About

About the Ministry

The UAE’s Ministry of Culture is guided by the noble vision of nurturing ‘Culture that Inspires the World’, aligning with the wise leadership’s ambitious aim to build a harmonious society led by patriotism, confidence in its leadership, and a commitment to positioning culture and creativity as instruments of knowledge dissemination and inclusivity. This vision also reflects the Ministry’s goal of nurturing a holistic sense of national identity rooted in Emirati cultural values, which serves as a source of inspiration for all citizens due to its distinct principles.

To realise this vision, the Ministry strives to enhance national identity, highlighting its key role in positively shaping citizens’ lives. This includes concerted efforts to protect the UAE’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage, while embedding it as an integral facet of social consciousness, through strategic national ventures, documentation and social-awareness programmes. The Ministry is also dedicated to preserving the integrity of the Arabic language through policies and initiatives that ensure its presence and use across diverse sectors.

Moreover, the Ministry has developed a national strategy for the cultural and creative industries, in partnership with various federal government entities, further underscoring this vital sector’s economic significance. This strategy is based on various key pillars, such as empowering creators, integrating them into the labour market, enhancing their business environment and attracting new talents to support the sector’s ongoing growth and enhance its contribution to the national GDP.

The Ministry further supervises operations of a range of cultural assets and centres across the country. It also organises community-based cultural initiatives and events at these venues, in addition to implementing creator empowerment and up-skilling programmes, which aim to enhance the local community’s participation in cultural and creative fields. Moreover, the Ministry represents the UAE at both regional and international cultural forums, including UN meetings, while also leading several international initiatives, such as cultural exchange programs and signing of MoUs.

Vision & Mission

Vision

Culture that inspires the world

Mission

The Ministry of Culture strives to strengthen the UAE’s national identity, protect the Arabic language and preserve the nation’s rich cultural heritage. The Ministry is further committed to bolstering the nation’s cultural and creative industries by spearheading policies, legislation and developmental initiatives aimed at empowering creative talents. Moreover, the Ministry’s trailblazing ventures help preserve the society’s cultural and intellectual stability, while catalysing the growth of the UAE’s creative economy and consolidating the nation’s pioneering position within the regional and global cultural landscape.

Strategic Objectives

Strengthening national identity and promoting cultural heritage

Empowering and encouraging the arts and literature sector while advancing the creative economy agenda

Showcasing and strengthening the UAE’s position and cultural presence regionally and globally

Objectives of Institutional Enablers

01

Fostering innovation through adaptability, foresight, and preparedness within the work environment.

02

Attracting and empowering top talent while ensuring high-quality institutional services and advanced digital infrastructure.

Institutional Values

We Work Transparently: Driven by transparency and trust, our participants learnt communication principles, and practiced collaborative planning and transparent feedback

We Evolve Constantly: By experimenting with better ways of working, participants focused on enhancing their adaptability and proactivity skills as well as prioritizing the transfer of knowledge within the team.

We Take Responsibility: By demonstrating that individual commitment is the secret to collective success, participants defined tasks and responsibilities, set goals, tracked their progress, and managed conflicts effectively

We Actively Collaborate: By focusing on delivering impactful results, participants collaborated, supported one another and celebrated their achievements.

Cultural Sectors

Organize, coordinate and manage cultural plans, relating to arts and heritage, with an emphasis on advancing performing arts and design;

Apply and maintain international standards for conservation of tangible and intangible heritage and raise awareness of its significance; and

Ensure the implementation of cultural sector policies; and

Develop cultural specializations effectively, by empowering individuals and institutions concerned with different cultural fields to support and facilitate their work.

Promote investment in the cultural and creative industries to enable the cultural sector to contribute to the UAE national economy.

Support the UAE’s efforts to boost Emiratization in the private cultural sector and stimulate the establishment of small and medium enterprises working in cultural and creative industries.

Leverage the talents and interests of young people to establish cultural projects and enhance flexible working among the youth in general.

Support the design and development of UAE cultural products, to keep pace with global trends and explore new local and international markets.

About the Minister

H.E. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi

UAE Minister of Culture

His Excellency Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi was appointed the Minister of Culture in February 2023. In his current role, His Excellency is responsible for the strategic and policy direction of the UAE's culture sector. He leads the Ministry's initiatives to enable a robust cultural and creative ecosystem in the country and ensure its sustainability and active contribution to the local economy. Helming multilateral engagements with the UAE's global and regional partners on international platforms, His Excellency represents the country on high-level global fora related to culture and creativity and heritage preservation. His Excellency was the Permanent Delegate of the UAE to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization "UNESCO" where he contributed to highlighting the country's efforts and success endeavors, in addition to strengthening relations with other permanent delegates and overseeing the implementation of many joint projects that aims to enhance human and cultural cooperation. He has previously served as the Assistant Undersecretary for Arts and Heritage at the Ministry of Culture, where he led the implementation of high-level projects on national identity, Arabic language, Islamic arts, theatre, literature, archaeology, film and architecture to name few. His Excellency holds a Bachelor of Science in Design Management from the American University of Sharjah, as well as a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science & Policy from Columbia University and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from Paris Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi/Paris.