Sharjah to host 4th APC on February 22
As part of the preparations, an integrated platform for electronic voting has been set up, in addition to providing traditional ballot boxes, allowing child members to cast their votes easily and transparently.
Meetings will be held at the delegations' residence, giving children who wish to run for the presidency of parliament the opportunity to present their electoral programmes and highlight their achievements, thus enhancing the principle of transparency and democratic competition.
Voting mechanism
This session witnesses a major development in the voting mechanism, as the Secretary-General of the Arab Parliament for the Child (APC), Ayman Othman Al Barout, explained that voting was done manually through ballot boxes during the first session, then a special electronic mechanism was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the smooth continuation of the electoral process, while in this session, an approved electronic programme will be used that meets all electoral integrity standards.
Al Barout added that a specialised electoral committee will supervise the electoral process, and will work under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General of the Arab Parliament for the Child (APC), and this committee will handle all stages of the electoral process, from entering information to announcing the results, while adhering to the highest levels of transparency.
Al Barout stressed that the process of recording and documenting the vote is one of the most important standards of transparency, as every step is recorded accurately, which ensures the children's satisfaction with the integrity of the electoral process, noting that there were no appeals in previous rounds, but rather the results were fully appreciated and appreciated by all members.
Results
Regarding the announcement of the results, he explained that the sorting process does not take more than an hour, as the sorting steps are displayed moment by moment on a screen in front of all members, which allows them to follow the course of the electoral process with complete transparency until the final result appears and is officially announced.
Training
Al Barout pointed out that child members will be trained on voting mechanisms before participating in the electoral session, to ensure the ease of the process and their understanding of all its procedures. This awareness includes two stages: the first is through an introductory video explaining the voting steps, and the second is through a practical rehearsal that simulates the real voting process, which makes members ready to undergo the electoral experience easily and smoothly.
The Secretary-General of the Arab Parliament for the Child (APC) stressed that these elections are not only a democratic experience, but an important opportunity to qualify children on the values of participation and fair competition, and prepare them to be future leaders who carry the spirit of dialogue and responsibility.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sharjah 24
4 hours ago
- Sharjah 24
Arab Parliament for the Child convenes second session in Sharjah
Al-Barout highlights focus on Arab cultural identity His Excellency Ayman Othman Al-Barout, Secretary-General of the Arab Parliament for the Child, stated that the session focused on discussing the cultural identity of Arab children. A total of 56 young members presented their recommendations on the topic, which the General Secretariat will forward to the Arab League for potential implementation. Emphasis on technology and social media Al-Barout noted that the discussions showed the children's impressive parliamentary capabilities. Their recommendations emphasised the need to leverage modern technology and social media to reinforce Arab cultural identity and promote Arab achievements. Coordination with the League of Arab States He added that the Arab Parliament for the Child, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the League of Arab States, will distribute the recommendations to member state delegations. Follow-up measures will be taken if the League formally adopts them. High-level attendance reflects regional confidence The session was attended by representatives from the Women, Family and Children Department of the League of Arab States, official delegations from participating countries, experts, media professionals, and the General Secretariat of the Arab Parliament. This wide participation underscores the importance and credibility of the Arab Parliament for the Child in cultivating awareness and skills among Arab youth.
Sharjah 24
10 hours ago
- Sharjah 24
Arab Parliament for the Child prepares for second session
Youth-led leadership and preparations His Excellency Al Barout welcomed the board, praising their active contributions and the strong presence of the Parliament's president, deputies, and committee heads. Among the attendees were Elyas bin Awadh Al Ma'ani (Oman), Abdullah Yousif Bujeiri (Bahrain), Mai Jalal Abdulaziz (Palestine), Rabia Ibrahim Abu Rumman (Jordan), and Nasser bin Talal Al Husseini (Oman). The meeting focused on planning the upcoming session, centred on strengthening cultural identity and Arab belonging among children, while also reviewing proposals to enhance parliamentary procedures and encourage members' engagement in discussions and activities. Parliamentary development and media initiatives His Excellency Al Barout stressed the board's responsibility in representing Arab children and called for sustained communication and active idea-sharing. The meeting also celebrated the release of a new issue of The Young Parliamentarian magazine, a platform for children's voices and parliamentary updates. Progress in the Child Parliamentarian Diploma was also highlighted, having gained wide interest and strengthened participants' knowledge and skills. Review of previous terms and future outlook The board reviewed past sessions, events, and discussions—including collaborations with Sharjah's Children and Youth Shura Council—and reaffirmed the importance of continuing such initiatives to develop children's awareness and societal engagement. Emphasis was placed on prioritising children's mental well-being in future sessions and incorporating related themes into discussions and awareness programmes through specialised workshops. Committee work and upcoming international participation The meeting concluded by confirming the continued remote work of the Child Rights and Activities Committees and coordination among members to deliver impactful initiatives. The Parliament is also preparing for its participation in the upcoming International Government Communication Forum in Sharjah—a key platform for sharing experiences and engaging young leaders.
