Dubai Culture and Arts Authority concluded the e-learning initiative, which was launched earlier this year in cooperation with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. The initiative was based on the outcomes of the Dubai Ideathon, where ideas were presented to address the challenges that creative and cultural talents faced in light of COVID-19. It achieved considerable success by providing the knowledge and educational support the creative sector needs to better transfer or sustain businesses as well as to further develop creatives’ skills.

Dubai Culture announced the closing of registration for the initiative for this year, noting that, following its success, the Authority plans to renew this learning offering in 2021 and allow more members of the cultural and creative community across the UAE to register and benefit from these extensive courses.

The Authority had launched the e-learning initiative earlier in the year to provide free training opportunities for talented, creative professionals and business leaders in this sector across the UAEby taking advantage of LinkedIn’s wealth of online learning resources. Through this initiative, Dubai Culture provided talents with more than 100 specialised training courses in two main areas, such as business administration — which included digital business transformation, crisis management, business development, legal and financial knowledge — and the development of a range of creative skills, including photography and graphic design, electronic game design, product design, visual arts, movies, fashion, and more.

On this occasion, Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture, said: “We are proud to have achieved remarkable participation in our e-learning initiative that we launched in cooperation with LinkedIn. This initiative constitutes a key pillar of Dubai Culture’s strategic roadmap in nurturing creative talent and promoting cultural diversity. It gained a great success that validated the importance of cooperation and local and international partnerships in promoting knowledge progress in Dubai as well as in enabling valuable opportunities to support the creative industry and its creative talents to enhance the emirate’s position on the global cultural scene.”

She added: “We are also delighted to be the first government entity in the Middle East to use this platform as a means of giving back to artists, creators and members of the cultural and the creative community as well as to individuals and institutions for their precious contributions to enriching society through their literary and cultural creations and productions. Creative people play a vital role in supporting the cultural scene in the emirate,and Dubai Culture will continue to support them for them to advance on their creative production across various cultural and literary arts, based on the Authority’s commitment to empowering talents and creators throughout the United Arab Emirates, especially in light of the circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 crisis. Based on that, I decided to renew this opportunity in 2021.”

Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn MENA and Emerging Markets in Europe and Africa said: “We are immensely proud of the outcome of our partnership with Dubai Culture, which has significantly contributed to the upskilling and development of the creative sector in the UAE. The partnership provided educational support to more than 2,000 members of the cultural and creative community as they engaged with over 100 specialised LinkedIn training courses. The learning initiative that Dubai Culture has carried out during these tough times is remarkable and we look forward to continuing this valuable partnership in the future.”

In terms of numbers, Dubai Culture monitored what the initiative had achieved, noting that 2,000 users had registered in the courses on the platform from June to December 2020. In addition, users viewed around 58,361 training videos, and registered in over 11,130 educational courses in different fields.

Dubai Culture seeks, through its cooperation with LinkedIn in the e-learning initiative, to support all those who work in the cultural and creative sector and to help them develop their businesses by enabling them to enhance their skills and open new horizons for their ventures. This will contribute to enhancing the creative scene of the emirate and strengthening Dubai’s position as a global centre for art and culture, an incubator for creativity, and a thriving hub for talent.