DESTINATION / INTERNATIONAL
ABU DHABI TOURISM SHOWCASES CULTURAL AGENDA The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi presented the five-year Culture Sector Strategy at Manarat Al Saadiyat
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he Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) presented Abu Dhabi’s five-year Culture Sector Strategy to group of officials, cultural specialists and media representatives, who visited the Abu Dhabi Cultural Agenda exhibition at Manarat Al Saadiyat. DCT Abu Dhabi developed the emirate’s Culture Sector Strategy with an aim of strengthening the foundations and infrastructure of Abu Dhabi’s cultural ecosystem. To achieve this, five strategic objectives were set: to preserve and sustain Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage; to increase awareness of and engagement with, cultural heritage and the arts; to stimulate creativity as a driver for education and social change; to build and enable capacity in Abu Dhabi’s culture sector; and lastly, to contribute to economic growth and diversification. HE Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said “having gathered all of our the recent culture sector milestones and statistics for display in an exhibition, it is clear to see that we have achieved much in a short amount of time - and excitingly, we still have many projects in the pipeline. The most significant of these is Zayed National Museum, the national museum of the United Arab 44
March 2020 Tourism India
DCT Abu Dhabi developed the emirate’s Culture Sector Strategy with an aim of strengthening the foundations and infrastructure of Abu Dhabi’s cultural ecosystem
Emirates, which will further shape the distinctive features of Saadiyat Cultural District to form the vibrant new cultural heart of the capital.” Many of the ambitious targets and goals set across these objectives have been achieved or are on track to be realized in the near future. Preserving and sustaining Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage. A significant achievement for the protection of Intangible Heritage has been the successful inscription of eight elements on the UNESCO Lists of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the work and dossiers for six of which were led by the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The inscribed heritage elements are Falconry, Al Sadu (weaving), Al Ayyala (traditional group performance), Al Taghrooda (poetry), Gahwa (Arabic coffee), Majlis (council gathering), Al Azi and Al Razfa (both traditional performing arts). Significant progress has been made in recording oral histories, as can be seen with the successful annual GCC Heritage & Oral History Conference and also important programmes implemented by other cultural institutions. To support artisans and engage the public with traditional products and practices, DCT Abu Dhabi organizes Al Ain’s annual Traditional Handicrafts Festival and
