The second Innovation Week is under way in the UAE. Ever since it was formally launched last year by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, the country has rallied around the concept.

Not that creativity was alien to the UAE earlier. The country’s giant strides in all the economic and social sectors have already placed it much ahead of other nations in the Middle East and the wider region. Shaikh Mohammed’s fresh impetus to encourage creative ideas and transform them into government services and initiatives has found renewed resonance around the UAE.

Like the first innovation week, we are witnessing both enthusiasm and a healthy participation of federal, local government and private bodies in the second year. As the UAE’s education, health, energy, environment, space, economy and service sectors present their ideas, the event is expected to see both the public and private sectors showcasing their products in the days ahead.

The preparedness, built-up, groundwork and overview of the mega event has already registered success. Not only have such endeavours fostered a culture of entrepreneurship, this new climate of innovation has also made the UAE a global platform where the best and the brightest come to excel and innovate. In the wise words of the Dubai ruler, “History has taught us that advanced civilisations were built on the efforts of their sons who devised innovative solutions.”

Globally recognised as a progressive nation that affords both the means for entrepreneurship and innovation – the UAE has firmly emerged as a model in the region. The country is currently focusing on empowering the community and society at large. Taking a lead in adopting the cutting-edge, the UAE’s efforts are making a tangible difference in the lives of its citizens.