The floating duck comes to Dubai

A floating giant rubber duck was launched at Jetty 2 of the Dubai Creek along Al Seef Road on Sunday to create awareness on the importance of water conservation and to celebrate the UAE National Day and Dubai Expo 2020 win.

The Giant Duck will tour the UAE for over two months, during which it will dock at various locations, which remain a surprise. From Dubai, it will go to Abu Dhabi, then to Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain.

Abdullah Mohammed Al Shehi, CEO of GeoWash, an environment friendly mobile car wash service company in the UAE, said the UAE-based Giant Duck was chosen to draw awareness on water conservation. “I saw a duck in London, and to me, it gave people joy and a sense of innocence, so GeoWash in the UAE made it the symbol of its Water Conservation Mission. We want to teach children the importance of saving water,” he said.

“Our duck has nothing to do with the giant floating sculpture of Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, which has toured so many countries across the globe,” he said.

Al Shehi added that the duck, which has been globally accepted as a symbol of joy and happiness, is something new to Dubai. “As the UAE celebrates the 42nd National Day and the Expo 2020 win, the duck joins us with the message of peace and harmony.”

“The per capita consumption of water in the UAE is twice that of global average,” said Al Shehi. To help the UAE become more efficient in the use of water resources, a behavioural change is needed in terms of residents’ usage of water and this is what we are trying to advocate through this campaign,” he added.

lily@khaleejtimes.com