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Contest wants you to capture 40th National Day on video

Colin Simpson

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DUBAI // A group promoting filmmaking in the UAE has launched a competition to find the best videos inspired by the country's 40th anniversary celebrations.

The contest is one of a number of initiatives by UAE Film, which was set up this year by the Emirati Hassan Kiyany on the professional video-sharing platform Vimeo.

Members were invited to submit their videos to the site, where they could be viewed by others.

The group this week launched its own website, uaefilm.ae, and now has a presence on the social-networking sites Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

Members have also developed an application that will enable videos to be viewed on iPhones and iPads. It has been submitted to Apple and will be available for free from iTunes.

"We now have nearly 60 members and more than 140 videos on the Vimeo platform," said Mr Kiyany, a film director and editor from Dubai. "I hope people will like the app. We're excited about all this."

The 40th anniversary challenge is the first in a series of planned contests.

"People can shoot anything about National Day activities, in their homes, outside, at their work, in the street - anywhere they see activities," he said. "They can shoot with anything: their phones, their video cameras …

"We ask that they are cinematic. We're not trying to be a YouTube; we're trying to be a really professional place for people who think and act professionally. We want to have really nice videos to watch."

Mr Kiyany said he hoped the competitions would unearth new talent.

"Youngsters always have more creative ideas because they want to prove their capabilities, so schools and colleges are very welcome and we should see some new names showing up in these competitions."

The deadline for entries is 11pm on National Day, December 2, and the winners will be announced within a few days.

Prizes of membership of Vimeo Plus - an enhanced paid-for version of the free service - and tickets to see the UAE movie Sea Shadow will be given to those who make the three best videos.

UAE Film is open to people of all nationalities who live in the country, although Mr Kiyany said he was particularly keen to promote Emirati artists.

Last month he won third prize in the short narrative competition at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival for his film telePhoni, which he shot on an iPhone.

csimpson@thenational.ae

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National Survey To Assess The Prevalence Of Diabetes And Risk Factors

The Ministry of Health signed an agreement with the University of Sharjah, Sanofi and The Baker Foundation to conduct a two year national survey of diabetes that will determine the prevalence of diabetes and its risk factors in the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement was signed by Prof. Dr. Hossam El-Din Hamdi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sharjah and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. George Morcos General Manager of Sanofi Gulf in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Mahmoud Fikri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Assistant for Health Policy, Dr. Amer Abdel-Hamid, Advisor to His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for Higher Education and Prof. Dr. Samy Mahmoud, director of the University of Sharjah and Dr. Mohamed Ismail, deputy director of the University of Sharjah Financial and Administrative Affairs, and Dr. Salah Taher Al Haj, Vice Chancellor for community Affairs.

The survey is being conducted for the first time in the region and will include 6,000 citizens and residents of the United Arab Emirates. The groups of specialists have been selected by the Ministry of Health, after being trained in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sharjah and The Baker Foundation in Australia. The training focused on how to obtain the necessary information and data and record it in the survey forms.

Professor Dr. Amer Abdel-Hamid, Advisor to His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and President of the Academy of Sharjah for scientific research, who will oversee the research for this survey, said, “Everything we see today is a reflection of the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, President and Founder of the University of Sharjah, which is crucial to the development of Sharjah’s vision for better education and health.” He added, “it is the result of several teams’ hard work and dedication, a combined effort that reflects the common goal of universities, medical schools, the Academy of Sharjah for Scientific Research, hospitals and other educational and health organisations, to cooperate with specialized international institutions. This collaboration has always been the vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah. We hope the study will produce quality results that will determine the risk factors of diabetes.”

Prof. Dr. Hossam El-Din Hamdi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sharjah and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine said, “This cooperation would bring together a variety of specialized scientists to discuss one of the most important diseases afflicting the global community. This survey will be crucial to identifying scientific ways to counteract the effects of the disease and its risks”.

Prof. Dr. Sami Mahmoud, Director of the University of Sharjah, during his speech said that this triangle of integration will lead to positive results. The collaboration between the Ministry of Health, as a governmental body, the University of Sharjah, as an educational body, along with Sanofi and The Baker Foundation, for heart disease and diabetes, as industry bodies, is important in the fight against diabetes and the reduction of risks. Dr. Sami also stated that, “this cooperation with its significant scientific research is aligned with the strategy of the University of Sharjah. We are completely invested in this initiative and are ready to engage more partners as well as provide all the resources needed.”

Dr. Mahmoud Fikri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Assistant for Health Policies added, “The agreement signed today reflects a unified national response to diabetes, resulting from an agreement signed earlier this year between the Ministry of Health and the University of Sharjah as well as this study.”

Dr. Fikri also said “The Ministry of Health will provide all the necessary support and resources to conduct this survey and we look forward to creating a database of national health information. This will help identify specific solutions that will effectively address the issue on a national scale.”

Mr. George Morcos, General Manager of Sanofi in Gulf said, “As a socially responsible player, Sanofi is committed to enhance the wellbeing and standard of living of our society as a whole. Considering the alarming state of diabetes prevalence in the UAE, we have dedicated massive efforts to provide the best possible tools in order to increase awareness, medical practice development and patient education. Today, we are very happy to collaborate and to partner with the UAE Ministry of Health, the University of Sharjah and The Baker IDI institute for the launch of this important UAE Diabetes Epidemiology study, which will give the right number of prevalence of diabetes in the nation”.

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