H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum chose the ‘Mother’ to be the focus of Dubai Shopping Festival for the year 2000 and many past festivals because he realizes and acknowledges a ‘mother’s’ essential role in bringing up our next generation. In order to choose the ideal mother of the year, the following criteria were taken into consideration:

1. Personal – Concentrates on family relationships, self confidence and continuous self - improvement.
2. Social – Concentrates on the family’s relationship with others in the society.
3. Family – The family’s relationship with in laws.
4. Educational – The mother’s level of education and the way she portrays its importance to her children.

After all criteria were taken into consideration with hundreds of applicants, the finalists were narrowed to 4 mothers and 4 families. Those families and mothers were visited and one ideal mother as well as an ideal family were chosen.

Dr. Nadia Buhannad
Source: Al Khaleej