(WAM) — In line with Dubai Culture and Arts Authority’s, Dubai Culture, efforts to realise the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to drive the advancement of the emirate’s creative scene and establish Dubai as a global centre for art and culture, an incubator for creativity and a thriving hub for talent; and under the directives of Chairperson of Dubai Culture H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Culture has forged a strategic collaboration with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, to ease the challenges faced by the creative community amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture; and Ali Matar, LinkedIn’s head of MENA and emerging markets in Europe and Africa, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, that establishes cooperation in three main areas: creating an educational programme to provide training and learning opportunities for creative professionals, fostering connections and networking to establish a global cultural network from Dubai, and developing data and insights for future studies and research.

Aligned with Dubai Culture’s endeavour to help talent enhance their capabilities, the first collaborative effort seeks to provide opportunities for professionals in the cultural and creative field to benefit from 100 specialised learning courses, some of which are specifically tailored to their needs. The professionals will be granted long-term membership in this programme.

Under this initiative, Dubai Culture will provide learning licences to the creative and arts industry that enable UAE-based professionals to gain access to courses in two main domains. The first is business management, which includes courses on the digital shift of businesses, crisis management, business development, and legal and financial knowledge.

The second domain comprises specialised skill development courses in the fields of photography, graphic design, game design, art, product design, fashion and more.

In November 2019, H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, accompanied by Hala Badri, visited the LinkedIn offices and met with LinkedIn Co-Founder Allen Blue; Chief Marketing Officer Shannon Brayton; and members of the LinkedIn MENA team to explore ways to use the social platform to better engage with professionals in Dubai’s creative and cultural industries.

Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture, said: “In order to support the growth of our creative industries during these trying times, Dubai Culture is pleased to partner with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, and consistently seeks to collaborate with its partners for the benefit of the creative industry. The UAE has the largest community of artists, designers, and creatives in the MENA region and this initiative is our gesture of support to them during times of crises when they most need it; as well as a testament to our efforts in consolidating learning and knowledge exchange. This is the ideal time for us to launch this important initiative to fully support talent and creative people across the country as part of our mission to provide them with tools and easy access to professional development from their homes.”

Hala Badri added, “By collaborating with LinkedIn Learning, the educational arm of LinkedIn, Dubai Culture will grant the community access to courses that will help them advance their skillsets and raise their knowledge and expertise. We will use this collaboration for both short- and long-term creative projects.”

Ali Matar, Head of MENA and Emerging Markets in Europe and Africa, LinkedIn said, “LinkedIn’s mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful, and with over 690 million members worldwide, we are in a unique position that enables us to build networks within and across professional sectors. We are proud to partner with Dubai Culture to support and empower the creative community in the UAE, which has inspired us all over the years with its contributions.”