After becoming the biggest donor of foreign aid, the UAE is now leading global efforts to protect human cultural heritage in the world. This is in line with the country’s quest to lead the way globally in safeguarding human cultural legacy.
Undoubtedly, it is a different mission, in terms of the quality of its approach and cohesiveness with the identity of peoples of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. One has to wonder: how can ideas evolve and turn into action? How do countries demonstrate their excellence by grasping and implementing ideas and following them until they prove successful? There are many examples of success stories attained by the UAE. Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi hosted the international conference ‘Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage during armed conflicts’.
Notably, the UAE capital is one of the first cities poised to be the headquarters of an international body tasked with preservation of human cultural heritage in the world. Abu Dhabi has everything going to undertake such a mission. The groundbreaking achievements, which were made in the UAE over the past two years, clearly signify this qualification. For example, the UAE issued an anti-discriminatory law that criminalises the defamation of religions and racial discrimination and speeches of hate. It is the first country in the Arab world to do so, making it a model of coexistence.
Another achievement is the introduction of the moral education curriculum in schools across the country (as of the 2017-2018 academic year). Also, earlier this year, Abu Dhabi celebrated the translation of 900 books from various languages and areas of knowledge under the Kalima Translation project.
The UAE has issued a Reading Law, which aims to make reading a social behaviour and a life-long process that goes beyond a mere habit. The law aims to promote reading among members of society, thus increasing the rate of social development and later contributing to consolidating the knowledge economy.
In a groundbreaking move shortly before the end of 2016, the Abu Dhabi Declaration, which was issued at the conclusion of the Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage conference, exemplified the UAE’s awareness and commitment to international issues. By adopting the Declaration, the UAE added a new pledge to the long list of its international responsibilities. A task of special nature, only countries with qualitative accumulated experiences are equipped to carry it out. Abu Dhabi is fully aware that such a unique task cannot be effectively executed except through the cooperation of all countries across the world and collaborative human efforts.
This was reaffirmed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in his keynote address during the conference. “Safeguarding human cultural heritage is not just the responsibility of a single society or state, but the responsibility of all governments and people of the world because what is at stake is the heritage of humanity as a whole,” Shaikh Mohammad said.
To evaluate the idea, its goals and potential outcomes, just having a general look at the map of the Arab world will determine the hotspots that are witnessing organised and systematic destruction. Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, as well as vulnerable countries such as Tunisia, are a case in point. Things might have been different if a taskforce had been established to safeguard human heritage in times of crises and wars. It would have provided safe havens for human cultural heritage in the Arab countries that experienced systematic acts of sabotage and destruction. Archaeological treasures in those countries could have been protected from looters and smugglers.
Another reason why Abu Dhabi is a strong candidate for the seat of such great human cultural heritage mission is simply because it is home to a sophisticated cultural infrastructure, supported by the latest technology. Abu Dhabi is rich in its cultural infrastructure in terms of both, social heritage — which is one of the most prominent components of the Gulf Cooperation Council identity — and also embracing of modernity and its openness to others. This is in addition to Abu Dhabi being home to the literary, art and music scenes. All these factors make Abu Dhabi a city that deserves the trust of others to carry out this mission and turn ideas into serious action programmes.
A few countries choose to take up challenging tasks and adopt effective strategies to accomplish them. The UAE is one of those countries. There are numerous people who believe that Abu Dhabi is a cosmopolitan city with full specifications and unlimited capabilities that make it the most suitable place to initiate global humanitarian tasks. The emirate’s confidence and credibility to lead in global crises is a feather in its cap. All of this makes the UAE capital uniquely positioned to lead one of the most specialised humanitarian tasks on the planet.
Mohammad Hassan Al Harbi is a renowned columnist and author whose writings cover various fields ranging from media studies to education.
