In 2018, the heads of all cultural authorities in the UAE agreed on the importance of having a country wide cultural strategy to unite all efforts in the cultural sector of the country towards a more strategic, sustainable, and ambitious direction. The Culture Agenda 2031 is the first country-level strategy for the cultural sector in the UAE, with a roadmap of 7 strategic objectives and 75 strategic initiatives from 2018 until 2031.
Strategic objectives that support the mobility of artists are:
* Support talent in the cultural sector
* Provide high-quality cultural infrastructure
* Build a holistic and sustainable cultural ecosystem
* Introduce the concept of the cultural and creative industries in the UAE
Strategic initiatives that support the mobility of artists are:
* Study the needs of different segments of society (children, disabled, youth, elderly, residents, etc.) from the cultural sector and develop a plan to provide those needs
* Provide translation at cultural events and programs to encourage the participation of non-Arabic speakers
* Develop mechanisms to ensure that different segments of society can enjoy cultural products and spaces
* Ensure the availability of cultural outlets and programs in all areas of the country and for all
* Develop a national plan to support talent in the cultural sector
* Provide comprehensive care and support for cultural talent in all its different stages
* Provide spaces and labs to encourage cultural and artistic experimentation
* Develop a plan to collect cultural data to support planning and policy development
* Develop a funding framework to support the cultural sector
* Assess the IP system to support the cultural sector
* Establish a national committee mandated with the development of the cultural and creative sector in the country
* Develop a strategy to nurture and grow the CCI sector in the country
* Establish a sustainable cultural development fund to support individuals, entrepreneurs, and institutions
* Support the establishment of cultural markets (digital and non-digital)
* Strengthen cultural relations and exchange at the regional and international levels
Since 2018 and the launch of the Culture Agenda 2031, the cultural sector has taken deliberate steps to implement some of the initiatives, and is planning to implement the rest of the initiatives over a 10 year period.
The Culture agenda 2031 was able to put the first roadmap for the cultural sector in the UAE and unify all efforts across the country. Since 2018, many policy initiatives and programs have been successfully implemented, and others are planned for implementation over a 10 year period.
COVID-19 has changed the international narrative and the cultural sector in the UAE has had to reorder its priorities over the next few years. To ensure sustainability, continuity, and the creation of livelihoods in the cultural sector, support for the creatives will be prioritized in the next few years. A few initiatives are considered an absolute priority now, and they include:
* assessment of the IP system and its impact on the creative sector;
* policy and regulations support for freelancers and workers in the creative sector;
* ensuring a sustainable and diverse funding framework to support the creative sector.