The British Embassy’s UAE Young Journalist Award, a new initiative launched in partnership with The National, aims to highlight the growing talent among pupils in the UAE in media and journalism. The United Kingdom remains committed to supporting the growth of journalism around the world and particularly amongst aspiring youth. Now known as a leading regional media hub and home to a growing number of outlets, the UAE is well positioned to push forward the passion for journalism in education and youth.

A young nation, the UAE has in a short time developed an appetite for storytelling and news that has paved the way for establishment of various news organisations including The National. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, The National is a source for regional news and analysis. There are a variety of domestic print, online, TV, and radio outlets across the UAE catering to a wide range of languages, reflecting the country’s diverse demographics.

This year’s award will focus on the Year of Tolerance and will invite finalists to an award ceremony with Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the UAE, Patrick Moody, as well as Editor-in-Chief at The National, Mina Al-Oraibi, among other leaders in the field. Award winners will be announced at the reception and all nominated pupils will have the opportunity to attend and engage with journalists, producers, writers and industry leaders.

Application guidelines

All pupils in the UAE aged 16 to 18 are invited to submit a commentary, opinion piece or story in any format (written, photography, video or audio).

The awarded pupil will be given:

• a one day work experience at The National and another day at the British Embassy in the media and communications team
• an opportunity to engage with industry leaders at the award ceremony
• a one-year print subscription to The National printed paper
• an opportunity to have their entry published in The National

Submission details

Submissions will be assessed on their creativity, storytelling, relevance and appeal to audiences, each an important quality of good journalism today. It is important to follow the laws of the UAE (government.ae/en/media/media) when creating your project. Be sure to get permission before filming, photographing or recording any subjects and be sure to photograph or film only in permissible locations within the UAE.

• pupils are only allowed to submit one piece
• submissions must be in English
• for written pieces only: maximum word count is 600
• for video/audio only: project should not be longer than 2 minutes
• for projects that use a combination of written, video and/or photography, please judge based on the above guidelines
• pupils are permitted to use a project that was completed as part of their formal class work, so long as it also complies with the application guidelines for this award

Pupils must submit:

• completed application form (ODT, 84.6KB) (download and complete to submit with project)
• project: written pieces may be submitted to the below email directly as a PDF file. Video and other media must be submitted through media transfer (WeTransfer) to the same email. Please include both the project and pupil name in the subject of your email/Wetransfer.

Please submit all work to UAE.YoungJournalistAward@fco.gov.uk.

important dates

Guiding questions

When constructing your project focus, please keep in mind the theme of the Year of Tolerance. Below are some guiding questions; you do not need to answer the questions directly.

• Explore what the Year of Tolerance means to Emirati and expat communities alike.
• How does the Year of Tolerance reflect the already established values of diversity within the UAE?
• How are the achievements made by the UAE tolerance initiatives impactful?
• Did you meet a person/group/community this year that has embraced the Year of Tolerance in a special or meaningful way that helps illustrate your commentary?
• What can the world learn from the UAE’s model for tolerance?

There is, and never can be, a single definition as to what constitutes a good opinion piece or how it should be composed. It can be table-thumping and overflowing with anger; it can be lyrical, wistful, nostalgic, sympathetic; it can be wry and humorous, or plaintive and hand-wringing. It can be all of these things and many more besides. But it has to be erudite; it has to be informed; it has to be well-told. It must contain original thinking and fresh insights. And above all, it has to be opinionated.

A comment piece is an argument. It’s an argument informed with facts – facts you must research and select to support your argument. If possible – and of course it is not always – you should be suggesting a new approach or a fresh line of thinking.

The construction of the piece depends on how you want to present your argument. You can have opinion in every paragraph, every sentence even. Or you could leave it to one final, blistering conclusion.

But remember, it is an opinion article. The opinion is what counts. It has to be thought through, logical and consistent. And it should be persuasive. Ideally, at the end, the reader should be in full agreement with you. If they are not – and you are never going to win every argument – then they should be in a position where to disagree they are forced to make a series of strong counter-arguments.

And before you start writing ask yourself this: what is my opinion on this subject? What do I feel about it? Your work will always benefit from thinking your argument through before you begin.

The first training course of its kind for the recovery industry, the Smart Motorways Awareness For The Roadside Rescue & Recovery Industry course has been designed to provide practical, relevant training to identify safe working practices when attending breakdowns or collisions on the smart motorway network.

