Latifa bint Mohammed announces Six-Year Strategic Roadmap for Dubai Culture

Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), announced the launch of Dubai Culture’s Six-Year Strategic Roadmap, which has the overarching aim of positioning Dubai as a global centre for culture, an incubator for creativity and a thriving hub for talent.

This new Roadmap seeks to create ‘the fastest route to recovery’ for Dubai’s cultural industry from the COVID-19 crisis. Following the approval of its new direction by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, and in alignment with the continuous encouragement and support of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, ‘Dubai Culture’ submitted the new Strategic Roadmap under the supervision of the Authority’s Chairperson HH Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to The Executive Council of Dubai.

The Roadmap outlines the key pillars to fully empower the Authority as a regulator and facilitator of the cultural and creative sector. It also seeks to facilitate the Authority’s pivotal role in promoting the development and sustainability of the city’s cultural ecosystem and creative economy.

Her Highness said: “The six-year Roadmap announced by Dubai Culture sets out a clear path for realising the ambitious vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into a prominent international cultural centre. The Roadmap creates a framework for effectively mitigating the impact of challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis on the cultural industry. I’m confident our team, along with our partners and cultural and creative professionals, will succeed in achieving all elements of our mandate as policymakers, regulators, enablers, operators, and champions of the cultural and creative sector in Dubai.”

“By ensuring the highest levels of security and confidence and establishing the safety standards and support necessary to protect the creative industry and help it flourish beyond this crisis, we will continue to work towards fulfilling our objective of enhancing the well-being and happiness of the people of Dubai through culture, creativity and the arts.” 

"The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority is tasked with the clear and critical responsibility of fostering the local ecosystem for industry professionals, talent, youth, and cultural audiences. The creative sector is a crucial contributor to a country’s GDP as well as its global reputation and will play a role in our rapid recovery from this global pandemic.” 

“This year will see us cascading the strategy across the Authority and preparing the internal and external infrastructure to support the delivery of Dubai Culture’s Roadmap.”

The strategy map was developed following several interactive workshops held by Dubai Culture to review the strategy and lay the foundations for the cultural industry’s development. The workshops brought together senior leaders from the Authority’s management as well as industry stakeholders and strategic partners representing government entities, the industry and the private sector. The Roadmap, which is in line with the theme of the year ‘2020: Towards the Next 50’, aims to stimulate and consolidate Dubai’s global cultural status. The workshops discussed strategic performance indicators and targets; programmes and initiatives to achieve Dubai’s cultural goals; preparations for the future and the transformation of the cultural sector; and the Authority’s role in promoting the sector’s growth.

These efforts are in line with Dubai Culture’s commitment to empower the art and culture community and help achieve the emirate’s vision to become the happiest city in the world. The Authority seeks to take strong measures to help the sector navigate the current crisis and develop solutions to ease the challenges faced by creatives, professionals and industry players. The Roadmap complements initiatives announced by Dubai Culture at the end of 2019 including the world's first long-term cultural visa to attract innovators, artists, and authors, and the seventh edition of Dubai Art Season.