More than 200 senior officials and decision-makers from the UAE will take part in the ‘Quality of Life in UAE’ conference being organized in Ajman tomorrow (January 14).

The event is being organised by Ajman Executive Council in collaboration with Emirates Competitiveness Council, at the Kempinski Hotel in Ajman.

The ‘Quality of Life in UAE’ conference serves to open the channels for more direct communication, developing global standards for measuring happiness across countries and presenting the best practices for improving quality of life. In addition to this, it provides an opportunity for the UAE to review its performance and find ways to move up in terms of global ‘happiness’ rating in successive years, according to the ‘World Happiness Report’ issued by the Earth Institute, Columbia University.

There will be an extensive overview of the efforts and contributions of the UAE leadership in providing the highest levels of prosperity and welfare to its citizens.

The conference will see a list of notable speakers that includes: Ahmed Jumaa Al Zaabi, Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs; and Professor John Helliwell, co-author of the World Happiness Report.

“We are pleased to participate in the organization of the Quality of Life in UAE conference and have the opportunity to engage decision makers from government and private sectors on matters that related to happiness and quality of life in the UAE,” said Abdullah Nasser Lootah, secretary general of the Emirates Competitiveness Council. “This conference will help us raise awareness about the international standards of happiness and discuss opportunities that can continue to drive UAE’s rankings and goals of attaining happiness and prosperity, which will have a positive impact on the nation’s overall competitiveness, on both regional and global levels.”

The World Happiness Report was unveiled during the ‘Happiness Conference’ held by the United Nations, with a list that included 50 countries – four of which were Arab countries, namely the UAE (17), Saudi Arabia (26), Kuwait (29) and Qatar (31). The UAE ranked alongside Britain (18) and Iceland (20), with Denmark ranking first followed by Finland, Norway and the Netherlands.  – TradeArabia News Service