The DFSA announced the creation of a new initiative today. Bawabaty meaning ‘My Gateway’ is a DFSA idea to reach out to the local community, and in the first instance, will target the UAE youth sector through a series of seminars and events. Bawabaty aims to address topics such as business ethics and financial literacy. Facilitating learning and understanding of the financial services industry as a whole will better provide young UAE Nationals with the skills and knowledge that employers typically look for.

The principal objectives of Bawabaty are to 1) to meet the growing needs of UAE National university graduates wishing to pursue a career in financial services; 2) to support lifelong learning opportunities for our local community; and 3) to provide community education in financial services, in the UAE.

Bawabaty’s inaugural event held at the DIFC Centre of Excellence today focused on ‘Integrity at Work’ and saw the DFSA partnering with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI). The workshop included individual voting machines, real-time results and lively debates, providing participants with the unique opportunity to vote on a range of ethical challenges, drawn from real-life situations from the workplace.

CISI, the largest respected professional body for those who work in the securities and investment industry in the UK, evolved from the London Stock Exchange. CISI has more than 40,000 members in 110 countries. The DFSA chose to partner with the CISI for the inaugural event as it reflected the standards and professional aspirations that the DFSA has for professional conduct in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Mr Waleed Saeed Al Awadhi, Director, Corporate Affairs of the DFSA said: “It is the DFSA’s wish to align with the vision of the UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in that we realise that strengthening the knowledge economy will strengthen competitiveness in business. Our wish is to provide a platform for our local community to come together to learn more about the financial services industry, particularly in areas that we are faced with every day such as personal finances and work ethics. Bawabaty will partner with professional organisations to ensure that our local community are given the skills and tools needed to play an active part in the workforce”.

He added: “Our plans for 2014 include a summer training programme; a financial services training programme and the continuation of our Universities Outreach. We hope to raise awareness of differing aspects of financial services and increase employability skills amongst UAE Nationals”.

Highlights of the inaugural workshop included lively, well-informed and instructive discussions, allowing for fruitful exchanges of ideas, experiences and opinions between the participants on wide ranging ethical issues faced in the business environment in the UAE.