Batool Ghaith (ABU DHABI)
Young professionals in Abu Dhabi are taking a more active role in addressing issues within their communities, using their skills and experiences beyond the workplace to tackle challenges ranging from digital inclusion and wellbeing to the relationship between generations.
Through initiatives led by members of the Global Shapers Abu Dhabi Hub, young people in Abu Dhabi are working with older residents to build confidence around artificial intelligence, creating spaces for different generations to exchange experiences and bringing young people together around healthier lifestyles.
Abdelqader Alsaqqaf, Curator of the Global Shapers Abu Dhabi Hub, said: “Abu Dhabi has given many of us the opportunity and space to grow, and the best expression of gratitude for that is contribution by coming together,” Alsaqqaf told Aletihad.
The Hub, part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, brings together people from different professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.
For Nada Saadi, a 26-year-old Moroccan PhD researcher in AI at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, that contribution has meant helping older members of Abu Dhabi’s community navigate a changing technological landscape.
The Hub’s AI Literacy Initiative for Older People community initiative is designed to help older members of Abu Dhabi’s community better understand AI and use it confidently in everyday life.
“Working with older people through this initiative taught me that the challenge is not always access to technology but having the confidence and support to use it. Sometimes, what feels intuitive to younger generations can feel overwhelming when technology evolves so quickly,” Saadi told Aletihad.
Rather than being primarily interested in the technical workings of AI, participants wanted to understand how it could be useful in their daily lives, she said.
Saadi also noted that there were still concerns around privacy, scams and misinformation, as well as uncertainty about when to trust AI, which creates a role for younger people who have grown accustomed to adapting to emerging technologies.
For Rashed Alshamsi, a 24-year-old Emirati, spending time with older members of the community gave him a perspective that comes from experience.
“It reminded me that experience gives people a very different way of looking at change, relationships and responsibility. Older generations often carry context that younger people simply have not had the time to build yet,” Alshamsi told Aletihad.
What stayed with him most was hearing how older people had made decisions, adapted during difficult periods, and understood their communities over many years.
Other young professionals are focusing on challenges affecting their own generation, Aysha Almemari, a 30-year-old Emirati, worked on In-Shape, an initiative on physical fitness, mental wellbeing and healthier lifestyles.
“In-Shape was about making wellbeing feel less like a conversation and more like a lifestyle, bringing young people in Abu Dhabi together around physical fitness, mental wellbeing, and healthier choices,” Almemari told Aletihad.
She said that young people bring fresh energy, creativity, and a real understanding of what their generation needs, which makes them powerful drivers of community change.
The Hub’s work has also extended to financial literacy, including collaboration with the Global Shapers Lisbon Hub, as well as initiatives addressing the environment and nature.
For Saadi, the skills young professionals develop can have value well outside their formal roles.
That pool of young people contributing to the Hub is expanding, as the Global Shapers Abu Dhabi Hub recently opened applications for its 2026-’27 cohort.
Thirty new members are expected to contribute to community projects and partnerships while connecting with the wider international Global Shapers network.