‘Ride for Unity’ set to traverse all corners of country in 7 days

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

The upcoming event of “Ride for Unity: 7 Days/7 Emirates” is going to further strengthen the UAE government’s stance on spreading of Diversity, Inclusion, Sustainability and Tolerance through the medium of sport like cycling events.

In an exclusive interview, Faisal Al Nuaimi, a prominent Emirati personality from Ajman told Gulf Today, “Being an Emirati and local, I believe it is my duty towards the community to give back being part of any CSR activities or volunteer jobs to promote these values.”

Responding to a question, he said, “The objective of the first edition of the cycling tour across the UAE in seven days is to focus on the 17-20 main athletes representing different fields and sharing one common passion — the love of sports. The message is be together and invite people from every segment of the society with the aim of promoting the true values of unity, inclusion, tolerance and sustainability toward the world.

“Throughout seven days, the cyclists will be engaged in a number of interactive sessions with community members to visit prominent schools, meet the professionals from different segments of the society as well as planting mangroves, sharing their experiences and more importantly promoting and highlighting the true importance of different destinations in all over the UAE,” he said.

Faisal Al Nuaimi is a seasoned professional with 30 years of experience and more than 19 years in senior roles across prominent public and private sector organisations in the UAE.

He has held various leadership roles in the UAE, as the CEO of Marsa Properties, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing at Ajman Free Zone and Director General of Ajman Tourism Development Department.

The participants including business leaders, entrepreneurs and pioneers representing various cultures and countries around the world will start the tour from Fujairah on January 6 and will stop over at one destination, either an academic institution, cultural centre or tourist attraction, to interact with local people to spread the message and share their experiences as well as encourage them to be part of the tour’s different stages. The ride through all seven Emirates will last seven days and will end on January 12 in Abu Dhabi.

“Right now there will be 17-20 core cyclists of the ‘Ride for Unity: 7 Days/7 Emirates’ but the general public can join at any of four stages in different Emirates once they get registered through the official online portal,” Faisal Al Nuaimi said.

It is also mentioned that the profit raised from this event will be donated to local charity partners, helping them to continue delivering their much needed services in the community.

“The cyclists will gathered at Ajman Charity School on day-5 and meet over one thousand students to deliver speeches on different topics besides handing over funds for laptops and other essentials,” he said.

“Ride for Unity’s objective is to promote the values including strength through diversity, equal opportunity, entrepreneurship mentality, sustainability at the human level, teamwork, inclusion and engagement and to spread knowledge around their practical implementation in business, life and the modern-day world to promote each of the seven emirates, highlighting the individual positive characteristics and offerings, whether they are through tourism, entertainment or business and commerce,” he added.

The other prominent personalities from different sectors include Sheikh Mohamed Bin Kayed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development; Ahmad Belselah, whose charitable work is impressive with an impact in the UAE and abroad; Herb Lang – a powerful public and motivational speaker; Amy Gillingham, the first female football commentator in the UAE; Jessica Smith, Australian paralympian swimmer,  motivational speaker, and published children’s book author; Sacha Jafri – artist, humanitarian, philanthropist, educator and records holder for creating the world’s largest painting; Justin Levene, named in the top 10 most powerful and influential people of determination in the UK; Fatima Reyadh, first female basketball coach of Bahraini National League; Adrian Blanchette, Sheikha Sareh Ameri, Manna Dabholkar and Keith Kirkwood, Marwan Al Sherif, Jonathan Bowman-Perks MBE, Leah Tedrow, Daniel Bernard and Mark Jan Kar, General Manager at Coca-Cola Arena.