Noura Al Kaabi: Culture and art are tools for building bridges of communication between people

During the dialogue session “Media and Diplomacy in a Changing World,” moderated by journalist Abdulaziz Darwish, Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of State, affirmed that the search for common ground represents the essence of public diplomacy. She explained that reaching a comprehensive agreement between all parties may be difficult, but finding avenues for communication and common spaces between peoples remains possible through culture, music, arts, and other tools of human rapprochement. She pointed out that the search for common ground represents the essence of public diplomacy, explaining that it is impossible to reach a comprehensive agreement between all parties, but it is always possible to look for a window for communication and a common space that brings people together, whether through culture, music, arts or other fields that help to bring people closer. She added: “Public diplomacy represents an important window for building these bridges, stemming from the UAE’s belief in the importance of looking at common interests with different countries and working to identify areas that can be built upon and strengthened,” noting that the success of public diplomacy lies in the ability to find a window for communication when political doors are narrowed. Her Excellency explained that her visit to Syria last month provided an opportunity to reconnect with a country that has a long and rich history and a long cultural and civilisational memory. She noted that her visit to the Umayyad Mosque, after 20 years, with its history and identity, reveals at the same time a new vision for the future and opens the door to exploring what can bring the UAE and Syria together at this stage. She praised the generous Emirati initiative to restore the Umayyad Mosque, stressing that the project is not limited to restoring a historical building, but rather represents a contribution to preserving Syrian, Arab and human memory, and maintaining a cultural heritage that transcends the boundaries of place and state. She expressed her hope that this project would soon be celebrated as a model of what culture can build in terms of bridges between peoples, and what humanitarian initiatives can add to relations between countries. Al-Kaabi stressed that the Arab world, despite its diversity and the differences in its societies, has many commonalities, stressing the need to deal with culture as a continuous narrative and not as a set of separate events or occasions. She emphasised that talking about culture should not be linked to a party, event, or personal visit, because building the image of the state and introducing others to its values and culture requires continuous work. She pointed out that the government's role should focus on facilitating and creating an environment that allows the artist, creator, researcher, athlete, chef, scientist, and others to be natural ambassadors for their countries. She pointed to the importance of continuing research, scientific, cultural and artistic partnerships, along with government support and facilitation, to ensure that initiatives are not temporary, but rather turn into sustainable relationships capable of producing more cooperation and understanding. Al Kaabi stressed the importance of giving young people space for expression and dialogue, while instilling responsibility and ethics in content creation. She emphasised that one of the challenges facing the world is extremism, ideologies, and racism, stressing that the UAE’s experience since the founding of the Union has been based on coexistence, compassion, and respect for different nationalities, beliefs, and religions. She added that what is required of young people is not only to produce beautiful and attractive content, but also to produce content based on ethics that contributes to breaking stereotypes and ready-made molds into which Arab societies are placed. Her Excellency stressed that the Arab world is rich in diversity, stories and experiences, and that the responsibility of the new generation is to break these molds, but in a positive and useful way that allows people to enjoy what they love, while at the same time presenting a broader and more diverse picture of their societies. Al Kaabi cited the UAE’s organisation of Expo 2020 Dubai as an example of the ability of major initiatives to build bridges of communication, explaining that hosting a global event of this size during exceptional circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic gave the UAE an opportunity to introduce its experience to the world, while at the same time getting to know different peoples and cultures. She pointed out that the success of public diplomacy in such events is linked to the state’s ability to understand its audience and choose the tools that suit it, noting the experience of Emirati youth who are fluent in Arabic, English and Japanese participating in international events such as Expo Osaka, in addition to the presence of Japan