Dubai, UAE; December 7, 2021: Hosted by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, under the leadership of Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE 2021) opened its doors on Tuesday at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in the heart of Expo 2020. 

 

Following an inauguration key-note address given by HE Audrey Azoulay, Director General, UNESCO, where she commended the UAE and its national strategy for driving global efforts towards a sustainable creative economy and emphasized the importance to support cultural sectors and global creative economies, HE Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture & Youth, UAE, took to the stage to officially open WCCE 2021 and discuss how the creative economy can create a collective, cohesive and thriving society. 

Speaking at the session, HE Audrey Azoulay, Director General, UNESCO, said: “For culture and creativity to support us in building stronger and more peaceful societies, we also need to support the cultural sectors and the creative economy. This is what brings us together here today for the World Conference on Creative Economy held under the initiative of the UAE and Indonesia, and I’d like to commend their leadership and assure them of UNESCO’s full support, while congratulating these countrites for their national strategies on creative economy. ”

HE Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi said: “On behalf of the UAE, I’d like to emphasise how immensely proud and honoured we are to be hosting the second edition of the World Conference on Creative Economy after Indonesia. We iterated our promise to the culture and creative sector and are underlining our leadership’s commitment to nurture and develop this sector.”

Following the opening ceremony, HE Mubarak Al Nakhi, Undersecretary of Ministry of Culture and Youth, UAE, and HE Angela H. Tanoesoedibjo, Vice Minister, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia,put the spotlight on the creative economy sector in the opening of the ‘Friends of Creative Economy’ meeting, introducing the key WCCE 2021 theme of ‘Inclusively Creative’, discussing how taking a human-centric approach to the development of the creative economy is essential to building and sustaining a thriving future that serves all members of the Cultural and Creative Industries ecosystem. 

 

Taking place from 7 to 9 December, WCCE 2021 is hostingan array of world-leading speakers, thinkers and policy makers from countries including the UAE, Indonesia, Bahrain, Jamaica, Italy, UK, Saudi Arabia, France, and the US. The three-day programme features over 60 in-person sessions of powerful keynote speeches, live and virtual panels, individual talks, live performances, exhibitions, and masterclasses. 

 

The conference will focus on six themes that collectively define the future of the global creative economy including: Education Unleashed, Reworking Work, Technology Transformation, Elevating the Media & Communications Landscape, Future Sustainable, and Inclusivity & Diversity. 

 

WCCE 2021 will be attended by international audiences along with policymakers, diplomatic partners, Ministers, academicians, and creatives who represent various regions across the globe. 

 

To register and for more information about the conference’s schedule, please visit the WCCE’s digital platform wcce.ae. There is no fee to attend WCCE as an in-person or virtual attendee, but you will need to pre-register as places are limited.