Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) has been recognised as one of the top three winners of the ‘Most Innovative Project – Public Sector’ category at the Global Innovation Management Institute (GIMI) Awards, which attracted more than 200 entries from around the world. The recognition celebrates the Authority’s development and implementation of a Predictive Heritage Protection Framework that supported the safeguarding of Al Fahidi Fort and its historic fabric throughout the rehabilitation process.

The achievement reflects Dubai Culture’s commitment to integrating innovation, advanced technologies, and specialist expertise into heritage protection, while preserving Dubai’s cultural legacy for future generations. It also supports the Authority’s strategic direction to position Dubai as a global cultural reference, a leader in innovation, a driver of the creative economy, and rooted in Emirati heritage.

The recognition carries added significance ahead of the opening of Al Fahidi Fort, highlighting Dubai Culture’s success in preserving the Fort’s historic character while preparing the landmark to welcome back new generations of visitors and share the story of Dubai’s evolution. The award also demonstrates the Authority’s ability to balance urban development with protecting the authenticity, integrity, and cultural significance of historic landmarks.

Throughout the rehabilitation process, Dubai Culture adopted an integrated methodology that combined engineering expertise, advanced monitoring technologies, and heritage conservation practices. The approach enabled project teams to anticipate potential risks, assess them through real-time data and take informed action at critical stages of the works.

Rehabilitating Al Fahidi Fort, dating back to 1787 and recognised as Dubai’s oldest standing building and one of its most significant heritage landmarks, presented a complex engineering challenge. The works required protecting the Fort’s southwest tower, while excavation deeper than 16 metres took place just metres away.

To safeguard the structure, Dubai Culture deployed high-precision sensors and monitoring systems to track structural movement, vibration and cracks, with the resulting data directly informing engineering decisions and enabling timely intervention. The approach preserved the Fort throughout the rehabilitation process, achieving zero structural failure, zero heritage loss and no irreversible damage.

Beyond Al Fahidi Fort, the project has established a framework that can be adapted to support the protection and conservation of other heritage assets under Dubai Culture’s Museums & Heritage Sector. While the engineering interventions were tailored to the Fort’s specific conditions, the underlying methodology, which integrates early risk assessment, continuous monitoring, evidence-based decision-making and coordinated intervention, offers a scalable approach that can be applied to historic buildings, archaeological sites and other culturally significant landmarks. This creates opportunities to strengthen long-term heritage management practices and embed predictive conservation approaches across the Authority’s wider portfolio of heritage assets.

Dubai Culture developed and implemented the framework by bringing together international heritage experts and technical specialists across conservation, structural engineering and advanced monitoring technologies. This multidisciplinary approach enabled the integration of specialised expertise and innovative solutions into a unified framework, strengthening the effectiveness of the Fort’s protection measures and supporting informed, evidence-based decision-making throughout its rehabilitation.

Her Excellency Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, affirmed that being recognised among the top three winners of the ‘Most Innovative Project – Public Sector’ category, selected from more than 200 international entries, reflects the Authority’s commitment to embedding innovation across its cultural and heritage projects. She highlighted Dubai Culture’s continued efforts to advance institutional excellence, harness specialised expertise, strengthen organisational capabilities and enhance readiness to address emerging challenges and future priorities.

She said: “This recognition represents a valuable addition to Dubai Culture’s record of achievements and reflects our ability to develop impactful solutions that advance institutional practices, enhance the management of cultural and heritage assets, and support their long-term sustainability. It also reinforces the value of investing in knowledge, developing capabilities and strengthening collaboration with partners and experts across disciplines, enabling us to draw on successful experiences and apply their outcomes to future projects. Through our programmes and initiatives, we continue to foster a culture of innovation and contribute to Dubai’s leadership in developing a cultural sector that brings together the authenticity of its heritage with its ambitions for the future.”

Badri added: “What makes this achievement particularly meaningful is its potential to extend beyond Al Fahidi Fort. The framework provides us with a valuable foundation to explore new approaches to protecting other heritage assets under our Museums & Heritage Sector, allowing us to build on the knowledge and experience gained from this project while responding to the unique needs of each historic site.”

As part of its participation in GIMI’s activities in Colombia, Dubai Culture’s delegation joined a learning visit to Ecopetrol’s Cartagena Refinery, one of Latin America’s most advanced industrial complexes. The visit provided insights into the refinery’s approach to testing innovative technologies aimed at reducing the environmental impact of energy production, including a prototype using a hydrogen blend that achieved a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions under test conditions while maintaining thermal efficiency, according to results shared during the visit.

The delegation also participated in a two-hour practical workshop at Taller ECONOVA, exploring approaches to startup investment, corporate venture capital and collaboration with emerging businesses. Discussions focused on the role of pilot projects and venture client models in validating innovative solutions, as well as the use of artificial intelligence to identify and assess startup opportunities across Latin America, the United States and Europe. Participants also developed an initial investment thesis to guide investment decisions. Both experiences reinforced the importance of defining clear objectives, testing solutions in practice and using evidence-based insights to inform their adoption and scalability, an approach that aligns with Dubai Culture’s commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening institutional capabilities.

GIMI is a global non-profit organisation operating across more than 60 countries. It works to advance innovation management practices and foster cultures of innovation across sectors by enabling organisations to adopt innovative solutions, strengthen capabilities and enhance performance.