The award winning Abu Dhabi Science Festival (ADSF) concluded its third consecutive year recording more than 150,000 visitors, marking an increase of 26 per cent on 2012.

Organised by the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC), the festival is one of TDC’s several strategic initiatives specifically dedicated to the education, engagement and inspiration of the nation’s youth, encouraging them to pursue education and careers in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).

For 2013, ADSF not only moved to bigger and more exciting locations at the du Forum on Yas Island and the Abu Dhabi Corniche (East Plaza), it also reached out to new locations in the UAE, launching a new regional tour beyond Al Ain and Al Gharbia, to include key science activations across the country in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain.

Ahmed Saeed Al Calily, director general of TDC, said: “The Abu Dhabi Science Festival 2013 has witnessed steady growth. The addition of regional activity and an increase in local and regional content has underlined the Festival’s commitment to inspire the UAE youth to pursue careers in Science, Technology and Innovation which we strongly believe is key to realizing the Abu Dhabi government’s vision of building a knowledge-based economy.”

“The success of this year’s event is a true testament to the collaborative efforts of the government, academia and industry leaders, all of whom are working towards the single goal of developing the required talent that would ensure our future prosperity,” he added.

The third edition of ADSF was made possible by the participation of nearly 900 university students including ADSF Alumni who were recruited from 11 local universities as Science Communicators and provided with world-class expert training to deliver science programs in uniquely engaging ways to excite the next generation of scientists.

As an indication of how ADSF is enthusing young visitors from the organised school tours, Rotha Saeed Al Kaabi, an 11 year old said: “This is my first time at the Abu Dhabi Science Festival and we love it. I especially love the way it looks and it is so organized. I visited the DNA Codebreakers workshop and learnt about cracking codes and crime investigation.  It really made me realize how much fun science can be.”

The number of social media followers on Facebook also saw great increase, reaching over 33,000 following ADSF updates and activities. – TradeArabia News Service