The “Identity and Nationality” launches the second phase of the “I am closer to you” initiative to include the fingerprints of school students
The “Closer to You” initiative of the Federal Authority for Identity and Nationality, Customs and Ports Security and the Emirates Foundation for School Education is one of the important initiatives that aim to facilitate procedures for identifying individuals and improve the quality of government services in the country.
This second phase of the initiative includes the inclusion of decimal fingerprints for school students aged 15 years and over, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the individual identification system and improve the quality of government services provided to citizens and residents in the country.
This initiative reflects the UAE government’s commitment to providing high-quality and effective government services, and improving the quality of life for citizens and residents in the country, by providing government services in a fast, easy and effective manner. It also reflects the government’s strategy in applying modern technology in providing government services, which contributes to improving the quality of life and achieving sustainable development in the country.
Indeed, the “Closer to You” initiative comes within the framework of the efforts of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security to achieve national goals, develop customer experience and provide the best government services in the country. This initiative reflects the UAE government’s commitment to digital transformation, simplifying administrative procedures, and developing government work mechanisms, with the aim of improving the customer’s journey, saving time and effort, and achieving the best results in this regard.
The Director General of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, Major General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, affirms the authority’s keenness to develop its services to the level of integration and comprehensiveness, and to achieve the best government model that keeps pace with the requirements of the future and reflects positively on customers and society, in order to meet their needs and achieve their happiness. This reflects the wise vision of the UAE government to achieve sustainable development and improve the quality of life for citizens and residents in the country.
The second stage of the fingerprint initiative for school students in the population register system is to register fingerprints for students over the age of 15. This stage comes under the slogan “Closer to You”, and is a continuation of the efforts made by the Authority and the Emirates Foundation for School Education. The first phase of the initiative began in February and March of the academic year 2022-2023 in public schools, with the aim of enhancing communication and interaction between government institutions and various members of society, and facilitating the process of registering fingerprints for parents while their children are in school.
Al Khaili explained that these efforts reflect the authority’s ability, in cooperation with its partners, to implement the requirements of the approved plan to update the population register data and provide it with the biological characteristics of registrants in a timely manner, in full compliance with the laws and decisions regulating the population register and identity card system, and by using accurate and protected central databases. An advanced infrastructure that supports digital services.
His Excellency stressed the importance of developing the government services file and its effective role in improving the level of service in an integrated manner, with the aim of supporting the Emirates Government Services Strategy 2023-2025. He explained that the authority succeeded, in cooperation with the Emirates Foundation for School Education, in achieving results that exceeded expectations during the first phase of the field visits of the fingerprint campaign. Fingerprints were actually included in the percentage of school students in the first month of the initiative, at a rate exceeding 192% of the set target. The fingerprints of 1,923 male and female students from 91 schools in different regions of the country were registered.
He pointed out that exceeding the target and the positive interaction reflect a high level of awareness among parents, students and school principals, as they stress the importance of including fingerprints in individual records, to benefit from the system of services provided in the future, in addition to updating the population register data. In doing so, these efforts contribute to improving the quality of government services and enhancing the user experience for citizens and residents in the UAE.
Major General Suhail Juma Al Khaili, Director General of Identity and Passports at the Authority, confirmed that the UAE government is ahead of others in developing government services, achieving digital transformation and providing proactive services. He pointed out that the authority is working to sustain these efforts by implementing a set of initiatives aimed at redesigning and developing its services to meet the needs of customers according to new concepts, with the aim of improving the quality of life in society.
Major General Suhail Juma added that the latest developments include the design of new concepts aimed at improving customer experience in a distinctive, innovative and economically effective way. He pointed out that the “Closer to You” initiative reflects the authority’s efforts to achieve the aspirations of the UAE government in providing future services, with a focus on meeting people’s needs first and providing proactive services. The initiative contributed to enhancing belonging and loyalty among school students and enhancing the identity of individuals in society, in addition to enabling them to make optimal use of the Emirates ID card, supported by decimal fingerprints.
Major General Suhail Juma stressed that the authority strives to increase the happiness of customers, meet their aspirations, simplify services procedures, and facilitate the process of obtaining these services, especially for school students who represent a large segment of society that needs care and attention, and save time and effort for its members, and help them achieve excellence and move to Next level comfort and safety.
The Director General of Identity and Passports at the Authority, on its behalf, appealed to parents to encourage and motivate their children to register in the initiative through the mobile platforms available during school visits nationwide. This is a proactive step aimed at providing the best services to school students, and supports parents’ efforts to complete these procedures without the need to go to centers.
The Director General of Identity and Passports expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Emirates Foundation for School Education, and his praise for its efforts in developing education in the Emirates and constructive and renewed cooperation with the authority in common fields. He also praised the fruitful cooperation between the two sides in achieving their plans and programs aimed at strengthening the Emirati identity and updating the population registry databases.
It is worth noting that the General Department of Identity and Passports at the Authority coordinated with the Emirates Foundation for School Education as a main partner in implementing the campaign, providing student data and lists of targeted schools at the country level, facilitating entry procedures for work teams to the concerned schools, in addition to providing a work team in each emirate. He takes students’ fingerprints according to the field visits schedule in all cities of the country.
