ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 07th Jun, 2020) Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, has participated in a remote discussion session, entitled, "The Future of Culture and Innovation Professions," organised by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation, ALECSO.
The session was attended by Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, ALECSO Director-General, Dr. Ehab Bsiso, Former Minister of Culture of Palestine and President of the Palestinian National library, and Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University, along with artists Lutfi Bushnaq and Heba Al Qawas, and film producer Nahed Farid Shawki.
During the session, the participants praised the UAE’s vision of the future of culture and innovation industries, stressing that the country leads in adopting strategies and policies for the innovation economy.
Al Kaabi stated that the culture and innovation sector has witnessed significant transformations due to ongoing technological developments, highlighting the importance of enabling cultural establishments to participate in addressing global challenges.
"The UAE realised the importance of the innovation economy and its positive effects on the overall economy. Therefore, it has invested in establishing innovation complexes that attract thousands of companies and create many thousand job opportunities, establishing a new concept of entrepreneurship in the innovation sector in the region," she said.
She noted that the development of this sector requires a robust legislative environment supported by effective government incentives and programmes, through establishing innovation incubators to develop small and medium-sized enterprises and launching promising cultural projects, saying that last year, the UAE established the Cultural and Creative Industries Council.
Al Kaabi added that talents are the foundation of the sector’s development, so they must be encouraged and supported, explaining that the Ministry of Possibilities is drafting a comprehensive roadmap, as well as policies and legislation, according to the best practices, to discover talents in schools and universities.
She also noted that Arab countries have talents in many areas, so it is essential to issue policies and legislation for employing their skills, while highlighting the importance of upgrading legislation to keep pace with modern developments, as well as establishing the framework of Arab cooperation in the culture and innovation sector.
Bushnaq said that the support of the UAE’s leadership for the cultural sector has contributed to the development of the cultural movement in general, hoping that other countries will be inspired by its experience.
Shawki praised the National Creative Relief Programme launched by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development to support talents affected by the COVID-19 crisis, noting that the UAE is the only country in the region to launch this type of programme.
The National Creative Relief Programme aims to support creatives working in the cultural and creative industries sector to face the challenges caused by COVID-19, to ensure the sustainability of cultural production in the country and cement the UAE’s position as an incubator for creativity, arts and culture.
