31 October, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Daman’s Creating Healthy Communities Conference concluded today.
Present at the conference were HE Dr. Mohamed Rashed Al Hameli, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Health Service Company – SEHA, HE Götz Lingenthal, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UAE, Board Members of Daman, Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, Mr Saeed Majed Al Mansouri and Mr Andrew Kielty and several senior executives from government and private entities.
The conference brought together more than 300 local and international multi-discipline specialists at Zayed University to discuss the best ways to promote health and wellness within the UAE.
The conference began with a welcome note by Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, member of the board of directors at Daman. Dr Al Kaabi spoke about the role that Daman has played over the last 10 years, including the continuous efforts made to encourage the UAE community to lead healthy, active lifestyles.
“The Abu Dhabi Plan has included living a healthy lifestyle coupled with world-class medical services as one of its strategic objectives,” said Dr Al Kaabi. “This conference serves as an ideal platform to showcase success stories from around the world and instigate the discourse for viable solutions in the UAE.”
The keynote address at the conference was delivered by Dr Michael Bitzer, CEO of Daman, in which he explained why it is important for everyone to take ownership of their health and wellbeing and spoke about the various ways in which Daman is involved in helping communities in the UAE get fit.
“It is important to instil this in the new generation as early as possible so that our children can grow up to be a healthy, productive generation that can benefit its country,” he said.
Speaking at the conference was Mick Cornett, Mayor of Oklahoma City, who in 2008 led a city-wide weight loss drive, which resulted in a phenomenal combined million pound weight loss. “The first step towards change is to start a conversation about it, before addressing the problem. This is what this conference is doing, starting the conversation. Like we did in Oklahoma City, the veil on obesity needs to be lifted. It is no longer taboo to talk about it,” he said.
Taking inspiration from Oklahoma City’s achievement, Daman CEO Dr Michael Bitzer has pledged that Daman employees will collectively lose 5000 kilograms in 2017. For a company of 1600 employees, this means an average weight-loss of 3 kilograms per employee.
The conference also saw Dr Claude Marcus, an expert on childhood obesity and endocrinology, explaining the importance of making informed decisions at mealtimes, as healthy choices equals a healthy community.
Jon Duschinsky, who was responsible for initiating and implementing the world-renowned Ice Bucket Challenge, spoke about his experiences and expertise with large-scale behavioural change. In particular, he mentioned some of the existing campaigns to combat childhood obesity from around the world. The strategies outlined by Duschinsky focus on articulating a ‘meaningful truth’, providing a call to action and creating a community that is capable of gathering momentum.
Nine time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis and Matt Dyke of AnalogFolk also addressed the gathering, sharing their insights on motivating the youth and using technology to facilitate lifestyle change respectively.
David Hadley, CEO of Mediclinic Middle East & Al Noor Hospitals Group spoke about creating a new medical chapter in the UAE; while Nick Caplain, Chief Development Officer of Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) in the UK, spoke about how we can encourage those with mobility impairments to exercise, using swimming as a gateway sport towards achieving a more active lifestyle.
Daman remains committed to creating awareness and engaging with the UAE communities on the importance of leading an active and healthy lifestyle. Daman has achieved its objectives through multiple platforms such as Daman’s ActiveLife – the health and fitness initiative designed to motivate the UAE society to maintain healthy lifestyles and Daman Corporate Health Awards, which recognises the best employers in the UAE for their commitment and success in organisational health and wellness schemes, to name a few.
