‘Search for the value in criticism’: five minutes with UAE’s Heba AlSamt
The awaan manager at Dubai Media Incorporated tells Global Government Forum about the draw of the civil service, venturing outside your comfort zone and UAE’s ‘Projects of the 50’
What drew you to a career in the civil service?
The civil service allows me to work for my country and its citizens. It offers an attractive and challenging career to ambitious graduates and trainees in a wide variety of roles.
What have you achieved in your career that you’re most proud of?
Establishing and managing an integrated digital media department in a leading government incorporated, managing social media accounts, websites and an online video on demand platform.
What barriers or challenges have you overcome in your career?
I have faced challenges that have threatened to take me off ‘my game’ but have had the confidence to get comfortable with those challenges and to overcome them. I am clear on my purpose and on what I am trying to achieve.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your working life?
Venture outside of your comfort zone, think of yourself as a lifelong learner, and search for the value in feedback and criticism.
Which country’s government or civil service are you most inspired by and why?
Austria, which ranks highly in the World Bank’s Government Effectiveness Index.
Are there any projects or innovations in the UAE that might be valuable to your peers overseas?
UAE’s ‘Projects of the 50’ initiatives. [These are a series of developmental and economic projects covering sectors such as space and advanced technologies that aim to transform UAE into a hub for talent and investment].
What attributes do you most value in people?
Humility and the ability to accept and love ourselves the way we are, without pretensions. Also, the ability to learn – and not just in a pure-knowledge way but in a life changing way.
Is there something about you that people find surprising?
How calm and patient I am.
What is your favourite thing to do at the weekend?
Spend it with my daughter.
Who is your hero?
My father has always been and will always be my hero.
Read more from our ‘Five minutes with’ series:
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‘Great projects are being pushed out slowly and quietly’: five minutes with… Iceland’s Vigdís Jóhannsdóttir
‘They call it public service for a reason; you are serving something that is bigger than yourself’: five minutes with Stephen Burt, chief data officer of Canada
About Mia Hunt
Mia has been editor of globalgovernmentforum.com since 2019. She has 15 years’ experience as a journalist and editor and specialises in writing for civil and public servants worldwide, including covering sustainability policy and related issues. She has led the Global Government Women’s Network since it launched in 2023. Previously, she covered commercial property having been market reports and supplements editor at Property Week and deputy editor at Retail Destination. She graduated from Kingston University London with a first-class honours degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
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