Children at a Positive Spirit event.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Police's community-based initiative 'Positive Spirit' has contributed to reducing negative phenomena remarkably across targeted zones by 40 per cent from 2017 until 2021.  Colonel Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri, Acting Director of the General Department of Community Happiness at Dubai Police and Acting Chairman of the Positive Spirit Committee, said the Initiative was launched on the directives of Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, to strengthen social cohesion, spread awareness, and consolidate values of virtue among society members.

He added that Positive Spirit also aims to embrace tolerance, coexistence, respect, and acceptance of others and reject hatred and discrimination.  "The Positive Spirit instils sports culture and encourages youth participation as an effective social tool for exploiting leisure time. It amplifies the positive spirit and happiness among members of the society through various cultural, community and volunteering activities," he added. 

 Dubai Police's Positive Spirit slashes negative phenomena by 40 per cent in 5 years.

Col Mansouri also explained that the 'Positive Spirit' Initiative organised 30 community-based sports events, 26 community-based programmes, 15 workshops and lectures, and seven cultural competitions last year.  "More than 41,796 people participated and benefited from events and activities carried out by the Initiative, which recorded a satisfaction rate of 96%," Col. Al Mansouri affirmed. 

  The General Coordinator of the Positive Spirit initiative, Fatima Buhajeer, said activities and events carried out by the 'Positive Spirit' Initiative went viral on social media platforms and other media means.  "About 165 posts on social media platforms reached 1,860,522 views, while 116 posts on other various media means recorded 410,810 views.

Moreover, views on internal and external Dubai Police network reached 348 views", she added. Buhajeer reaffirmed that the Positive Spirit initiative is always keen to open the door for volunteers to consolidate the values and spirit of volunteerism among the community.  "Last year, the number of volunteers reached 806 people who participated in 43 different volunteering initiatives," she said. 

Buhajeer explained that more than 15,349 people took the Initiative's opinion polls and expressed their satisfaction with the opportunities it offered them.  Captain Awad Mubarak, Coordinator of Positive Spirit, said, as part of their Initiative Stars programme, they honoured 69 volunteers, four police councils, five general departments, two corporate development offices, and four police stations, in recognition of their efforts and contribution to the success of Positive Spirit's events and activities. Captain Mubarak also lauded the key role of the strategic partners and supporting companies who sponsored the activities and events of the Initiative and helped achieve Dhs244,292 in financial savings last year.