The eight hour, single day course will train recovery vehicle operators to formulate a recovery plan upon evaluating the safe working practices when attending breakdowns or collisions on the Smart Motorway network.

Smart motorways have been designed with safety in mind and the course covers the working methods that enable recovery operatives to carry out their vital roles safely. Key safety principles include:

• vehicle recovery operators are never expected to recover a vehicle in a live lane on a smart motorway
• Highways England can close lanes and set speed limits to support recovery operators by setting signs and signals
• Highways England can allocate traffic officers or call on police resource to ensure recovery vehicle operators’ safety

A key aspect of the course is that it fits seamlessly with the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC), which is the standard qualification all professional bus, coach and lorry drivers, as well as recovery operatives, must hold. The course contributes to the 35 hours of training that accredited drivers must complete every five years.

Colin Stevenson, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Highways England said:

The course has been developed specifically for roadside rescue and recovery drivers who use the motorway network and has been designed to aid practical, relevant training.

Those completing the course will have a better understanding of the different types of smart motorways and how to formulate a recovery plan incorporating safe working practices when dealing with incidents on smart motorways.

Gary Tucker, Managing Director of the Network Training Partnership and PATAM said:

NTP was delighted to be chosen to design the smart motorways DCPC course. We have delivered training to over 3000+ delegates as part of our series of courses, many of whom work within the recovery industry. It is imperative that individuals attend this training to improve knowledge and safety of both the breakdown and recovery industry and the general public.

Mick Puleston, Vice President of the Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators (AVRO) said:

AVRO believes that training is key to providing staff with the work skills required to provide a professional image to the industry and applaud Highways England for embracing the recovery industry by introducing a training package specific to our work on the strategic road network which will be endorsed for the Driver CPC.

Derek Muir, RAC health and safety operations manager said:

Smart motorways represent the future of Britain’s motorway network and the aim should always be how we make these types of roads as safe as possible both for those operating on them professionally and for customers who use them. We welcome Highways England’s engagement on this matter and look forward to working with them to establish best practice and procedures to improve safety on the network.

Chris Hoare, Chairman of The Institute of Vehicle Recovery said:

The Institute of Vehicle Recovery (IVR) has given its backing to the new smart motorways recovery vehicle awareness course, which gives all in the recovery industry a greater awareness of some of the additional considerations when working on a smart motorway.

IVR’s previous collaborations with HE and other agencies produced the Life on the Edge 7 film and the SURVIVE Safety Rules, both of which are incorporated in the course. This collaborative approach of sharing best practice to deliver clear consistent messages, raises standards and ultimately provides a safer working environment for those operating in the vehicle recovery sector.

Highways England will have a stand at the Recovery Tow Show 2019 in Telford on the 25 and 26 September to speak to the wider recover industry about the new recovery vehicle smart motorway course. Follow this link for more information about the show.

Email Highways England to enrol drivers on the training.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Hydraulic piling equipment was used to force steel sheets into the ground rather than using the traditional impact method which pounds the structures down.

The neighbour-friendly rig has been used on a stretch of the busy A500 in Staffordshire which is being widened to help improve people’s journeys.

The £17.5 million upgrade will widen the road in Stoke-on-Trent from two lanes to three in both directions between Porthill (A5271) and Wolstanton (A527).

As part of that work, a permanent metal retaining wall had to be put in place in the ground to support the embankment and help make way for the new shared pedestrian and cycle path along the A500 northbound.

Around 600 sheets of retaining wall were installed with the strong but silent hydraulic rig over 10 weeks. The ground alongside the A500 is softer which enables use of the hydraulic equipment rather than the traditional ‘hammering’ method.

As well as reducing the noise and vibration during construction for residents and the travelling public, the quiet rig means work can be carried out at night if necessary. It can push the steel sheet piles down as deep as 12m into the ground.

With some properties only 50m away from the works at the closest point, the only noise residents should have heard was that of the generator which is minimal.

It is hoped that the technique will now be used across more Highways England projects, although this is dictated by ground conditions.

Highways England Project Manager Humzah Mir said:

We know that roadworks can cause noise and disruption for people living nearby and try to keep that nuisance down to a minimum.

Highways England is always investigating new ways to reduce any adverse impact we may have when carrying out our important work on England’s motorways and major A roads.

