Page 66 - WATANI AL EMARAT FOUNDATION PR REPORT - DECEMBER 2023

12/20/23, 5:26 PM Dubai Culture anchors initiatives to enhance the appeal of heritage - GulfToday

Participants in the sessions discussed the importance and role of social cultural assets in
encouraging youth to volunteer in public libraries, museums, and heritage sites in Dubai,
especially as it would raise their level of self-confidence, enhance their ability to communicate
with others, and encourage their spirit of leadership. They also discussed the possibility of
offering an integrated training programme to prepare certified cultural volunteers, launching
the Distinguished Cultural Volunteer Award, and a digital platform for cultural volunteers,
linking it with the official volunteer institutions in the country, in addition to organising the
annual forum for cultural volunteers and designing volunteer museum competitions, among
others. Ways to train young volunteers to meet the needs of public cultural assets were also
discussed.

The ‘Innovating new services for customers’ study included more than 170 suggestions to
encourage demand for membership services and improving their level with the aim of
enriching customers’ experience during their visits to the Authority’s cultural and heritage
sites. Participants in the study suggested opening new Dubai Public Library branches in
shopping malls, launching a home delivery service for books, and creating new and dedicated
memberships for employees of the Dubai government, the federal government, the private
sector, international institutions and others, in addition to utilising Dubai Culture’s public-
private partnerships to attract new library members.

They also discussed the possibilities of improving the experience of visiting museums and
heritage sites by launching cultural memberships and cooperating with national public and
private institutions as well as UAE embassies around the world to organise various visits to
the sites, along with designing visitor journeys, and using modern technologies to introduce
museum collections, plus others. Recommendations also included the importance of
organising periodic innovation labs targeting customers and volunteers to benefit from the
range of interactive sessions and workshops taking place in the labs.

https://gulftoday.ae/culture/2023/12/16/dubai-culture-anchors-initiatives-to-enhance-the-appeal-of-heritage 2/4