Cultural policy in Abu Dhabi

The concept of cultural policy in Abu Dhabi within the United Arab Emirates refers to any initiative undertaken by the Emirate's government aimed at achieving goals of certain cultural content and ascribable within a coherent strategic framework. Today, Abu Dhabi's foremost ambition is to develop a cultural infrastructure that will allow it to establish itself as a reference point for culture on three levels:

With these goals in mind, the government has since 2004 invested a consistent amount of resources in developing local cultural districts, promoting education, and engaging in grand scale plans of urban transformation within the conceptual framework of “cultural infrastructure”. Indeed urban and cultural planning are strictly intertwined in the case of the Emirate. Under the blueprint of the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 plan, as these efforts have been branded, the main government body responsible for cultural development in the Emirate today is the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA).

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has a diverse cultural history. Settlements of different tribal groups in the prehistoric era granted the region with a rich heritage of traditions and customs. However, the city did not engage in any serious urban development strategy until the discovery of oil in 1962. Thereafter, economic prosperity in the 60s and 70s has resulted in exposure to foreign influxes that jeopardized the integrity of local heritage. The Emirate's leadership has since then understood the importance of preserving its roots. Ruler's initiative is key in understanding cultural policymaking in Abu Dhabi. Official publications such as the Vision 2030 Master Plan stress the inspirational role played by UAE's first ruler, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in investing oil and gas profits for the development and benefit of the Emirate and its people: “Sheikh Zayed recognized the assets of the UAE, not just its oil, but its true wealth - its people and heritage, its sustainable approach to life and the rich natural assets of the sea and the ‘sweet sands’ of the desert”. In the years, the Government of Abu Dhabi has established various institutions and agencies to develop this vision.

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