Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak is chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council
November 25, 2021
Human civilisation has existed in what is now the UAE for millennia. On December 2, 2021, the country will mark a milestone – the Golden Jubilee, 50 years since the founding of our nation.
This occasion will be commemorated with a series of celebrations that will bring us together as one, united community. Whether we are leaders, citizens, or residents of the UAE, whether we have been here for months or for decades, our 50th National Day is a landmark event for us all. It is an opportunity to reflect on how much we have been able to accomplish thus far, and to fix our gaze on the nation’s ambitious and exciting horizons.
This was the vision of our Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed. His vision for the UAE always encompassed constant innovation and progress, built on a tightly knit and welcoming community. These values remain foundational to the UAE’s past development and future goals across the diverse strategic areas that make up the UAE Centennial 2071 plan, and they are embodied in the recently announced 10 principles to govern this growth.
The first principle prioritises the strength of our union, while the second invites us “to completely focus on building the best and most dynamic economy in the world”. Every sector and industry has its role to play in turning this principle into a reality.
My belief is that investing in the UAE’s creativity, culture and heritage industries is vital for socioeconomic development and for creating sustainable opportunities for our next and future generations. Abu Dhabi initiated an investment strategy of more than AED 30 billion into its creative and cultural industries (CCI) five years ago. We are already seeing incredible returns in the strength and vibrancy of the emirate’s creative and cultural ecosystem – from preserving and revitalising important heritage architecture like Qasr Al Hosn and Bait Mohammed bin Khalifa, to delivering major cultural institutions like Louvre Abu Dhabi and attracting blockbuster global film productions like Mission: Impossible and Dune. In fact, today marks the release of Image Nation Abu Dhabi's Al Kameen, the largest Arabic-language feature film ever produced in the GCC.
With the majority of the CCI investment still to be rolled out over the next five years, the growth of this sector will soon accelerate even further, with the launch of major entities like the Creative Media Authority, which will oversee and enable the creative industries, and Yas Creative Hub, a purpose-built new home for creative businesses and entrepreneurs. In keeping with the values of the 50th anniversary, the Zayed National Museum, which will tell our nation’s story to the world, the Abrahamic Family House, which celebrates diversity and understanding, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, with its collection of transnational Modern and Contemporary art, are well underway.
Maintaining a deep connection with our ancient roots while embracing innovation and new thinking is the defining characteristic of the UAE – an approach that has seen the nation inscribe four Unesco World Heritage Sites and more than 10 Intangible Cultural Heritage traditions, while also becoming the first Arab nation to reach Mars through a ground-breaking space programme.
Hollywood blockbuster 'Dune' was filmed in Abu Dhabi. AP
Maintaining a deep connection with our roots while embracing new thinking is the defining characteristic of the UAE
This integration of tradition and progress is inherent to the CCI, a naturally multidisciplinary sector, and we are fully embracing it as the emirate continues to develop as a regional centre for all forms of culture and creativity. For example, establishing the Creative Media Authority will enable DCT Abu Dhabi to combine traditional cultural fields such as heritage, crafts and design, publishing, performing arts and visual arts, with multidisciplinary domains like film and TV production, popular music, gaming and e-sports.
I am particularly excited about our initiatives to support innovation-centric sectors like video game development. They offer an opportunity to tell engaging stories by and from the region, and even more importantly, open a new range of career paths for young people. For example, through a partnership with Unity Technologies, we are training students to code and create real-time 3D models that can be used to develop apps and games, while more than 200 aspiring filmmakers have been mentored to write or direct award-winning short films in Abu Dhabi’s Arab Film Studio.
Through our CCI investment, Abu Dhabi is expecting to create thousands of sustainable new career opportunities, attracting global talent while upskilling our population of residents. We are working hard to make sure it is easier than ever to start a creative business and access the support and talent needed for long-term success.
Our committed efforts in these areas aim to primarily benefit the young talent who choose to call the UAE home. This is how we are building capacity and turning Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE into a leading global destination for the next generation of creative professionals.
These industries are powered by the human imagination – creativity and innovation are sparked in pioneering young minds, with fresh, open perspectives on the world’s urgent and complex issues. They help to bridge conversations across industries, addressing critical topics like social integration, employment, education and climate change. We must meet these challenges with the inspired and lateral thinking that creative and cultural professionals utilise every day, echoing similar conversations taking place in schools, universities, workplaces, living rooms and majlises across the UAE.
Despite the challenges of the past two years, young people across our region are optimistic for the future, with more than 60 per cent, according to the latest Arab Youth Survey, believing their best days are still to come. I see it as our collective responsibility as leaders to rise to the challenge, creating opportunities for our future generations to thrive, express themselves and develop their careers in a sustainable economy. Investing in accelerating our cultural, creative and heritage industries is vital to realising this goal.
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), AshfaqAhmed, GhulamShabber, RameezShahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, AhmedRaza, Imran Haider, QadeerAhmed, Mohammed Naveed, AmirHayat, Zahoor Khan
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.”
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
