Nahyan bin Mubarak opens 'Tolerance Without Borders' Forum

“Ours is a country committed to helping people everywhere to live together in peace and harmony. We are also a country that has seized opportunities and is moving aggressively into a sustainable future. COP28 will be an opportunity to showcase, in front of the whole world, our achievements as a socially cohesive and economically sustainable country,” the minister said while delivering the inaugural speech of the 'Tolerance Without Borders' Forum today.

“Today, we are living in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world – a world characterised by change and driven by continued advances in technology. Members of the Tolerance Clubs, and their fellow students, are demonstrating a global spirit and a willingness to be engaged, using available technology to be effective agents of change in a world without borders," he added.

“You, the young people who are here today, affirm our hopes and optimism for the future. I admire your enthusiasm. I am impressed with your determination to immerse yourselves in the important issues of the day. You will become the leaders of tomorrow with the opportunity, as well as the responsibility, to use your education, your intelligence, and your dedication to strengthen your communities and build a better world for us all.”

The minister added: “Tolerance without Borders”, the initiative you are discussing today, brilliantly reflects the highest and best ideals of a global society that measures its success by the quality of cooperation, dialog, and peaceful interaction among all its citizens. These values are at the core of our national vision for the present and the future of the United Arab Emirates. We are a peaceful country that takes quite seriously its role in fostering regional and global peace, tolerance, and cooperation. Under the historic leadership of our founding president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, and continuing with the wise leadership of our president, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates is a society that has moved away from viewing others through the lens of ignorance, suspicion, stereotype, and intolerance. We are a society with solid foundations, committed to the peaceful pursuit of solutions to the conflicts and problems of humankind."

Much of the world’s growth and development during the last century has come at the expense of caring for our natural environment, he noted, adding that “natural resources are being depleted at an astonishing rate. The amount of ‘greenhouse’ gases is increasing in the earth’s atmosphere. Water pollution is a concern. If these and similar trends continue unabated, young people of today will live in a time when rising ocean levels submerge coastal regions, agricultural patterns shift, drought conditions increase, and major outbreaks of diseases infect many regions of the world. How we will avoid these problems is a massive challenge of global dimensions.But there is hope in the research and development efforts, as well as in the actions and initiatives underway in many regions of the world, to address these issues.”

Sheikh Nahyan encouraged youth to help achieve the goals and objectives of ‘Tolerance without Borders’: “I encourage you to continue to explore how to build global connections that can foster the creation and sharing of ideas and knowledge. In particular: how can you work with your peers to promote peace and understanding around the world? How can these international connections help you develop into independent and life-long learners? How will they enable you to think critically about the opportunities available to you for development and growth? How can you continue to learn from the new friends and relationships forged through this initiative? How might you convey to your friends and colleagues at home and abroad the essence of what Tolerance without Borders entails? How would you present to them the successful model of the UAE in tolerance and sustainability? How can you help others to appreciate the value of technology as a way to extend communications far beyond local and regional borders, and to create a global learning network? And in this Year of Sustainability, and with COP28, later this year, how can you help with enhancing global awareness of the field of sustainable development?”

He concluded by affirming his belief that believe that the energy, education, vitality, and enthusiasm of young people can and will move the global community to focus on issues of common concern and to seek solutions to the most important problems of the current times.