Dubai Culture collaborates with Dubai Holding to support the cultural and creative community in Hatta

• The collaboration aims to benefit from the supportive environment Dubai Holding provides businesses in the creative, media and technology sectors
• Initiative supports creative small and medium enterprises in Hatta through in5 by providing an integrated environment for young entrepreneurs
• Collaboration with the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation to explore educational opportunities for Hatta youth
• Training programmes provided by The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management to help prepare Hatta hospitality ambassadors

Government of Dubai Media Office: In line with the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to comprehensively develop the Hatta region, and under the patronage of Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Culture has forged a collaboration with Dubai Holding to support the cultural and creative community in Hatta and provide opportunities for its entrepreneurs to translate their entrepreneurial and creative ideas into reality. 

The collaboration will focus on developing skills and supporting creative businesses in Hatta by leveraging the assets and expertise of both the parties. It also aims to enable SMEs, entrepreneurs and members of the Hatta community to lead culturally enriching and happy lives.

As part of this initiative, in5, a platform for entrepreneurs and start-ups that is part of Dubai Holding, will be available to residents of Hatta. The collaboration represents a ground-breaking initiatives 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 an integrated system to enable the local Hatta community to develop talent and create successful commercial projects.

Dubai Culture also aims to establish a partnership with Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, a not-for-profit education institution established by TECOM Group, a member of Dubai Holding, to explore educational opportunities in design and fashion for budding creative design talent from Hatta. Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation is the first non-profit institute to offer a Bachelor of Design degree in the region.

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.

As part of the collaboration, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed 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 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid announced in 2019. The vision aims to transform the main public libraries in Dubai into integrated 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.

Within the framework of this strategic 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.

Commenting on this partnership, Hala Badri, Director General of 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. 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.”

Badri added: "This partnership also features other unique programmes to advance Hatta’s development in the cultural sector. We will together work to develop activities and initiatives to foster the development of creative SMEs in Hatta with the support of Dubai Holding, which will contribute to the growth of the cultural and creative industries and enhance economic returns in the region. These initiatives forms part of a comprehensive vision aimed at supporting the growth of economic sectors across Dubai.”

Khalid Al Malik, Managing Director of 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 HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Building on these achievements, we are proud to be partnering with Dubai Culture for the next phase of Hatta’s journey. This partnership demonstrates our ongoing commitment to build a strong ecosystem that will help local Hatta businesses and local talent flourish. We are excited to be collaborating in a range of areas, which will continue to highlight Hatta’s vibrant and unique culture and allow us to more broadly showcase the beautiful mountain destination and its incredible offering to the world. Together, our work will further support the local Hatta community over the long run, particularly the youth and their entrepreneurial aspirations, and contribute to Dubai’s socio-economic development.”

This cooperation follows the recent visit of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed 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.

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© Press Release 2021