Last week, as delegations from the new US administration, Russia, China and the EU gathered at the Munich Security Conference to discuss the strategic challenges facing the international community, a very different international assembly was taking place at the Abu Dhabi headquarters of the UAE’s Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development.
As ministers in Germany prepared to debate matters diplomats define as "hard power" – military and economic issues relating to the future of the European Union, Nato and the West – Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak, the UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, the British ambassador to the UAE and British Council representatives unveiled details of an initiative that represents diplomacy at its softest.
A collaboration between the British Council, the UK government and local strategic partners such as Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA), the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (DCAA) and the UAE’s Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, the UK/UAE 2017 Year of Creative Collaboration is a series of events that range from the recent performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End record-breaking musical Cats at Dubai Opera, to scientific conferences on the UAE’s future urban development.
"The UK/UAE 2017 initiative is cultural diplomacy at its best, using the creativity and passion of our brightest talents to forge a new and lasting collaboration that engages and inspires future generations," Sheikh Nahyan said at last week’s unveiling of the initiative’s spring season.
It followed the programme’s launch under the auspices of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and the Prince of Wales in November.
Rather than a roster of treaties and military commitments, the aim of the UK/UAE 2017 Year of Creative Collaboration is to employ culture in its broadest sense – including the arts and literature, sport and education, science, technology and business – to foster understanding between the two nations and to strengthen cultural and economic ties.
The bonds are already considerable, according to Philip Parham, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the UAE.
"More than 100,000 British nationals live in the UAE and they have made and continue to make an outstanding contribution," Mr Parham said, reflecting on just one example of that contribution, the impact of UK-based designers on the UAE’s urban fabric.
"In December I had a moment when this struck me particularly, when I was standing in front of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque," the ambassador said.
"Behind me was the mosque, beautifully decorated with mosaics designed by the British artist Kevin Dean. In front of me was this incredibly memorable new monument, designed by the British artist Idris Khan and to my left was the [Sheikh Zayed] bridge, designed by the British architect, Zaha Hadid."
Mr Parham might have added Dubai’s World Trade Centre and the Burj Al Arab to his list of British architectural imports, as well as Abu Dhabi’s Zayed National Museum, World Trade Centre and Masdar City, but his message was unambiguous – building on such a deep relationship in a meaningful way has represented a significant challenge.
Luckily, the person responsible for rising to the occasion is no stranger to the UAE’s cultural scene.
Before joining the British Council as head of the UK/UAE 2017 Year of Culture eight months ago, Hannah Henderson worked for the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival for almost five years and before that was head of arts for the British Council in the Middle East, a role in which she designed and delivered the organisation’s first regional arts strategy for the Gulf.
"The intention of the whole year is that it will give a greater depth and contemporary focus to the relationship between the two countries," she said.

Source: The National