Creative, cultural talent in Hatta to get a huge boost

Dubai: Residents and businesses in Dubai’s Hatta region involved in the creative and cultural sectors will get support for upskilling and turning projects into reality, under a new plan announced on Tuesday.

Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) has partnered with Dubai Holding in the initiatives, which includes ‘in5’, a platform for entrepreneurs and start-ups that is part of Dubai Holding. The collaboration is aimed at supporting businesses and emerging companies in Dubai and the UAE through programmes and training courses in design, media, and technology. In5 will provide a system to enable the local Hatta community to develop talent and create commercial projects.

The plan is in line with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to comprehensively develop the Hatta region.

Educational opportunities

Dubai Culture also aims to establish a partnership with Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (a not-for-profit education institution) to explore educational opportunities in design and fashion for budding creative design talent from Hatta. The institute is said to be the first non-profit establishment to offer a Bachelor of Design degree in the region.

Training programmes

Dubai Culture will also benefit from the training programmes provided by The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, which belongs to Jumeirah Group, a Dubai Holding company. The programmes focused on the hospitality sector will prepare the youth of Hatta to lead and represent their community at “the highest professional levels” and enable them to become hospitality ambassadors for Hatta and reinforce they city’s position as one of Dubai’s most prominent tourist destinations.

‘School of Life’

As part of the collaboration, Shaikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also launched the first ‘School of Life’ in Hatta Library. This is the first among the Schools of Life that Dubai Culture plans to develop in Dubai, in line with the new cultural vision of Shaikh Mohammed in 2019. The vision aims to transform the main public libraries in Dubai into cultural centres called ‘Schools of Life’ to build cultural, artistic, creative, and life skills for the future generation, adults, and people of determination in Dubai.

It aims to provide relevant content in different languages to expand the scope of interest among its citizens and residents and nurture their knowledge about life in the emirate. As part of this initiative, the Hatta Library will be transformed into an integrated cultural centre that will help build the skills of members of the Hatta community through clubs for reading, writing, calligraphy and drawing, programmes for developing ideas and managing savings and investments, classes in etiquette, and handicrafts, as well as programmes to incubate entrepreneurial and creative projects.

Heritage Village

Within the framework of the collaboration, Dubai Holding will provide support through its retail teams to generate ideas on the best ways for Dubai Culture to develop the Hatta Heritage Village and recommend third parties who can collaborate on the project. Hatta Heritage Village seeks to showcase the UAE’s rich heritage with the aim of enhancing its position as a leading cultural destination in the region.

In addition, Dubai Holding will use its digital platforms and websites, including its social media accounts, to raise the profile of the Hatta Heritage Village and highlight the success stories of Hatta’s creative and innovative projects.

Cultural hub

Hala Badri, Director-General, Dubai Culture, said: “We seek, within our vision, to strengthen Dubai’s position as a global centre for art and culture, an incubator for creativity, and a thriving hub for talent. As the Hatta region is one of the most distinctive cultural destinations in the emirate, we are keen to adopt the most effective plans to enhance its presence both locally and globally, and to implement various programmes to promote the cultural development of Hatta.”

She added: “We wish to provide the Hatta community access to various cultural and creative platforms inside and outside the country to help them enhance their horizons in these fields. Our cooperation with Dubai Holding represents a strategic initiative, given its expertise and assets in many sectors that will support Hatta’s development in the cultural and creative domains.”

Recognising potential

Khalid Al Malik, Managing Director, Dubai Holding, said: “We are proud to be among the first to recognise Hatta’s potential and develop a number of projects that have contributed to empowering the local community, raising awareness of this remarkable destination and attracting countless visitors, under the visionary leadership of [Shaikh Mohammad]. Building on these achievements, we are proud to be partnering with Dubai Culture for the next phase of Hatta’s journey…”

High-level meeting

The cooperation follows the recent visit of Shaikha Latifa to Hatta, where she held Dubai Culture’s senior leadership meeting. During the meeting, she approved a package of initiatives aimed at supporting the Hatta region, which promises to generate numerous economic, cultural, and creative opportunities. During her tour of the region, she met with senior management representatives of Dubai Holding and explored with them the prospects for developing the cultural and creative community in the region and supporting its pioneers as well as developing its entrepreneurial and creative talent.