Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid: Dubai successfully overcomes challenges and prepares with determination and ambition for the UAE Golden Jubilee

• Dubai Design Week cement Dubai as a leading platform for innovators.

• Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and a member of the Dubai Council

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Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, head of the Culture and Arts Authority in Dubai and a member of the Dubai Council, said, "Dubai has proven - and its cultural and creative scene - that it enjoys high flexibility and determination to face difficulties." Her Highness added, "In light of the gains and successes that have been achieved, I believe that we have overcome the crisis that swept the whole world during the year 2020 in the best possible way." "The cultural and creative community has found creative and innovative solutions quickly capable of addressing the concerns of institutions, artists, emerging companies, and others," Her Highness added in an article about Dubai's preparation with determination and ambition for the UAE Golden Jubilee. And that «the local cultural scene showed with its high resolve that the exit from the current situation lies in concerted efforts, and this was evident during the crisis, which confirmed that overcoming challenges can only be achieved by cooperation between creators, institutions, companies and governments.

“With the beginning of each year, hopes and aspirations are renewed and enthusiasm revitalized in a spirit filled with optimism, positivity and vitality, and the cultural community in the Emirate of Dubai was looking forward to the year 2020 as a new milestone to complete its rich journey and seize the promising opportunities that it will carry with it with wide horizons, as the emirate was preparing to host an Expo 2020 Dubai, the major event that brings together the world and all peoples, and is organized for the first time in an Arab country.

But we, suddenly and without prior warning, are facing a completely new reality that has formed new dimensions, accompanied by exceptional experiences, challenges and opportunities that have occurred on the public scene at an accelerated pace and at a rhythm that we have not experienced before.

A new reality

The Covid-19 pandemic has frozen long hopes and placed the world under the weight of a new reality that may last for years.

In view of the creative societies around the world, a large segment of artists, institutions and cultural destinations have been affected, which incurred great losses due to the closure measures and restrictions imposed on movement, and likewise many small art spaces were affected, as many of them were forced to close their doors to visitors permanently.

Despite all this, Dubai - and its cultural and creative scene - has proven to be extremely resilient and persistent in facing difficulties.

In light of the achievements and successes achieved, I believe that we have overcome the crisis that swept the whole world during the year 2020 in the best possible way, as the cultural and creative community has found creative and innovative solutions quickly that are able to address the concerns of institutions, artists, emerging companies and others.

The local cultural scene showed with its high resolve that the exit from the current situation lies in concerted efforts, and this was evident during the crisis, which confirmed that overcoming challenges can only be achieved through cooperation between creators, institutions, companies and governments.

Several initiatives Several initiatives have

been launched aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the creative sector, including the Rapid Response Program from the "Art Jameel Platform for Research and Art Practices", which provided support for independent artists, curators and writers in the Middle East and North Africa, and aims to ensure the continuity of artistic productions and practices among the circles. Creators and artists in the region whose projects have been damaged by the repercussions of the Covid-19 crisis.

In the same context, the "Pay It Forward" program, presented by Alserkal Avenue, witnessed the concerted efforts of more than 50 institutions to support each other, the art scene and the local community as a whole.

As for literature, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature was launched in its new look to adapt to the current situation amid the spread of the pandemic, by presenting virtual and actual sessions and events.

During the year, we witnessed the success of digital platforms and tools and their ability to support many galleries and other artistic and creative institutions, enabling them together to expand their presence and continue their interaction with the public.

Exhibitions

The Dubai Design Week and the Global Graduate Exhibition are the best example of the flexibility and ambitious vision of the design sector in Dubai. With Dubai Design Week, we witnessed the return of the first design event in the world to be actually held after the closure period, accompanied by remarkable developments, which made it a reference and a model among the most important events Design is universal thanks to its advanced stages of artistic and creative maturity, and superior content and outstanding planning that was presented through it.

