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Abu Dhabi Reveals New Strategy to Accelerate Growth of Culture and Creative Industries

Louvre Abu Dhabi
Louvre Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi Reveals New Strategy to Accelerate Growth of Culture and Creative Industries

Louvre Abu Dhabi
Louvre Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is accelerating the growth of the Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) through a AED30+ billion investment strategy that sees the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) cements its leadership position as the custodian of all the multidisciplinary sectors within the CCI.

The Culture and Creative Industries are key drivers of social and economic growth and diversification in Abu Dhabi. One of the fastest growing economic sectors worldwide, globally they generate annual revenues of $2,250 billion, provide 30 million jobs and are predicted to make up some 10% of global GDP.

In addition to this rapid acceleration, studies show that the CCI demonstrate considerable resilience and adaptability in the face of changing economic dynamics. As the world emerges from the effects of the global pandemic, the sector’s high-value products and services have the power to support a new economic recovery, one that is more environmentally friendly and based on knowledge and new technologies, state news agency WAM reported.

To capitalize on this growth, Abu Dhabi has invested significantly and strategically to create thriving Culture and Creative Industries, with an overall planned investment in excess of AED30 billion. Over the past five years, AED8.5 billion has been committed across the emirate, including in flagship projects such as Yas Creative Hub – the emirate’s new home for media and gaming - and Saadiyat Cultural District, as well as soft infrastructure initiatives such as the Creative Visa, announced earlier this year.

The Creative Visa program will provide sustainable employment opportunities in Abu Dhabi by enabling talented creative professionals from around the world to live and work in the UAE, further bolstering the creative scene in the emirate.

A further AED22 billion is expected to be rolled out across the industry over the next five years, with a substantial portion to be deployed in the development and support of cultural institutions, mainly new museums, including the upcoming Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, as well as additional museums in the pipeline. The emirate’s performing arts, music, media and gaming sectors will also see further investment in their diverse array of program and initiatives.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: "DCT Abu Dhabi’s Culture and Creative Industry (CCI) Strategy was launched in 2019 to position Abu Dhabi as a recognized cultural and creative center that attracts, incubates and supports talented professionals and creative businesses, accelerating the emirate’s ambition to become a leading regional producer and exporter of creative and cultural content."

"We see the Culture and Creative Industries as a powerful driver of economic diversification as well as defining pillars of the emirate’s identity. Through Abu Dhabi’s pioneering leadership, we will champion all CCI domains to transcend borders and reach global audiences and communities."

Also, Saood Al Hosani, Undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi, said that The Culture and Creative Industries are a "significant contributor to the global and local economies."

"Today, Abu Dhabi supports more than 20,000 sustainable jobs in the field, and we expect this to grow significantly in the coming years," he added.

According to WAM, Abu Dhabi has been investing heavily in the Culture and Creative Industries, with investments spanning the creation of cultural institutions and world-class infrastructures to program and initiatives of international relevance that have supported the growth of creative and culture businesses, professionals and practitioners based in the emirate and beyond.

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Varieties

Three Million Pounds to Save Polar Explorer Shackleton's Villa

A person taking a photo of Ernest Shackleton's grave, polar explorer, who died after a heart attach in 1922 (Shutterstock)
A person taking a photo of Ernest Shackleton's grave, polar explorer, who died after a heart attach in 1922 (Shutterstock)
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Three Million Pounds to Save Polar Explorer Shackleton's Villa

A person taking a photo of Ernest Shackleton's grave, polar explorer, who died after a heart attach in 1922 (Shutterstock)
A person taking a photo of Ernest Shackleton's grave, polar explorer, who died after a heart attach in 1922 (Shutterstock)

Work is under way on a South Atlantic island to preserve a key building in the story of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Shackleton famosly reached the whaling station of Stromness on South Georgia in 1916 after spending 18 months stranded on Antarctica with his crew.

The now-dilapidated Stromness Manager's Villa was used as a base by Shackleton while he orchestrated the rescue of his men.

The Dundee-based South Georgia Heritage Trust have been working to stabilize the structure, with plans to create a digital “twin” of the building for people around the world to see it.

A 2022 survey found the building was very close to collapse.

Alison Neil, chief executive of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, said: “The reason for that is rotting timbers. This is an old-fashioned version of a flat-pack house. They would've been brought down from Norway on ships and then assembled on the island.”

The trust raised more than £3 million to send a team to South Georgia.
They arrived in October and have been working on stabilizing the structure.

Alison said: “It's in the middle of a whaling station that's full of asbestos, dangerous debris, and is not accessible to the public. Our plan is not to open it up to the public, our plan is to maintain it for the future.”

Shackleton's extraordinary story of survival has fascinated and inspired people for more than a century.

His most famous mission was his plan to cross Antarctica through the South Pole after travelling on board his ship The Endurance.

