibition leading up to the opening of the Zayed National Museum in 2016, A History of the World in 100 Objects aims to encapsulate the history of human relationships through one hundred items sourced from the British Museum's collection. The exhibition ran from April 23 to August 1 at Manarat Al Saadiyat.
6. Choosing Abu Dhabi’s best cupcake
Three judges from The National sampled several signature cupcakes from different home-grown bakeries or small chains to crown the best of the lot. Fourteen cupcakes later, they had a winner. The National's reporter Stacie Overton Johnson spoke to the owner of the winning bakery.
7. Abu Dhabi vets’ timely actions save man’s life
Published: June 16, 2014
A few weeks ago, when 56 year old Klaus-Dieter Bielitz had a heart attack and collapsed in his car outside the British Veterinary Centre in Abu Dhabi, his wife rushed inside to ask for help. The quick thinking of the clinic’s three vets, who performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, fitted an oxygen mask and removed blood clogging his airways till the ambulance arrived saved Klaus’ life. Now on the road to full recovery, Klaus Bielitz and his wife, Jennifer Bielitz, recall what happened that day and express their gratitude.
8. The UAE’s favourite drink during Ramadan
Published: July 23, 2014
Close to 29 million bottles of Vimto, a cordial that was first manufactured in England in 1908, have already been sold in the region this year. The popular drink is considered by many to be a beverage that is traditionally associated with the holy month of Ramadan.
9. Exploring Dubai’s new coffee museum
Published: August 17, 2014
The importance of coffee to different cultures and countries down the centuries is the theme of Dubai’s new Coffee Museum, which will officially open end of October and will offer visitors a chance to see, and taste, the rituals of serving the world’s second favourite hot beverage.
10. Navigating through Abu Dhabi on a cycle
Published: September 27, 2014
Abu Dhabi resident Peter Mueller commutes everyday from his home in Mushrif to his office in Corniche on his cycle. The environmental manager discusses the perils and benefits of this daily ride through the city streets, explains why he has done it regularly for the last ten years and what could be done to make Abu Dhabi more bike-friendly.
11. Louvre Abu Dhabi’s dome structure installation complete
Published: October 21, 2014
The Louvre Abu Dhabi reached yet another milestone with the installation of the final super sized steel element on its dome. The dome structure consists of 85 supersized steel elements and weighs 7,000 tonnes. Back in December 2013, the first supersized element was lifted and put into place. Today, the dome sits atop of 120 temporary support towers, which will be later on disassembled and removed leaving the dome, as initially designed, resting on four main piers only.
12. A conversation with UAE’s trailblazing female Emirati media personality
Published: December 1, 2014
Only a teenager when she first started out in broadcasting, many in the UAE have grown up listening to Hessa Al Ossaily on the radio or seeing her present on TV. She was the first female television presenter for the first TV station in Dubai, Kuwait TV from 1969 to 1971 and afterwards, she became the head of Abu Dhabi Radio and TV and their first female Emirati presenter, from 1972 to 1974. She was also the first Arab woman to be appointed as the Expo general commissioner for her country, representing UAE at its pavilions at World Expos in Seville, Spain in 1992, Lisbon in 1998 and Hanover, Germany in 2000.