While fireworks marked UAE National Day celebrations across the seven emirates, search giant Google partnered with the National Archives of the Emirates to bring alive the patriotic feeling of the Emiratis on its Google Homepage.
The standard multi colored Google logo was replaced with the four colors of the UAE National Flag with the historical Abu Dhabi Fort Qasr Al Hosn replacing the two ‘o’s in Google. Clicking on the doodle, takes you to the latest news on UAE National Day. In the past too, the search engine paid tribute to National Day with Doodles displaying camels, flags and eagles.
This year it not only displayed the historical Fort on its Doodle but also partnered with the National Archives of the Emirates to celebrate the creation of the country. It launched a digital exhibit displaying the history of the United Arab Emirates. The online exhibit comprised of never-seen-before pictures, videos and moments of the UAE’s unification. This is the first time that the UAE Foundation moments were made accessible to the people online.
Tarek Abdalla, Head of Marketing at Google, MENA said, “Launching the national archives of the UAE on the cultural institute platform is in line with our broader mission to make information more accessible. The UAE’s National Archives has a wealth of important material that people can explore.”
Some of the highlights of the exhibit are the signing of the Declaration of the Union on December 2, 1971 by the UAE’s founding fathers including Sheikh Zayed, the first flag-hoisting and the gathering of the UAE rulers outside the Guest Palace in Dubai.
