Dubai - MENA Herald: In the lead-up to the UAE’s 44th National Day and following the release of its moving #UAEisHome video – which captures the rich traditions and spirit of community that bind all UAE residents together – du is launching a riveting social media competition that puts your personal UAE journey front and center.
To take part in the competition, all you have to do is upload a drawing, poem, or video – that perfectly reflects why #UAEisHome to you onto du’s social media platforms (www.facebook.com/du, www.instagram.com/du, and www.twitter.com/dutweets). The contest aims to provide you with a powerful platform to showcase the ties that you have built in the Emirates.
In celebration of the 44th UAE National Day, du also recently released its #UAEisHome video, which addresses the 200+ nationalities living in the country, and urges them to reveal why the UAE is a home for all its residents. Through this moving video, du opens its doors for everyone to experience the unity, togetherness, and harmonious community feeling that every UAE resident experiences.
The making of the video saw du set up seven blue doors at prominent locations such as Marina Mall - Abu Dhabi, Global Village, Al Majaz - Sharjah, Ripe Market - Zaabeel Park, Dubai, Fujeirah City center, Mall of the Emirates and Al Manar Mall - RAK. Visitors who opened those doors were greeted by interactive screens with engaging, culture-based audiovisual activities led by a number of UAE personalities such as Khaled Bin Hamad, Reem Al Marzouqi, Abdullah Al Qassab and Hamdan Mubarak. The activation phase of this campaign and its filming spanned two days where more than 200 visitors won a variety of prizes for participating in the activities. du had also set up blue doors at its main branches in Dubai Media City and the Academic City, where higher management, led by Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer, du, and Carlos Domingo, Senior Executive Officer, New Businesses & Innovation, du, participated in interactive activities and exciting competitions that aimed at surprising the employees.
Khaled Bin Hamad, Founder & Owner of Moving Reflection Productions, an Emirati animation production house, commented: “Being part of a campaign as interesting as #UAEisHome on the occasion of the national day is a blessing. The national day is best celebrated through giving back to the country that we belong to, and which has always helped us thrive and excel. You can’t help it but feel the UAE pride when you see the final video. It’s an experience I will personally never forget or hesitate to do again”.
Reem Al Marzouqi, an Emirati engineer and the first citizen of the UAE to be granted a patent in the United States of America for designing a car that can be driven hands-free, said: “Being part of this campaign represented a beautiful message addressing the country’s residents, as it explored the special local culture and habits in an UAE first and innovative way. It has also formed an enthusiastic personal experience watching the participants’ spontaneous reactions. In general, this has been the best initiative I have been part of so far, and I am lucky to be selected for this exciting and engaging role”.
Abdullah Al Qassab, an Emirati public speaker, mentor, TV presenter, stand-up comedian, actor, social activist and media producer, added: “Celebrating the National Day should always be a special occasion in which we share our true love for the nation. Through participating in this campaign, we are sharing the blessings we have bestowed upon us, and this is what makes being part of #UAEisHome an ideal platform to thank our country and express our love to it”.
Hamdan Mubarak, an Emirati student, lifeguard and performer, highlighted “Working on the national day project with du has been an incredible and entertaining experience, as it allowed us to meet and interact with new people from various origins and backgrounds through the blue doors. The special celebration of the National Day has brought true value to the occasion as du aimed to enrich people’s knowledge on UAE’s culture to strengthen their bods with the country”.
The social media competition will run from 28th November to 4th December, and thee winners will be announced on December 6th. The contest’s terms and conditions are available at http://www.du.ae/national-day.
