A national survey reveals increased risks in the virtual world

33% of parents in the UAE are digitally watching what their children are watching

Latifa Al Shehhi: "Continuous work on developing methods of obtaining data supports the requirements for improving the quality of life."

The first virtual quality of life forum, held yesterday by the National Program for Happiness and Quality of Life, affiliated with the Ministry of Community Development, revealed the increasing risks of the digital world, explaining that 33% of parents in the country follow what their children see digitally, according to the results of the National Quality of Life 2020 survey, which The most prominent of them was shown at the forum.

And the Ministry of the Interior indicated that 50% of children in the UAE use digital devices to play, and 56% of them watch videos.

Officials participating in the forum, which was moderated by the spokesperson of the National Program for Happiness and Quality of Life, Ammar Al Maeeni, presented a number of strategic models and initiatives that the state began implementing to enhance the foundations for improving the quality of life.

Latifa Al Shehhi, Head of the Data Future Department at the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, presented the initiative "Better Data for a Better Life", and the role of data in supporting the quality of life and its ability to measure it.

She explained the role of the quality of open data, which is openly accessible to everyone, and can be disseminated and utilized without restrictions or barriers.

She said that working continuously to develop methods of obtaining data, providing metadata and statistical analyzes for policy-making and decision support, is necessary, in a way that supports the foundations for improving the quality of life.

She expressed her pride in the participation of 14 government agencies in implementing the "Open Data Race" initiative, which aimed to open data to members of society, adding that the UAE was able to reach the 16th position in the world in the open data report issued by the open data watch.

For his part, Deputy Director of Excellence and Entrepreneurship Department at the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant Colonel Saleh Al-Kaabi, stressed the importance of the results of the national questionnaire for the quality of life in the country, pointing out that it is based on the principle of positive, secure digital citizenship through the adoption of three pillars: Building a healthy relationship with technology, And interact with the digital world in a balanced and sound manner, and raise awareness of risks and ways to protect them.

He called for the inclusion of digital citizenship topics in school curricula, in addition to developing digital skills for employees, students and parents.

The Executive Director of the Primary Health Care Services Sector at the Dubai Health Authority, Dr. Manal Tarim, said that the authority launched the “Doctor for Every Citizen” project in December 2019, which is a smart service that allows UAE citizens to take a free medical consultation «remotely» by communicating with The doctor videotaped, without the need to visit health centers.

For her part, the Executive Director of the Community Development Sector in the Department of Abu Dhabi Development, Dr. Bushra Al-Mulla, affirmed that there are a set of challenges facing the segments of society and impeding their benefit from the elements to improve and raise the quality of their lives in the Emirates, the most important of which is the mismatch between the level and size of skills and experience of young people and their expectations. They are under great financial pressure, as a result of not possessing financial management skills, in addition to the lack of balance between working hours and the amount of time that the individual spends with his family, as a result of his preoccupation with the job and external life.

• 56% of children use digital devices to watch videos.

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