OC members chalk out action plan

The Organising Committees comprising various Government departments have regular meetings to chalk out the implementation of the various plans for the forthcoming DSF. The members also discuss the various challenges they face during execution of their action plan and also take stock of the actions and steps already been taken in that regard.

The meetings held so far were attended by Saeed Al Nabouda, DSF CEO, Ibrahim Saleh, DSF COO and Yousuf Mubarak, DSF Events, Operations and Services Director, besides the heads of the Organising Committee.

It had been agreed upon earlier that the Organising Committee would be divided into several sub-committees that would take charge of specific jobs. Last week, the members met for four consecutive days at the DSF Office Conference Room to form the sub-committees and designate their respective jobs. Said Saeed Al Nabouda, "The role of the sub-committees has been clearly defined in our meetings last week. The reason we split the Organising Committee into sub-committees was to have better focus and more accountability for individual jobs delegated to the committees. It is important to do so for an event of such a massive scale as the forthcoming special DSF."

On the first day of the meeting, the OC members discussed the role and delegated jobs to the City Décoration Committee made up of members of Dubai Municipality and Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The implementation of various plans formulated by the DSF Office was discussed in the meeting. It was decided that the public parks would be decorated as part of the action plan to give a festive look to the city as these parks would be venues for DSF activities.

The role of the reception committee team for receiving guests arriving in Dubai was also discussed in the same meeting. The Welcoming Committee comprising the Department of Civil Aviation, Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) and Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) would also be responsible for assisting visitors with information about the DSF at different locations in the city.

On the second day of meeting the members discussed the safety and security of the visitors attending the DSF. The Safety Committee comprising Dubai Police General Headquarters, Department of Civil Defence, Dubai Municipality, Unified Ambulance Centre and Department of Health & Medical Services discussed their role in assuring that the visitors enjoy the festival without feeling the fear of any kind. This committee is also responsible for handling health emergencies and accidents.

Also formed was the Social Committee comprising Dubai Educational Zone, Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Dubai Cultural Council and Dubai Ports and Customs. The Social Committee would be responsible for organising social and cultural events during the festival such as holding special Eid Al Adha celebrations which form a major part of the DSF events calendar.

The third day of the meeting was devoted to discussing the role of the Media Committee made up of Dubai Media City and Watani National Program. The Media Committee discussed its coordination with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) for the coverage of the DSF by TV and print media. The various exhibitions and conferences as well as the International Food Festival to be organised during the DSF were also discussed.

The fourth and the final day of the meeting saw the delegates discussing the involvement of the Operational and Logistics Committee comprising Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Dubai Municipality and DCCI. The committee would be responsible for giving technical and logistical support to the various other committees by providing permits and approvals where necessary. It would also assure quality and commercial credibility of various campaigns and promotions during the DSF. The Registration Committee formed by the Department of Economic Development would be responsible for registering the various activities.

The combined edition of DSF 2006-2007 will run from December 20, 2006 to February 2, 2007. The 45 days of family fun, entertainment and shopping frenzy will offer retrospective glimpses of the 10 previous editions combining the best of the best and promises to be even bigger and better.