Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XIX

4 6 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I leader and statesman was that the resources of the country should be fully used to the benefit of the people. For example, the conservation of natural environment and wildlife was critical to Sheikh Zayed, who believed that the character of the Emirati people derives, in part, from the struggle to survive in the harsh and arid local environment. The Sheikh worked throughout his life to preserve such species as the Arabian oryx and the sand gazelle. Although he enjoyed hunting parties in the desert as a young man, he gave up hunting with rifles at the age of 25, as a contribution to conserving wildlife. The World Wildlife Fund recognised his contribution with the prestigious Gold Panda award in 1997, and he was posthumously given the Champion of the Earth Award by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2005 for his lifelong advocacy and advancement of what would today be called sustainable development. "We cherish our environment because it is an integral part of our country, our history and our heritage. On land and in the sea, our forefathers lived and survived in this environment. They were able to do so only because they recognised the need to conserve it, to take from it only what they needed to live, and to preserve it for succeeding generations.” – Sheikh Zayed, 1988 The women of the UAE also benefited from his vision of education, employment and equality. In what was a remarkably progressive view for the times, he stated, “Women have the right to work everywhere.” Today, women make up 66 per cent of government workers in the UAE, with a third of them in senior positions, while 70 per cent of university graduates are female – one of the highest rates worldwide. The UAE is the first country in the Arab world to require that women are represented on corporate boards of directors, and in recent years women have joined the ranks of the judiciary system, diplomatic corps, and Cabinet posts. HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan President and Founding Father of the United Arab in Paris, France on March 07, 1975 - (Photo by Gilbert UZAN/Gamma- Rapho via Getty Images)