Employing 1,200 young citizens through “Dubai Empowerment” during 2025

The Dubai Empowerment Program succeeded in achieving financial independence for 1,200 young citizens, by enabling them to obtain jobs made available by the Community Development Authority in Dubai, in cooperation with strategic partners, and the number reaches 7,000 job opportunities, through more than 400 entities in the emirate.

The Director General of the Community Development Authority in Dubai, Hessa bint Issa Buhumaid, confirmed that the Year of the Family constitutes an important milestone for enhancing integration between policies and social services, in line with the needs of families and enhancing the quality of life, during the media forum held by the Authority in Dubai under the slogan “One Society…One Family,” coinciding with the launch of the Year of the Family.

In detail, the Executive Director of the Community Empowerment Sector at the Community Development Authority in Dubai, Maitha Al Shamsi, confirmed that the Dubai Empowerment Program comes within a package of empowerment initiatives launched by the Authority, which reflects its keenness to bring about a fundamental shift in the institutional concept, from care and dependence to sustainable empowerment and prosperity, in a way that enhances the quality of life and puts people at the heart of all initiatives and programs.

She pointed out that the combined efforts in cooperation with strategic partners, such as the Human Resources Development Council and the private sector, contributed to providing more than 7,000 job opportunities through more than 400 entities in the Emirate of Dubai, from which 1,200 individuals have benefited so far, who were able to achieve their financial independence, after obtaining job opportunities, noting that the rest of the jobs are still available to new beneficiaries, which reflects the importance of complementary work between government and private agencies.

She also touched on supporting productive families, explaining that the Authority registered more than 150 productive families, while 35 new productive families were registered in the Hatta region. They participated in the activities of the “Hatta Brings Us Together” festival, and achieved an economic income exceeding 300 thousand dirhams, which strengthened the confidence of the people of Hatta in the availability of support and tools necessary to move towards independence and empowerment.

Family financial education program

Within the Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum Family Programme, the focus was on enhancing financial culture among new families, as the number of beneficiaries of the Family Financial Culture Programme reached 380 beneficiaries, through six training courses.

She pointed out that the Authority paid special attention to the issue of integration, by allocating a course on financial culture for people of determination, in which more than 70 individuals of determination participated.

She also stressed the authority’s keenness to enhance financial literacy among young people in general, and not limit it to those about to get married only, explaining that cooperation had been made with Zayed University to launch the financial literacy curriculum program, from which more than 520 male and female students benefited, with the program being implemented in other universities during the year 2026.

Sun Center for Care and Rehabilitation

Maitha Al Shamsi reported that the rate of juveniles returning to the Sun Care and Rehabilitation Center reached zero percent, which reflects the success of the Authority’s efforts in the community empowerment system, especially in the areas of prevention, care and rehabilitation, while 4,141 hours of rehabilitative training were provided, with 80 hours of preventive workshops and lectures.

She also touched on the “Sanad Tourist Card”, which the Authority launched last year, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life and well-being, by providing special benefits to tourists in Dubai, which is the first of its kind in the world, as 1,600 cards were registered for tourists and visitors in the Emirate of Dubai. It also announced the launch of the “Dubai Communicates with Sign Language” initiative, which aims to achieve comprehensive communication and empower society through sign language, as the first online lesson will be presented in the Emirati sign language, and the initiative seeks to break a record in the Encyclopedia. Guinness World Records for the month of January.

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500 wedding and wedding celebrations and 900 funeral coverage across Dubai neighborhood councils

The Executive Director of the Organization and Community Services Sector at the Community Development Authority in Dubai, Hariz Al Murr bin Hariz, confirmed that Dubai neighborhood councils received about 500 weddings and weddings, while about 900 funerals were covered during the past year.

He also announced the opening of five new neighborhood councils this year, coinciding with the designation of the year 2026 as the year of the family. These include the councils of Al Barsha, Nad Al Sheba, Al Warqa and Al Awir during the first quarter of this year, in addition to a council that will be opened in the Hatta region during the second quarter of this year.

Public benefit institutions

He also explained that the Authority supervises about 159 public benefit institutions in the Emirate of Dubai, in the sectors of education, social work, and sports, indicating that the Authority’s role lies in organizing the work of these institutions, in order to achieve social development, and stressed the importance of governing their work and ensuring that they carry out their role in the required manner.

He touched on the Authority’s keenness to spread the culture of specialized volunteer work instead of general volunteer work, in order to employ various skills and harness them in developing society and achieving social welfare.

Dubai weddings

He talked about the Dubai Weddings Initiative, which was launched by the Authority in 2024, explaining that its first year witnessed the holding of 330 weddings, while the number doubled during the past year 2025 to exceed 600 weddings. He pointed out that the work team follows up on the participants in Dubai weddings after the ceremony is held, as family counseling is provided within the social training program “Start It Right,” which contributes to enhancing family stability.

On the other hand, Bin Hariz pointed out that divorce rates in the Emirate of Dubai are “stable” and within “normal” rates.

While the Executive Director of the Social Development Sector, Sheikha Al-Jarman, indicated that 26-28% of the weddings held in the Emirate of Dubai were part of the “Dubai Weddings” initiative, which indicates that the initiative contributed to encouraging marriage in the emirate.

Reducing the age of marriage among Dubai’s youth from 27 years to 22 years

In a related context, the Director of the Family Development Department at the Authority, Naima Al Shamsi, pointed out that the “Dubai Weddings” initiative contributed to increasing marriage contracts, and also contributed to reducing the age of marriage among young people, as it previously started from 27 years and above, while today it ranges between 22 and 25 years.

Buhumaid’s share:

• Family Year is an important milestone for enhancing integration between policies and social services, in line with the needs of families.

Maitha Al Shamsi:

• Registration of 35 new productive families in the Hatta region, achieving an economic income exceeding 300 thousand dirhams.