Dubai: The overwhelming response to the launch of the #MyDubai initiative during its first week has led to the creation of an online museum, which will showcase the lives of Dubai’s residents and visitors through images, videos and stories.
#MyDubai was announced on January 5 by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, with a request on his Instagram and Twitter accounts for residents and visitors to share compelling moments of their lives during 2014 by using the hashtag #MyDubai.
The request has resulted in more than 75,000 photo and video submissions on Instagram, more than 27,000 Twitter mentions, and 198 million Twitter impressions in its first week.
The #MyDubai e-Museum will be housed on @MyDubai — the official Instagram and Twitter pages for the initiative — and was launched on Monday with a selection of 25 images drawn from the 75,000 already submitted, which show the diversity of life in the emirate.
The #MyDubai e-Museum is the first of a number of projects which will combine to create the multi-media autobiography and will be managed by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Every week throughout the year 10 images submitted on the #MyDubai hashtag will be selected to join the museum’s ‘collection’ and shown on www.instagram.com/mydubai while www.twitter.com/mydubai will exhibit a selection of articles, stories, images and videos.
Announcing the #MyDubai e-Museum, Helal Saeed Al Merri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: “The response from residents and visitors during the first week of #MyDubai has been remarkable. The submissions have shown the passion that people have for our emirate and the very different ways people experience the city through the lives they lead.”
He added that DTCM is working with a number of partner organisations and governmental departments on other #MyDubai projects, which will harness the creativity within the emirate and provide further channels through which to tell the stories of residents and visitors.
“Together with the photos, videos and stories we receive via the hashtag #MyDubai, these projects will combine to create the world’s first autobiography of a city, told through a broad range of media and channels.”
The diversity of the subject matter shown in the 75,000 instagram submissions demonstrates the different facets of life in Dubai with common themes for the week from January 5-12, which include family activities, scenic imagery, iconic buildings and the Dubai Shopping Festival.
