His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed directs that 2026 be designated the Year of the Family
Abu Dhabi, November 6, 2025
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today attended a session on the National Family Growth Agenda 2031, held within the framework of the 2025 Annual Government Meetings in Abu Dhabi. The session brought together senior leaders and officials from federal and local entities to discuss ways of strengthening the family’s role as a cornerstone of society.
During the session, His Highness directed that 2026 be designated as the “Year of the Family” in support of the goals outlined in the National Family Growth Agenda 2031. The initiative seeks to raise awareness among citizens and residents about the importance of preserving strong and cohesive family bonds, the foundation upon which a resilient and prosperous nation is built. It also aims to promote the deeply rooted Emirati values of unity, compassion, and social harmony, ensuring they are instilled in future generations.
As part of the agenda’s implementation, a national task force comprising more than 20 federal and local government bodies has been established to focus on three key pathways: policies and programmes, behavioural interventions, and reproductive health.
The first pathway involves reviewing and updating policies and programmes that directly or indirectly influence family growth.
The second examines social and behavioural factors affecting family dynamics through direct engagement with Emirati families across the nation.
The third focuses on assessing current reproductive health initiatives, identifying challenges, and proposing solutions to enhance their impact.
His Highness underscored that the growth and stability of Emirati families are central to the nation’s identity, continuity, and security, describing family strength as a national priority and a key driver of the UAE’s long-term stability and prosperity. He also recalled the words of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who affirmed that “the family is the foundation of every strong society.”
Sheikh Mohamed noted that the establishment of the Ministry of Family reflects the UAE’s deep recognition of the family’s vital role in shaping social cohesion and national identity. The ministry, he explained, is tasked with developing strategies that empower families, promote responsible upbringing, and reinforce values rooted in Emirati traditions and culture.
His Highness further emphasised that the responsibility for addressing family-related challenges is collective, requiring cooperation across all sectors — government, private, and civil society — to ensure sustainable and inclusive progress.
In this context, Sheikh Mohamed highlighted the ongoing role of the “UAE Year of” initiative, launched in 2015, in connecting everyone who calls the UAE home with the country’s national priorities. Through the Year of the Family 2026, the initiative will spotlight the family’s central role in national life, reinforce its growth and stability, and reaffirm its position as the bedrock of social and economic prosperity.
His Highness called on all sectors — including healthcare, education, housing, economy, and media — to contribute to advancing national family initiatives and to strengthen public awareness through a unified national message that celebrates the family’s role in the nation’s development.
Concluding his remarks, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed affirmed that the growth of the family is vital to both the present and the future of the UAE, expressing confidence that, through collective responsibility, collaboration, and shared awareness, the nation can achieve its aspirations in ways that uphold its values, identity, and social cohesion.
Attending the session were H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; H.H. Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman; H.H. Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor to the UAE President.
Also present were H.H. Sheikha Maryam bint Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairperson of the Education and Human and Community Development Council; H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority; Her Excellency Sana bint Mohammed Suhail, Minister of Family; along with a number of Sheikhs, ministers, senior officials, and specialists in family development and social policy.
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