Gulf Today
14 hours ago
- Gulf Today
NIH budget cuts are a setback for American science
White House budgets, generally speaking, aren't serious governing documents. Even so, they're a declaration of national priorities — and by that measure, the latest blueprint is deeply troubling. What sort of administration aspires to shrink its budget for scientific discovery by 40%? Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently testified before a House committee to defend cuts at the National Institutes of Health, the world's biggest funder of biomedical and behavioral research, according to the Tribune News Service. The agency going forward 'will focus on essential research at a more practical cost,' the secretary said. His plan would end taxpayer support for 'wasteful' academic areas, including certain gender-related topics. It's fair for the administration to set its own research priorities. But one would expect such cuts to free up (if not increase) funding for other urgent concerns, including chronic disease. Confoundingly, Kennedy appears intent on shrinking the entire research enterprise, thereby jeopardizing the White House's stated goals of improving public health, maintaining global leadership in science and staying ahead of China, which is set on closing the gap. His proposal also undermines the core principle that science is a vehicle for national progress. America's explicit commitment to support scientific research began in 1945. Inspired by wartime innovations, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked his top science adviser to develop a program that would advance medicine, boost the economy and develop a cadre of young researchers. The resulting framework established science as a 'proper concern of government' and sought to reward academic inquiry with generous public funding. For the better part of a century, this formula worked quite well. The NIH enthusiastically funded basic research — largely through universities — and innovation bloomed. NIH grants have supported countless lifesaving advances, from cancer treatments and gene therapies to vaccines and diagnostic equipment. Almost a fifth of Nobel Prizes have been awarded to NIH scientists or grantees. Yet several factors have sown doubt about this model in recent years. Reports that the NIH supported Chinese research on coronaviruses, a type of which caused the COVID-19 pandemic, inflamed the public and increased scrutiny over grants writ large. Some lawmakers started to question whether the current system overwhelmingly favors established insiders to the detriment of promising junior scientists. Others raised doubts that elite universities — with their swelling administrative costs, staggering tuition rates and contentious ideological fixations — are prudent stewards of taxpayer dollars. For these reasons, the White House isn't wrong to scrutinize how universities spend federal money. A reassessment of the NIH's decades-old grant framework would be salutary. The process undoubtedly would benefit from including reviewers with more diverse professional backgrounds by, say, offering stronger incentives to participate. (The tiny stipends involved hardly compensate for the work required.) Ensuring more equitable distribution of grants among top applicants (for example, via lottery or 'golden ticket' allocations) would make sense, as would more generous funding for high-risk, high-reward research. Alas, such reforms don't appear to be what Kennedy has in mind. Instead of limiting some costs to improve systems and expand funds for critical research, the health secretary is seeking to issue 15,000 fewer grants by next year. In so doing, he threatens to impede crucial medical studies, shrink the number of new drugs and put American scientists at a needless disadvantage — all while China lavishly invests in research facilities, improves clinical trials and streamlines regulatory approvals. Congressional appropriations ultimately will determine what gets funded — and judging by recent hearings, lawmakers are deeply skeptical about Kennedy's budget. By expanding support for science and encouraging careful oversight, Congress can do its part to redirect the secretary's ambitions. It unfortunately bears emphasizing that diminishing science sends the wrong signal about America's trajectory, to its citizens and to the world.
