Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Dubai Culture, has revealed details of five priority sectoral pillars that are key to driving the realization of its recently-announced Six-Year Strategic Roadmap. The strategic pillars focus on supporting and inspiring local and international creative talent; ensuring art and creativity is available for everyone everywhere; supporting the growth of the creative sector across Dubai as a key contributor to Dubai's economic growth; enhancing Dubai's position on the global cultural map; and celebrating and safeguarding the Emirate's cultural heritage, with the overarching aim of positioning Dubai as a global center for culture, an incubator for creativity and a thriving hub for talent. It also seeks to create ‘the fastest route to recovery' for Dubai's cultural industry from the damage caused by COVID-19. The announcement of the strategic road map followed the approval of its new direction by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, and in alignment with the continuous encouragement and support of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairperson of the Dubai Culture, launched the strategic road map that outlines the key pillars that activate the Authority's mandated role as a policy-maker and planner, regulator, enabler and operator. Its road map also seeks to facilitate the Authority's pivotal role in promoting the development and sustainability of the city's cultural ecosystem and creative economy. Hala Badri, director general of Dubai Culture, said: "Dubai Culture seeks, through its strategic roadmap, to consolidate the pivotal role that the authority plays in supporting the government's efforts in stimulating the economic growth of the Emirate of Dubai. "By developing an integrated creative ecosystem with a strong infrastructure and an effective operational framework, we believe it will leave a positive impact and an effective contribution to the emirate's gross domestic product. "Dubai Culture is also committed to developing a knowledge-based environment by discovering and supporting talent, thus laying the foundations and infrastructure that are necessary to build a thriving creative economy in Dubai. "For this, the authority seeks to collaborate with educational institutions to build and develop talent in various sectors of arts, creative and culture, and to provide them with the opportunity to obtain education, live, work and prosper in one of the safest, friendly and vibrant cities in the world." Badri added: "Dubai Culture's roadmap aims to enhance the Emirate's position as a global centre for arts and culture investing in partnerships with entities around the world that share its passion and meet with its objectives to enhance Dubai Culture's position as a leading government entity in a sector that embraces a diverse group of creative artists representing almost 200 nationalities." Badri stressed that Dubai Culture played a proactive role in the UAE soft power strategy, which aims to enhance the country's reputation on a global level as a strong, resilient nation capable of facing challenges, and by celebrating national identity, national pride and Emirati heritage spreading Emirati culture to the world. Talent & Education, the first pillar of the Authority's updated strategic road map aims to develop an environment of sustainability that encourages talent growth and builds the next generation of creative artists by integrating culture and arts in the various educational levels, developing educational programs, training workshops and vocational training that inspire a new generation of creative talent. This ecosystem provides motivating flexible policies that contribute to attracting global creative talent and support the establishment and sustainability of their businesses in Dubai. The second pillar is to enable accessibility and engagement, which aims to make culture accessible by everyone everywhere, integrating art and creativity within Dubai, and stimulating effective participation by all segments within the society, which meets the objectives of building a sustainable creative future for the Emirate. As for the third pillar, it aims at enhancing and nurturing a business environment to stimulate Dubai's creative economy by developing a platform to attract promising talent and help them flourish to make a vital contribution to the Emirate's economy. This is achieved through a strong framework of regulations and policies. In order to enhance Dubai's position as a global cultural destination, which is the fourth sectoral pillar in Dubai Culture's strategic road map, it continues to work to support cultural tourism in the Emirate by celebrating its rich heritage and distinct cultural identity and ensure this is promoted regionally and globally, which in turn, aims to attract international talent to relocate and in Dubai. Stemming from its cultural responsibility, Dubai Culture believes that preserving and safeguarding heritage is not only an initiative, but an obligation. Heritage is irreplaceable and is a country legacy that is passed from generation to generation. Preserving it should be at the forefront of local and federal agendas through key actions such as the introduction of regulations, laws or the encouragement of agencies that play key roles in raising awareness of heritage preservation. — WAM
