Dubai Culture organises Cultural Economy session

The Literature Department at Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts, heritage, and literature, organised a panel discussion on cultural economy at Dubai Design District. During the session, which was held on 10thDecember 2018. Participants addressed a number of themes, focussing mainly on the role that culture plays in strengthening the national economy.

The session, which was conducted by Dr Majid Bouchleibi, writer and publisher Jamal Al Shehhi, and was moderated by Hoda Yafie and featured discussions in which participants addressed best methods to promote national economy by benefiting from the opportunities that the culture and literature sector could provide while also establishing relevant projects capable of attracting resources and stimulating investors to support these projects economically.

Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General of Dubai Culture, said: “Our wise leadership encourages economic diversification to boost national income resources. Culture and literature can become innovative sectors capable of supporting the national economy through benefiting from the experiences of other countries that are visited by millions of tourists wishing to attend and keep up with cultural events. From our end, Dubai Culture has launched a number of initiatives in various areas such as design, craftsmanship, and Islamic creative economy, encouraging young people to explore them. The launch of projects based on cultural innovation contributes to enhancing the identity of the Emirate as an incubator of talent and establishing its position among the world's cities that are able to provide the diverse opportunities and experiences for residents and visitors to spread happiness and positivity.”

Alongside the panel, the ‘UAE Pioneers’ band, which comprises four artists from the UAE who are considered the country’s pioneering musicians, performed various musical plays.

The participants' discussed the definition of cultural economy and highlighted its areas while also identifying the steps and trends that enable the region to revitalise its economy through the development of various cultural, literary projects, and initiatives. 

The panellists spoke about the expected role of government entities when it comes to supporting cultural economy, the need to invest on culture, the direct and indirect economic returns from culture, and the role of culture in changing individuals’ habits to revive the economy as well as the importance of spreading awareness in the community about all aspects of cultural economy.

Dubai Culture aims to enhance Dubai’s cultural scene and draw attention to the UAE’s rich heritage. The Authority’s mandate is to build bridges of constructive dialogue between different civilisations and cultures to enhance Dubai's position as a creative and sustainable global city for culture, heritage, arts, and literature, with the aim to empower these sectors by developing creative and innovative projects and initiatives locally, regionally, and globally.