#MyDubai: Sheikh Hamdan launches social media autobiography of Dubai

DUBAI // The Crown Prince of Dubai is emulating his tech-savvy father by engaging with the public on social media.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed has launched a project for a social-media autobiography of Dubai to be written by its residents and visitors.

The year-long project will bring together people in the emirate through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. A call has gone out to share pictures and videos using the hashtag #MyDubai.

Sheikh Hamdan said the project would tell the real and human stories of the city through residents’ contributions.

On Monday he made the first contribution to the project with a short video of himself participating in extreme sports.

“Our achievements are driven by a positive energy and spirit that is felt by everyone who lives in our emirate, inspiring creativity and harmony and uniting more than 200 nationalities,” Sheikh Hamdan said. “In the fabric of Dubai there are more than 2.1 million stories – the individual lives and experiences of all those who call Dubai home.

“A city’s story is created by its people and as we look towards a prosperous future, it’s time to join together and show the world how 2.1 million people can create one remarkable story. Together we will create the world’s first autobiography of a city.”

A special team will work on the project, curating contributions for use at conferences, in books and in films. A number of activities and events related to the project will be launched throughout the year.

Meanwhile Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has jumped three places to rank as the seventh most engaging world leader on Twitter for 2013.

In 2012, he was ranked 10th on the Digital Policy Council Leaders on Twitter report, with more than a million followers. After a busy year on the social media site, and with more than a million new followers, he is now followed by 2.46  million people.

Throughout the year, Sheikh Mohammed has regularly tweeted on local and international news. He has also engaged the public in the most important decisions at every Cabinet session, both in Arabic and in English.

In December, Sheikh Mohammed announced the biggest brainstorming session in the UAE, calling on all residents to voice their opinions on the health and education sectors.

For days, citizens and residents tweeted to Sheikh Mohammed using the hashtag #uaebrainstorm.

Thousands of suggestions were then taken to a two-day Cabinet retreat, at which a number of decisions were made to overhaul the two sectors. After letting the public know of the decisions just hours after the meetings, he also thanked others in the Arabian Gulf who took part and said their opinions were taken into consideration too.

Sheikh Mohammed’s Twitter feed had the “greatest movement” of those who had also been in the Top 10 in 2012, the Digital Policy Council report said.