In addition, Dubai Design Week provided an exceptional opportunity for talents from the UAE and the Middle East region to showcase their creativity, cementing Dubai's position as a leading platform for creatives.

We also witnessed the launch of the first edition of the "Middle East and North Africa Graduate Exhibition", which featured 50 distinguished projects designed by promising talents from the region, while the global edition of the exhibition saw the selection of 90 projects within its Entrepreneurship Program, which is the largest number of projects. Absolutely on the candidate list for the Support, Development and Implementation Program since the launch of this initiative.

Response and initiatives

As for the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, we have been able to transform challenges into opportunities very quickly, as the spread of the pandemic has accelerated our response to the needs of the sector.

Last April, we launched, in cooperation with Art Dubai, the “Dubai Ideas Marathon” initiative, through which we invited all stakeholders in the cultural sector to participate with innovative proposals and ideas in order to address the challenges facing the creative community today, while keeping pace with and meeting the needs of tomorrow.

This initiative constituted the first of many other endeavors and campaigns in support of the sector that we launched during 2020 and a road map for our upcoming plans aimed at achieving a quantum leap that would change the cultural scene in Dubai.

During the first weeks of the pandemic, we launched a series of virtual tours in museums and cultural monuments in cooperation with the "Dubai 360" platform, which was included in the remote educational curricula in Dubai schools, with the participation of more than 11,000 students from 94 public and private schools. .

And because we learned from the school of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, "may God protect him", that life does not stop at any challenge, but rather continues with hard work, determination and determination to achieve our goals without complacency, the pandemic has not stopped us from Continuing to work on our long-term cultural vision to support and enhance the creative sector in the emirate, and through the strategic roadmap that we announced last July, which extends over a period of six years, we focused in our goals on supporting and enabling the creative environment in Dubai by developing policies and facilitating measures to ensure the environment Fertile growth of talent, and the creation of the "fastest path to recovery" in the cultural sector.

Therefore, last year we launched and supported several rapid recovery initiatives in cooperation with various cultural entities in Dubai.

Among these projects is our cooperation with the social networking platform "LinkedIn" with the aim of supporting creative talents through multiple initiatives. The educational resources program was the first of these initiatives, as it provided training and learning opportunities across various topics that help creative people to hone life and business skills through administrative and business courses. Development of specialized skills.

The project continues to be successful, with nearly two thousand creatives registered for more than 11,130 comprehensive training courses.

It was important for me to hear firsthand about the impact on the sector and the innovators who work in it, so I embarked on a series of visits and meetings with individuals and institutions across the various sectors of design, literature and art.

During this period, I met with many specialists and chatted with them about various topics, which allowed us to learn more about the challenges and opportunities resulting from the spread of this pandemic.

The perspectives we extracted from our meetings are the core of our future planning continuity.

“Dubai Collectibles” and

as we start 2021, I look forward to the first phase of the launch of “Dubai Collectibles” - the initiative launched in the last quarter of last year under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE Ruler, who He remains the primary supporter of the cultural sector in Dubai and the UAE.

"Dubai Collectibles" aims to redefine the concept of caring for the arts in all its forms, and will present a new, unique and globally unique system for displaying and managing artistic collections and valuable collectibles in the emirate, in pursuit of our ambition to encourage creative Emirati artists and residents in the country, and creators from around the world As well as encouraging art exhibitions and individuals and institutions collecting artworks, and creating a legacy of artistic works that can be used in holding specialized international exhibitions, whether inside or outside the country.

Effective solutions

We are undoubtedly in agreement that the creative sector plays a crucial role in our daily lives. It has been a haven for people during times of isolation and the monotony of waiting during lockdown periods.

Therefore, we will continue to communicate with this sector and find effective solutions to enrich the cultural and creative scene in Dubai, and I look forward to taking serious steps in developing a pioneering cultural sector and continuing our journey in 2021, leading to the golden jubilee of the founding of the United Arab Emirates. ”

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