GDRFA Dubai First Local Government Entity to Receive Future Fit Seal
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai has achieved another milestone becoming the first local government entity to receive the Future Fit Seal. This award is granted to federal and local entities that exemplify extraordinary implementation of innovative projects aimed at bolstering the country's future readiness.
The Smart Command and Control Centre at Dubai International Airport, which operates under the umbrella of GDRFA, received the award. The Centre is a primary hub for border management, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies, including a biometric fingerprint system, a Smart Corridor, and other digital innovations aimed at pre-emptively clearing travellers and streamlining border-crossing operations.
The recognition was conferred on the Centre during a visit by HE Ohoud bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future. Her visit to the Centre was marked by a warm reception from HE Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA, along with several senior officers and officials.
Highlighting the significance of the Future Fit Seal, Al Roumi noted that the award underscores the UAE's commitment to cultivating a culture of future-readiness by promoting flexible business models aligned with the UAE Vision.
She lauded GDRFA's ongoing efforts to create and develop proactive, innovative projects. The Smart Command and Control Centre represents a major leap in governmental operations, leveraging big data and advanced technology to make quality, proactive decisions.
For his part, HE Al Marri emphasized that the Future Fit Seal is yet another incentive for GDRFA to pursue excellence and leadership in future foresight.
The Smart Control Centre has revolutionized the passenger experience by proactively facilitating it based on big data analysis. Significant financial savings were made possible by the use of smart gates instead of traditional counters, amounting to more than AED 121 million.
Further advancements include the Smart Corridor and smart gates, global firsts that use artificial intelligence to expedite traveller transit without the need for documents. The proactive passenger service and automated transactions have notably increased efficiency.
Future-focused, GDRFA is testing new proactive concepts for a smarter, sustainable future, including remote traveller communication through the Internet of Things without human staff. GDRFA is also exploring the inclusion of heart fingerprinting to further enhance the passenger experience.
Moreover, the Centre has created future jobs, with over 703 employees trained on future skills. The future-readiness projects are evaluated based on several criteria, including human-cantered design, societal impact, national economic value, sustainability, innovation, adaptability, and digital readiness.