UAE set to finalise 10-year plan to boost cultural revenues

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, affirmed that the ministry is in the final stages of preparing a long term strategy for the country’s cultural and creative industries (CCI).

Al Kaabi said during a keynote speech at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Summit that the strategy will consist of eight goals while about 40 initiatives will be launched during the current year, which will become “our reference road map to make the creative sector among the best economic sectors in the UAE”.

She added in comments published by state news agency WAM: “In the UAE, we have made significant strides to the country’s cultural and creative sector on a growth trajectory. As we celebrate the International Year for Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 2021, we very much look forward to working alongside our partners to make sure the CCI sector continues to grow.”

She said: “We are working on implementing several measures aimed at stimulating growth in the cultural sector, with the core objectives to set up the foundations to aggregate, measure and nurture the sector, and to ensure the provision of required policies and frameworks for a thriving cultural sector.”

Al Kaabi, pictured above, added that Dubai Expo will host The World Conference on Creative Economy in December.

Last week, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority announced that it will soon grant cultural visas to 1,000 creators and artists from across the world.

The cultural visa, launched in 2019 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, seeks to position the emirate as a global centre for culture, an incubator for creativity and a hub for talent.

The move seeks to maximise the participation of creators, writers and artists in the emirate’s knowledge-based fields and raise the role of Dubai’s cultural and creative sectors in its development process.

The long-term cultural visa is granted for 10 years to accomplished creative talent in the fields of literature, culture, fine arts, performing arts, and design, as well as those in the heritage, history and knowledge-related sectors as well as intellectual and creative industries.

Dubai boasts strong assets in the cultural sector. Its public libraries, theatres, publishing houses and operas combined with more than 135 heritage houses, three historical neighbourhoods, six archaeological sites, five creative complexes, 21 traditional markets, and 20 museums attract more than 1.6 million visitors annually.

Dubai also hosts 2,300 licensed cultural events every year.