In 1915, The Endurance became trapped in ice, and his crew abandoned ship, crossing onto floating ice, which they hoped would drift towards land.

But by April 1916, the ice floes were breaking up, so Shackleton took his crew in lifeboats first to Elephant Island, then led a smaller group to find help for the others.

They crossed about 800 miles (1,300km) of ocean in the open boat before reaching the island of South Georgia.

Leaving three of the men behind with the boat, Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean trekked across the island for three days until they reached Stromness whaling station on the far side of the island.

Alison said the men made it to the villa in a dishevelled state.

She said: “No-one recognized them, they must've looked terrifying. They knocked on the door of the villa and famously the whaling manager opened the door and said, 'who the hell are you?' Shackleton allegedly said: 'My name is Shackleton'.”

It was the men's first contact with the outside world for 17 months.

Shackleton, Worsley and Crean were invited in to the villa where they had a hot meal and a bath, before immediately starting the rescue of the rest of their crew with the help of the whalers.

Alison said: “That's a really important part of The Endurance story and it effectively is the next chapter on from the sinking of the vessel.”

Varieties

James Cameron Describes Strategy for Surviving Titanic Disaster

Titanic ocean liner after it struck an iceberg in 1912 off the coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean (Shutterstock/3d illustration)
Titanic ocean liner after it struck an iceberg in 1912 off the coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean (Shutterstock/3d illustration)
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James Cameron Describes Strategy for Surviving Titanic Disaster

Titanic ocean liner after it struck an iceberg in 1912 off the coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean (Shutterstock/3d illustration)
Titanic ocean liner after it struck an iceberg in 1912 off the coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean (Shutterstock/3d illustration)

James Cameron, the filmmaker behind the hit 1997 disaster movie Titanic, has revealed his strategy for hypothetically surviving the famed 1912 cruise liner sinking.

Titanic starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and is one of the highest-grossing films of all time. The film was set during the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron was asked: “If you were traveling by yourself as a second-class passenger on Titanic when it hit an iceberg, what would you have done?”

As the filmmaker explained, third-class passengers were trapped below decks, while first-class passengers were more likely to secure a spot on the lifeboats, according to the interview reported by The Independent.

“I think there were interesting ways to what-if or second-guess the whole thing,” Cameron replied. “One I like to play with my Titanic experts is – with what we know now, and if you had the captain’s ear – how could you save everybody?

“The other is: What if you’re a time traveler, you go back and want to experience the sinking, and your little time-travel thing that gets you back fails, and you’re like, ‘I’m really on the ship, I’ve got to get off it.'”

In this latter scenario, Cameron argued that the best thing to do would be to stand by the edge of the deck, and wait for a lifeboat to launch during the early stages of the evacuation. At this point, he would jump off, and swim to the boat, relying on the passengers to pull him aboard.

“Most people wouldn’t have had the courage to jump into the water,” he continued. “They couldn’t quite believe that the ship was really going to sink. But if you knew for sure it was going to sink and you weren’t on a lifeboat, you jump in the water next to the boat the second it casts off."

Varieties

Hiker Killed in Rare Suspected Mountain Lion Attack in Colorado

FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)
FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)
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Hiker Killed in Rare Suspected Mountain Lion Attack in Colorado

FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)
FILE - The General Store is seen Oct. 24, 2006, in Glen Haven, Colo. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring, File)

A hiker in Colorado has died in the state's first suspected fatal mountain lion attack in over 25 years, authorities said.

The woman was found unresponsive by other hikers on the Crosier Mountain trail northeast of Estes Park around noon on Thursday.

The hikers saw a mountain lion near the woman's body and scared it away by throwing rocks. A doctor was among the hikers and attended to the woman but found no pulse, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told reporters, according to Reuters.

CPW officers responded to the ⁠scene and shot dead two lions in the area. It is not known whether one or multiple animals were involved in the suspected attack, the agency said in a statement. It is believed the woman was hiking alone.

“There were signs that this was consistent with a mountain lion attack,” Van Hoose told a press ⁠conference.

Mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado are rare, with 28 reported to CPW since 1990. The last fatal attack was in 1999.

CPW pathologists are performing necropsies on the dead animals to check for abnormalities and neurological diseases like rabies and avian influenza, as well as human DNA, Van Hoose said.

CPW policy mandates the killing of any mountain lion involved in an attack on a human so as to prevent repeat incidents. If human DNA is not found on either dead lion, authorities will continue to ⁠search for animals that may have been involved, Van Hoose said.

Larimer County Coroner will release the identity of the victim and cause of death, she said.

Colorado has a healthy mountain lion population, estimated by CPW to be between 3,800 and 4,400 adults. Conservation efforts have brought the species back from near extinction in the 1960s due to bounty hunting.

Mountain lions are common in the Front Range area where the woman was found, Van Hoose said. The animals go down to lower elevations in winter in search of prey like deer and elk, increasing chances of encounters with humans.