The past two years have put to the test what a creative workspace in the UAE could and should be.
For those who pined to work from home in the comfort of their idiosyncrasies, the pandemic may have been a sugar rush that ended with the aches of cabin fever and online meetings. Traditional office environments, on the other hand, never quite seem as sterile, fluorescent and labyrinthine as when emerging from a homely work den.
Then there are those who have decided, whether out of necessity or ambition, to venture out of the corporate world and work freelance but are nevertheless yearning for some sense of community.
We learn to adapt, of course, but after several workspace permutations, it’s easy to begin daydreaming about what an ideal creative environment would look like.
Twofour54 has proposed an answer with the Community Hub.
Scroll through the gallery above for more pictures of twofour54's Community Hub
The Abu Dhabi media, entertainment and gaming zone launched on Wednesday as the new collaborative space at Yas Creative Hub. It is designed to be a hub for aspiring filmmakers, gamers, animators, freelancers, content creators and start-ups.
The Community Hub includes dedicated areas for twofour54 partners AD Gaming, Arab Film Studio and Creative Lab. It features a cinema-style screening space, several workstations and meeting rooms, workshop halls as well as state-of-the-art studios for editing, sound recording and animation.
“It initially started as a co-working facility but then it grew into something so much more,” Yara Awad, from twofour54's commercial projects and strategic partnerships division, says.
“We had a co-working facility in our old space and we needed to have one here [at Yas Creative Hub]. Our partners were also looking at developing their own spaces, but then we thought a better way would be to curate a space with these partners together because it makes so much more sense to have all these different communities in one space."
Awad says having creatives with various skill levels and backgrounds working out of one hub will encourage “organic networking and career opportunities".
“By having the youth community side by side with the aspiring filmmakers, game start-ups and established businesses, as well as these open spaces where people can come in and mingle, alongside the workshops and activations, you’re able to see that whole trajectory of a creative career.”
The AD Gaming Hub will house a gaming centre established by software developer Unity Technologies where students, professionals and small businesses can learn skills to help them advance in the growing regional gaming industry. The Creative Lab and The Arab Film Studio, meanwhile, will offer internships, workshops and courses.
Nvidia is also launching a dedicated studio. The Nvidia Studio comprises 10 state-of-the-art computers equipped with the latest GeForce RTX Studio GPUs, alongside Nvidia RTX accelerated applications. This means regional content creators will benefit from smoother, faster and more efficient workflows. Nvidia will also provide a range of training sessions and workshops at the space.
There are also common spaces with cafes and arcades, alongside sections dedicated to start-up companies and another for individual members.
“Each segment was thinking about their individual community’s needs, but then we began considering the kind of common shared spaces that all of those segments will require,” Awad says. “That’s when we started developing the town hall, the screening room, breakout lounges and meeting rooms.”
Membership fees start at Dh500 ($136) a month for individual members and freelancers. Those wishing to establish a start-up through the hub can do so for Dh20,000 ($5,445) a year with a business license and allocation of two visas.
Globally, creative hubs are not a new concept. According to twofour54, more than 1.2 million people around the world were working out of creative hubs before the Covid-19 pandemic.
But Community Hub presents an inventive, promising space where it is crucially needed — and at a time when we are exploring the possibilities of workspaces designed to hearten creativity. It is made to accommodate Abu Dhabi’s creative community, accounting for some growing room as well.
“Research shows that the greatest impact starts with empowering local communities,” Mark Whitehead, chief executive officer of twofour54, said during the space’s opening.
“By introducing the Community Hub, creatives and entrepreneurs will have access to resources that will help them address tomorrow’s most pressing issues. The hub will be an engine of ideation, igniting new projects, and businesses and empowering creative talent to grow as they hone their skills side by side with like-minded peers and the industry’s best.”
LEADERBOARD
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Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
Company%20profile
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MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
Pogba 80'
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The%20specs
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Company%C2%A0profile
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company%20Profile
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The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
RoboCop%3A%20Rogue%20City
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The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
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