The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) has launched the Arab Cities Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) Index at the 2026 edition of the World Governments Summit, running in Dubai from 3 to 5 February.
The Arab Cities Culture and Creative Industries Index is the first regionally-grounded and evidence-based framework building on UNESCO’s frameworks to quantify the contributions that culture and creativity make to urban development in the Arab region.
The Arab Cities Culture and Creative Industries Index is designed as an advanced policy-enabling tool that positions culture and creative industries as a core pillar of future governance. It marks a paradigm shift, recognizing culture not only as a social asset but as a strategic driver of economic resilience, innovation, and inclusive growth.
Distinct in its ‘by the region, for the region‘ approach, the Index responds directly to the institutional and economic realities of Arab cities, while remaining fully aligned with international standards to ensure global comparability. The Index equips governments and urban planners with actionable, evidence-based insights to inform cultural policy and governance, urban planning and regeneration, economic diversification, and investment in the creative economy.
Adopting a city-level methodology, it enables Arab cities to benchmark their cultural and creative ecosystems, identify policy and investment priorities, and strengthen regional collaboration.
The Index brings together the complementary strengths of its partners: MBRSG’s research and regional capacity-building expertise, UNESCO’s global leadership and inclusive cultural frameworks, and the World Governments Summit’s international platform, supported by the vision and expertise of leading regional entities shaping the cultural and creative economy.
H.E. Dr. Ali bin Sebaa Al Marri Executive President – MBRSG
“Launching the Arab Cities Culture and Creative Industries Index marks a definitive transition from ambition-led strategies to data-informed cultural policymaking. By positioning culture as a core component of governance and a productive economic sector with measurable impact, we provide Arab cities with the tools to benchmark their creative ecosystems against global standards while respecting our unique regional context. This Index is more than a measurement tool. It paves the way for deeper diversification into the creative economies, strengthens capacity-building, and enables closer regional collaboration, which, in turn, brings international visibility for Arab cultural and creative ecosystems and highlights the region’s ambition to shape, rather than merely follow, the global discourse on the creative economy.”
Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, Assistant Director General for Culture at UNESCO, has stated that, “UNESCO welcomes the launch of the Arab Cities Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) Index, which strengthens the evidence base on CCI in the Arab region, providing reliable, comparable, and policy-relevant figures. Such data is essential to guide public investment, inform decision-making, support inclusive cultural policies, and monitor culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture, commented that Dubai is proud to be among the first cities participating in the Arab Cities Culture and Creative Industries Index, led by MBRSG in partnership with UNESCO and the WGS. She said that the launch underscores culture’s growing role in advancing societies and positions the cultural and creative industries as a key pillar of Dubai’s knowledge- and innovation-driven economy.
Rep. Image credits: pikisuperstar @Freepik | Cropped by GBN
Badri described the Arab Cities Culture and Creative Industries Index as a strategic, evidence-based tool that helps assess creative ecosystems across the Arab region, identify policy and investment priorities, and strengthen regional cooperation. She added that Dubai’s ambitious vision and enabling legislative framework have fostered a vibrant ecosystem that attracts global talent and entrepreneurs, reinforcing the emirate’s position as a global centre for culture, creativity, and talent.
The Index was launched during a dedicated panel at the Summit, featuring a keynote address by Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, followed by a discussion with Hala Badri and Dr. Ali bin Sebaa Al Marri, moderated by Dr. Fadi Salem, Director of Policy Research at MBRSG.
The partnership ensures that the Index will serve as a long-term knowledge platform, with annual updates intended to drive capacity-building and regional collaboration for years to come.
