The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre’s Citymoov App And Active Abu Dhabi Added 2.31 Million Steps To Abu Dhabi Residents This Summer
This summer, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi witnessed an innovative approach to promoting physical activity, taking sport and movement beyond traditional spaces such as the Corniche and parks and into shopping malls that form part of residents’ everyday lives.
The pilot initiative was delivered through a collaboration between citymoov, the interactive, gamified digital platform owned by Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, and Active Abu Dhabi. The Active Abu Dhabi Move Challenge gave participants the opportunity to turn their everyday shopping trips into interactive experiences combining physical activity, exploration and engagement through a series of digital challenges designed to encourage movement in a fun and interactive way.
Throughout the challenge, participants achieved impressive results, recording 2.31 million steps and covering a total distance of 1,735 kilometres across the five participating shopping malls. The results highlight the growing interest in incorporating physical activity into daily routines through innovative and accessible approaches.
H.E. Dr Rashed Alsuwaidi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, said: “We believe that promoting physical activity is not only about providing spaces or launching initiatives, but also about creating new ways to make movement an easy and enjoyable part of everyday life. This collaboration brings physical activity closer to community members by integrating it into places they regularly visit, such as shopping malls.”
“Through the citymoov app, we leverage digital technology and gamification to turn everyday activities into opportunities for movement and engagement. Our collaboration with Active Abu Dhabi also demonstrates the importance of community partnerships in creating initiatives that can deliver a tangible impact, while supporting our shared vision of building a more active and vibrant community in Abu Dhabi.”
Unlike traditional fitness challenges, which may focus on performance and competition and often target those with higher fitness levels, the Active Abu Dhabi Move Challenge placed accessibility and inclusivity at the heart of the experience. The challenge did not require a specific level of fitness or a particular speed, nor did it rely on competition or participant rankings. Instead, it gave everyone the opportunity to participate at their own pace and according to their abilities, from completing a short workout to walking comfortably while moving between shops.
The challenge ran throughout July and August, with the citymoov app transforming shopping malls into interactive spaces that combined movement and exploration. Through location-based digital challenges, the app encouraged participants to explore their surroundings and complete simple tasks during their usual visits, allowing them to incorporate more movement into their day without having to change their routines or set aside additional time for physical activity. As a result, movement became a natural part of the everyday experience in a simple, interactive format accessible to people across the community.
Mansour Al Dhaheri, Founder of Active Abu Dhabi, said: “Our goal in launching the Active Abu Dhabi Move Challenge was to make physical activity more accessible and less constrained by traditional barriers. Our collaboration with citymoov gave us the opportunity to turn this goal into a real-life experience that community members could enjoy as part of their daily routines. It has been particularly encouraging to see how a familiar place such as a shopping mall can be transformed into a destination that encourages movement, exploration and engagement.”
This experience highlights the importance of developing initiatives that respond to community needs and align with people’s lifestyles, making physical activity an accessible choice for everyone rather than an activity limited to a particular group. This collaboration represents an important step towards developing more community-based initiatives that encourage people across Abu Dhabi to adopt more active lifestyles.
To ensure the campaign reached as many residents as possible across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, five shopping malls were selected to host citymoov challenges: Al Dhafra Mall, Al Foah Mall, Al Wahda Mall, Dalma Mall and Al Khalidiyah Mall.
Shopping malls were selected as challenge destinations because they are part of residents’ daily routines and places they regularly visit, making it possible to incorporate movement and physical activity into their usual activities in a natural and accessible way. Participation therefore did not require people to set aside additional time or make a special trip. Instead, residents could make use of their everyday shopping visits to take part in the challenges and discover new ways to add more movement to their day.
To keep the experience fresh and encourage continued participation, new challenges were launched through the citymoov app at the five locations every two weeks throughout the campaign, giving participants the opportunity to try a variety of activities and maintain their enthusiasm for taking part.
Participants also had the opportunity to win one of 20 prizes throughout the challenge, adding a light competitive element to an initiative primarily focused on encouraging residents to incorporate movement into their daily routines and establish more regular and sustainable physical activity habits.
With the Active Abu Dhabi Move Challenge now concluded for the summer, the movement experience continues through the citymoov app, which is available to download for free via the App Store and Google Play. With new challenges launched every week, the app continues to offer a simple and flexible way for residents to incorporate more movement into their daily lives throughout the year, at a pace that works for them.
The collaboration between citymoov and Active Abu Dhabi demonstrates how public health platforms and community initiatives can work together to create experiences that make physical activity more accessible and closer to people’s everyday lives. By making use of places residents already visit, everyday activities can be transformed into opportunities for movement, encouraging individuals to build healthy and sustainable habits, one step and one challenge at a time.
