UAE’s creative economy enters new phase with CCI National Strategy

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, underlined that the National Strategy for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Dubai on December 4, establishes a new phase in the future of the creative economy and lays down strong foundations to enhance the contribution of the cultural and creative sector to achieve sustainable development.

It aims to enhance the UAE’s position as a global destination to attract creatives and talents and enable an ecosystem ensuring sustainability, efficiency and quality. In a press conference hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Youth on December 5, Al Kaabi revealed that the strategy is closely linked to the 10 Principles of the 50 that will chart the course of the UAE in the next 50 years and highlights the UAE’s pivotal role in empowering and inspiring creative human competencies. It contributes to the UAE being an attractive destination for innovators and creators in the creative fields.

The emphasis is on attracting talent and innovators from around the world and providing the right environment to establish and develop their projects in the UAE. “We have developed strategic indicators that we aspire to achieve in the next 10 years, as we will promote cultural and creative industries, increase their size and potential, to be among the top 10 economic industries in the country,” Al Kaabi said. “We will increase the contribution of the cultural and creative industries sector to 5 per cent of GDP, raise the average income of workers in this sector, raise the average spending of families on cultural and creative goods and services, and we will double the number of enterprises operating in these industries, the number of jobs they provide, and also increase the volume of exports of cultural and creative products and services,” she added.

 Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth.

The CCI National Strategy consolidates efforts at the federal and local levels to achieve the objectives of institutions operating in this sector, in partnership with the government and private sectors, educational institutions and public interest institutions. The Ministry of Culture and Youth works through an integrated working system, comprising several government agencies to implement this strategy in accordance with agendas to build a modern creative economy. The Ministry has partnered with several Federal partners to implement the strategy, including the Ministry of Education; Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Community Development; Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology; Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratisation and Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center.

At the local level, each of the seven Emirates is represented by governing bodies such as Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi; Dubai Culture; Sharjah Department of Culture; Department of Antiquities and Museums – Ras Al Khaimah; Department of Tourism and Archeology – Umm Al Quwain; Department of Tourism Development – Ajman and Fujairah Culture and Media Authority. According to the Ministry, UAE’s CCI consists of the ideation, creation, production, distribution and dissemination of goods and services of creative expression and cultural preservation that generate and sustain socio-economic impact. They comprise six main sectors, including cultural and natural heritage, books and press, performing arts and celebration, audiovisual and interactive media, visual arts and crafts and design and creative services. They are further divided into more than 25 sub-sectors. The strategy aims to increase the socioeconomic impact and value of the cultural and creative industries sector in the UAE.

It includes several criteria, including the sector’s contribution to the GDP; the number of enterprises and their classification in terms of size; the number of job opportunities provided by the sector in relation to the total job opportunities in the country; the average spending of families on goods and services related in the field, and the return on investment in the sector. To achieve the goals, the strategy has 40 initiatives across three main segments covering talents and creatives; professionals and business environment and enablement of the business environment. They include 16 initiatives aimed at talents and creatives; 10 initiatives for professionals and the business environment and 14 initiatives for enabling the business environment. A first-of-its-kind in the Arab and Gulf region, the strategy strengthens the UAE’s position on the global cultural creativity map and enhances its position in global competitiveness indices.

It also seeks to bolster the UAE’s position as an attractive destination for creative innovators from around the world, by cultivating a thriving ecosystem for talents and innovators to establish and develop their innovative projects in the UAE. The strategy aims to promote the cultural and creative sector and empower the creatives and talents working to secure a place among the top ten industries in the nation. The contribution of the sector is expected to contribute 5 per cent of the national GDP over the next decade. The strategy also aims to double the number of enterprises operating in the sector in addition to the number of jobs they provide, while raising the average income of its employees the average spending of families on cultural and creative goods and services and increasing the volume of exports of cultural and creative products and services.Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

SHARJAH: Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, underlined that the National Strategy for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Dubai on December 4, establishes a new phase in the future of the creative economy and lays down strong foundations to enhance the contribution of the cultural and creative sector to achieve sustainable development. It aims to enhance the UAE’s position as a global destination to attract creatives and talents and enable an ecosystem ensuring sustainability, efficiency and quality.

In a press conference hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Youth on December 5, Al Kaabi revealed that the strategy is closely linked to the 10 Principles of the 50 that will chart the course of the UAE in the next 50 years and highlights the UAE’s pivotal role in empowering and inspiring creative human competencies. It contributes to the UAE being an attractive destination for innovators and creators in the creative fields. The emphasis is on attracting talent and innovators from around the world and providing the right environment to establish and develop their projects in the UAE.

"We have developed strategic indicators that we aspire to achieve in the next 10 years, as we will promote cultural and creative industries, increase their size and potential, to be among the top 10 economic industries in the country,” Al Kaabi said.

“We will increase the contribution of the cultural and creative industries sector to 5 per cent of GDP, raise the average income of workers in this sector, raise the average spending of families on cultural and creative goods and services, and we will double the number of enterprises operating in these industries, the number of jobs they provide, and also increase the volume of exports of cultural and creative products and services,” she added.

The CCI National Strategy consolidates efforts at the federal and local levels to achieve the objectives of institutions operating in this sector, in partnership with the government and private sectors, educational institutions and public interest institutions.

The Ministry of Culture and Youth works through an integrated working system, comprising several government agencies to implement this strategy in accordance with agendas to build a modern creative economy.

The Ministry has partnered with several Federal partners to implement the strategy, including the Ministry of Education; Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Community Development; Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology; Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratisation and Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center. At the local level, each of the seven Emirates is represented by governing bodies such as Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi; Dubai Culture; Sharjah Department of Culture; Department of Antiquities and Museums – Ras Al Khaimah; Department of Tourism and Archeology – Umm Al Quwain; Department of Tourism Development – Ajman and Fujairah Culture and Media Authority.

According to the Ministry, UAE’s CCI consists of the ideation, creation, production, distribution and dissemination of goods and services of creative expression and cultural preservation that generate and sustain socio-economic impact.

They comprise six main sectors, including cultural and natural heritage, books and press, performing arts and celebration, audiovisual and interactive media, visual arts and crafts and design and creative services. They are further divided into more than 25 sub-sectors. The strategy aims to increase the socioeconomic impact and value of the cultural and creative industries sector in the UAE. It includes several criteria, including the sector’s contribution to the GDP; the number of enterprises and their classification in terms of size; the number of job opportunities provided by the sector in relation to the total job opportunities in the country; the average spending of families on goods and services related in the field, and the return on investment in the sector.

To achieve the goals, the strategy has 40 initiatives across three main segments covering talents and creatives; professionals and business environment and enablement of the business environment. They include 16 initiatives aimed at talents and creatives; 10 initiatives for professionals and the business environment and 14 initiatives for enabling the business environment. A first-of-its-kind in the Arab and Gulf region, the strategy strengthens the UAE’s position on the global cultural creativity map and enhances its position in global competitiveness indices.

It also seeks to bolster the UAE’s position as an attractive destination for creative innovators from around the world, by cultivating a thriving ecosystem for talents and innovators to establish and develop their innovative projects in the UAE.

The strategy aims to promote the cultural and creative sector and empower the creatives and talents working to secure a place among the top ten industries in the nation. The contribution of the sector is expected to contribute 5 per cent of the national GDP over the next decade. The strategy also aims to double the number of enterprises operating in the sector in addition to the number of jobs they provide, while raising the average income of its employees the average spending of families on cultural and creative goods and services and increasing the volume of exports of cultural and creative products and services.