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The Minister of Community Development, Hessa Essa Buhumaid, received the banner as the host of the World Down Syndrome Congress 2020 amidst applauds during the concluding session of the triennial World Down Syndrome Congress, WDSC, in Glasgow, Scotland.
The UAE will be the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to host the international conference, which brings together more than 1,200 people from around the world. Down Syndrome International, DSi, Down Syndrome Scotland and international delegates attended the closing session.
Buhumaid and Rawdha Mohammed Al Otaiba, Deputy Ambassador to the UK, visited the UAE pavilion at the event.
At the closing ceremony, the Chairperson of the Emirates Down Syndrome Association, EDSA, Dr. Manal Jaroor, spoke about the history, mandate, vision, mission and achievements of the association since it was founded in 2006 as a non-profit organisation. She reviewed some programmes and activities aimed at improving the quality of life for people with Down syndrome and their inclusion and empowerment.
"The UAE’s selection to host the World Down Syndrome Congress 2020 was motivated by its prominent international stature and its strategic policies and remarkable achievements in the inclusion and empowerment of people of determination,'' she stated.
In 2016, DSi, based in the United Kingdom, announced that Dubai has won the bid to host World Down Syndrome Congress in 2020. This winning came amid world appreciation for the role played by EDSA.
The Down Syndrome International said in a statement, "Following receipt of a number of excellent applications to host WDSC 2021, the Board of DSi has agreed to revert to a two-year cycle for the WDSC, with effect from 2020. There were compelling reasons to accept the proposals of EDSA, in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, following consultation with these parties."
The congress is the largest global conference for people with Down syndrome and witnesses the participation of all countries worldwide.
The achievement is seen as an international appreciation and recognition to the progress made by the UAE at all levels, particularly the high-quality services and numerous regulation and laws that support people with disability in general and people with Down syndrome, in particular.
The Dubai Government, along with the efforts of the Higher Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, seek to make Dubai an international city that is friendly to people with disability by 2020.
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