Dubai Launches Mobile Book Project

The Self-Development Centre at Dubai Customs, in cooperation with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, has launched the Mobile Book Project, a cultural project aimed at disseminating knowledge among employees and supporting departments and customs centres in their efforts to contribute to the personal development of their employees by encouraging them to read and seek knowledge.

The centre has made available a selection of specialised books on customs and other knowledge fields. Ms. Nadia Abdullah Kamali, Acting Executive Director of HR, Finance and Administration Division at Dubai Customs, said that the initiative, launched by Dubai Customs' Self-Development Centre, is aimed at instilling the reading habit in employees and making the services of the centre accessible to them by providing books and publications specialized in various fields, and by introducing a book lending system, which will boost the knowledge economy in the Emirate of Dubai.

Dubai Customs established the Self-Development Centre two years ago as part of the HR Department work plan for the purpose of developing employees' abilities by encouraging them to read and hone their skills. In January 2012, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation inked a MoU with Dubai Customs to provide books issued under the Tarjem and Iqraa (Translate and Read) programs as part of the Harvest of Knowledge' initiative launched by the foundation earlier. Under the MoU, the foundation will present Dubai Customs with a collection of publications dedicated to educational institutions and various government bodies for the purpose of honing readers' skills and keeping them updated on latest and most important books, each in his/her field of speciality, to help them increase their educational and practical achievements, reflecting more productivity and efficiency in the work environment.

As per the MoU, the foundation will provide the Self-Development Centre at Dubai Customs with 17,000 books in various knowledge fields in line with the "Dissemination of culture and knowledge without borders" goal, one of the most prominent corporate values of Dubai Customs. The move is also aimed at strengthening the concept of the national identity and reaffirming the principle of self-learning, which the Self-Development Centre strives to achieve. The centre can only achieve these goals by meeting readers' needs; both employees and customers.

The Self-Development Centre, the first-of-its-kind among customs departments in the UAE, is one of the development initiatives launched at Dubai Customs. Aiming to achieve the concept of self-learning, the centre continues to host events yearlong, including fairs, workshops and various training courses that nurture innovation and talent.