Dubai School of Government to hold first meeting of board of trustees

This first meeting comes a year after the Board was appointed, in June 2008, by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Chaired by His Excellency Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Federal National Council (FNC) Affairs, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for DSG, the meeting will also be attended by Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi and other high-ranking officials from the UAE and the Arab world who are part of the 12-member Board.

The DSG board will assess the progress made by the school in 2008 and plan the way forward. In a very short span, DSG has emerged as the pioneering think-tank in the region and has built several valuable partnerships with leading institutions across the world including the Harvard Kennedy School and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Nabil Alyousuf, Vice Chairman of the Board, said:

"We are privileged to host members of our Board of Trustees who are cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials. They not only bring their practical experience but also their in-depth insights and goodwill to DSG. We believe this board meeting will give us the direction for the coming year to streamline our efforts and make our work more relevant and effective."

The conference on 11 June, that will gather dignitaries from the Arab world including representatives from United National Development Programme (UNDP), ministers from several Arab countries and heads of public departments as well as executives from private firms, is being held in partnership with Deloitte, a UK professional services group. The conference is part of DSG's ongoing efforts to bring authentic insights into the problems facing the Arab world and will comprise three panel discussions that will assess the constraints and opportunities for government action in fiscal management, economic planning and policy reforms.

The sessions of the conference titled 'Public Policy in the Current Downturn: Challenges and Opportunities', and 'Leveraging the Downturn for Future Success' will be attended by dignitaries such as His Excellency Maher Al-Mujtahed, Syria's Minister of Cabinet Affairs; His Excellency Zuhair Muzafar, Tunisia's Minister delegate to the Prime Minister in Charge of the Civil Service and Administrative Development; Her Excellency Amat Al-Aleem, Head of the Regional Bureau of Arab States - UNDP; Julian Hawkins, Senior Partner of international consultants Deloitte; His Excellency Sheikh Mohamed Al-Thani, President Qatar Connect, Qatar.

Dr. Tarik Yousef, Dean, Dubai School of Government added: "The half-day regional conference will focus on public policy, DSG's core focus area. Participants will analyze the implications of the current economic downturn on public policy in the Arab world and chalk the future roadmap for the region to effectively tackle future challenges."

Established in 2005 in cooperation with the Harvard Kennedy School, the Dubai School of Government is committed to the creation of knowledge, dissemination of global best practices, and the training of policy makers in the Arab world. The school is focused on capacity building and conducts various programmes that seek to promote good governance through enhancing the region's capacity for effective public policy.