Widening the A500 will tackle congestion and improve safety on one of the busiest roads in the city. And because we have been able to introduce hydraulic piling here, residents, as well as road users, have not had to experience the noise and vibration that traditional methods often bring.

Osborne Project Manager Antony Cooper said:

We work closely with our supply chain partners to identify the best methods of working to minimise disruption and disturbance to customers. In this instance we were delighted to be able to use an alternative to what could have been extremely intrusive to local residents.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

New analysis shows that the government’s trailblazing Rough Sleeping Initiative is having a significant impact on reducing the numbers of vulnerable people sleeping rough on the country’s streets. 

The Rough Sleeping Initiative – a cornerstone of the government’s ambitious Rough Sleeping Strategy – has provided £76 million to 246 councils across the country to date, supporting rough sleepers in their area off the streets and into secure accommodation where they can get the help they need to rebuild their lives. 

The report published today (12 September 2019) shows that the Rough Sleeping Initiative has reduced the number of vulnerable people sleeping rough by 32%, compared to the number it would have been had the initiative not been in place.  

The analysis estimates the impact of the initiative from its launch in March 2018 until autumn that year and takes account of a range of factors, including whether councils submitted estimates or counts in the official annual rough sleeping statistics, the weather on the night the data was collected, and local housing and labour market conditions, to zero in on the effects of the initiative. 

Welcoming the evaluation findings, Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: 

Since becoming Communities Secretary in July, I have been able to see first-hand the outstanding work taking place under the Rough Sleeping Initiative every single day to transform the lives of society’s most vulnerable – and these figures are proof that our strategy to end rough sleeping is working. 

But we must keep that momentum up, which is why we have committed a record investment to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in the months ahead – ensuring progress continues to be made and people are given the help they need to turn their lives around. 

Today’s figures come just days after the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £422 million of funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping – up £54 million from £368 million in 2019 to 2020. 

The Communities Secretary and the Chancellor have also announced a further £10 million to boost life-saving support for rough sleepers during the cold winter weather and has called on councils to come forward and bid for the funding now in order to step-up preparations in time for the winter months.  

Last year, funding provided by government during the coldest weather meant thousands of vulnerable rough sleepers spent the night in safe and warm accommodation, rather than on the streets. 

In August last year, the government unveiled its Rough Sleeping Strategy – backed by £100 million – which sets out the next steps towards ending rough sleeping for good.  

This forms part of a wider strategy to tackle all forms of homelessness, including: 

• investing £1.2 billon to tackle homelessness
• providing £76 million for the Rough Sleeping Initiative to 246 local authorities – including the 83 areas with the highest number of rough sleepers
• this year councils are using this investment to create an estimated 2,600 more beds and 750 additional specialist support staff
• introduced the Homelessness Reduction Act to ensure people at risk of becoming homeless get help more quickly, with councils receiving over £72 million to support them in these duties

The Rough Sleeping Initiative was announced in March 2018. 

The RSI impact evaluation published today assessed the impact of the programme compared to if the initiative had not taken place.

The impact analysis aimed to understand the impact of the Rough Sleeping Initiative on the overall numbers of people sleeping rough by comparing 83 RSI areas to a comparison group of 83 non-RSI areas. 

The evaluation estimates the overall net reduction in rough sleeping as a result of the RSI compared to if the programme had not existed.  

The analysis accounted for a range of factors, including whether councils submitted estimates or counts in the official annual rough sleeping statistics, the weather on the night the data was collected and local housing and labour market conditions, to assess the effects of the programme and ensure the results were unbiased and not the result of other external factors.  

Analysis also shows RSI areas changing their approach to measuring rough sleeping did not account for the fall in rough sleeping seen in these areas. 

The evaluation looks at the first year of funding for the programme, which saw £30 million allocated to the 83 areas of the country with the highest levels of rough sleeping based on the 2017 annual rough sleeping statistics. 

In 2019 to 2020, the government allocated a further £46 million – including £12 million for councils not previously funded – to build on the programme’s work and help even more people off the streets and to move forward with their lives. 

Analysis was independently peer reviewed by Bryson Purdon Social Research, an independent research partnership.  

In order to reach as many rough sleepers as possible, £1 million of the Cold Weather Fund will be available to providers and services that are not commissioned by local authorities. This element of the fund will be administered by Homeless Link, who will ensure interventions are effective in supporting as many people as possible off the streets.