The UAE is distinguished by its leading international cultural position and its tremendous efforts in preserving the human and moral heritage as one of the sources of its soft powers. Al-Taghrooda, Al-Azi, Al-Majlis, Arabic coffee, Al-Nakhla, Al-Aflaj, Camel racing, and Arabic calligraphy. Statistics also indicated an increase in the number of museums to reach 34 museums, including the most prominent international museums, such as the Louvre Museum, the Museum of the Future, which simulates minds to imagine what human societies await in the coming decades, and the Union Museum, which tells the success story of our beloved Emirates, in addition to various cultural and literary initiatives and projects that include: Its aim is to graduate a generation of intellectually open-minded youth who are familiar with the culture, history and civilization of the Emirates and its renaissance.
And based on the interest of the wise leadership in enhancing the country’s reputation and its soft power, I proposed during my master’s thesis the idea of establishing a National Museum of Media, with the aim of strengthening the UAE’s cultural status internationally and its leadership in the field of media development from popular press to beyond “Metaverse Media”, and to be an educational center that monitors the history of The Emirati media documents all its stages and fields and highlights its sustainable developmental contributions to building the nation.
The National Media Museum is a new type of cultural tourism in the UAE, in line with its national strategies to attract museums, international universities and specialized centers, and a cultural platform that enhances national identity, innovation and the use of artificial intelligence techniques that contribute to the formation of a society aware of the importance of museums as an attractive and enjoyable cultural and educational destination.
After reviewing the best practices in both Britain and the United States of America in this field, I compared my study to the National Museum of British Media, which chronicles various media. The UAE has achieved advanced positions in the global competitiveness reports.
Adopting the idea of establishing the National Media Museum would raise awareness of social responsibility and encourage cooperation between members of society, various government agencies, creators and specialists to contribute positively to volunteering by donating collections, publications and publications, or contributing to oral history and documentation of the field of Emirati media. In addition, the museum will be an educational interface for students of science, introducing various media, publications, digital publications, laws, media documents, modern media industries, events, media awards and cinematic films, celebrating the first generation of media professionals and appreciating the influencers who have sober and purposeful content, and investing in the nation’s youth by arming them with science and skills. Research and educate them on the history of Emirati media, provide them with suitable jobs and training opportunities, and diversify sources of income away from oil in order to achieve sustainable development.
* Emirati researcher and journalist
Twitter @Alya_Alyassi
