Dubai: His Excellency Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, has recently attended the graduation ceremony of the American Sign Language training programme for Dubai Police personnel.

 HE Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri praised the efforts of the People of Determination Council and the General Directorate of Training in organising the country's first of its kind course and implementing the objectives of the national policy on empowering people of determination and in response to the "My Community …. A City for Everyone" initiative, which aims at making Dubai a friendly city for people of determination.

Lt. Gen. Al Marri also stressed the importance of sign-language interpreters during Expo 2020 Dubai to welcome delegations and visitors from the hearing-impaired community. 

"The provision of ASL interpreters at EXPO 2020 reflects the keenness and interest of the wise leadership of UAE to support the people of determination and integrate them to achieve equality for all segments of society", he added.   

During the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Al Marri was briefed by Brigadier Badran Al Shamsi on the sign-language training program in Arabic language and the Emirati dialect, in addition to the American language. Al Shamsi said the program aims at preparing and qualifying interpreters from the Dubai Police who can effectively communicate and provide distinguished services to make the audience of people of determination happy. 

Captain Abdullah Hamad Al Shamsi, Vice President of the People of Determination Council and Head of the Sign Language Interpreters Team at Dubai Police, briefed the Commander-in-chief with the ongoing plans to distribute sign-language interpreters during EXPO to assist and support visitors with hearing difficulties. Al Shamsi said organising the programme is per Dubai Police 2016/2021 Strategy for people of determination, which aims at providing equal opportunities to this segment of society. 

The graduation ceremony was in the presence of Major General Ghaith Ghanem Al Suwaidi, Assistant Commandant of Training & Academic Affairs; Brigadier Badran Saeed Al Shamsi, Director of the General Department of Training, and a number of senior officers and employees.