Tag: UAE

UAE reaches for new horizons as it harnesses the power of social media

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From Indian housewives turning master chefs and travel enthusiasts to Emirati vloggers finding their niche in tech, travel, gaming or mundane domestic affairs, social media has opened a world of enormous possibilities and revenue in the UAE as elsewhere. Content or content creator is the king/queen and it has led to the evolution of a generation that has found unimaginable success and money in non-traditional careers.

Discerning the enormous power that content creators wield and the dedicated army of followers they breed, Dubai hosted the second edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit on January 10-11 at the twin Emirates Towers and the emirate’s newest architectural wonder Museum of the Future. Touted the world’s biggest expo for content creators, the summit gathered over 100 speakers, 300-plus companies, 200 CEOs from the creative field, and more than 3000 content creators followed by 1.6 billion people. Representatives from all the social media giants were also in attendance.

The two-day paid summit organised by Dubai’s New Media Academy was an opportunity to learn from inspirational talks, hands-on workshops, and enlightening panel discussions by well-known content creators; connect with industry leaders, fellow creators, and innovators; and find one’s next collaborator or business partner. If Hala Ajil, YouTube Manager for WANA region expatiated on how to find one’s groove on the platform and Mindvalley founder Vishen Lakhiani pointed out it is perfectly okay to venture into the digital realm late in life and turn 3 million views into $10 million, Indian YouTuber Dhruv Rathee engaged audience in a dynamic workshop to master ChatGPT for boosting productivity in work, education, and daily life. The Senegalese-Italian Tiktoker Khaby Lame, British-Nigerian podcaster Steven Bartlett, Egyptian-American satirist and TV host Bassem Youssef were some of the most recognisable faces who weighed the consequences of their choice to be in the digital media. Keeping a healthy mind, when to leave one’s job and how to create viral videos were recurrent topics that experts and new entrants to the creative economy deliberated on.

The summit is set to drive home the notion that Dubai is the best place for content creators. The Golden Visa scheme, the UAE’s new long-term visas rolled out for investors and professionals that offer them exclusive benefits, are set to attract more talent to the emirate with ample sunshine, minimal taxes, and a safe and secure environment.

In an interview to Khaleej Times, mobile journalism (mojo) exponent Yusuf Omar of the digital media platform Seen TV, noted: “I believe that the UAE understands the value of influencers, perhaps, more than any other country in the world. The 1 Billion Summit is a testament to that. They’re trying to incubate this next generation of Arabic-speaking talent and funnel that into things that are already booming, such as their tourism, making this a global destination that it already is. This place is way ahead of the curve.”

For Arjun Sehgal, digital creator of the insta handle Food Talk Dubai (64.3k followers), “the summit helped us enhance our work ethics with new ideas and skills. It was a great opportunity to meet as well as attend seminars of distinguished speakers and content creators from all over the world.”

Popular influencers

Leading the way in the digital realm are the Ruler of Dubai and the Crown Prince who are active on all social media platforms. Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, who goes by the name faz3 on Instagram, is the most followed royal in the world with 16.2 million followers.

An Emirati influencer popular amongst Indian audience is Khalid al Ameri, whose infectious goodwill and positivity are relayed through his culturally relevant videos, travelogues and humorous domestic situations. The Stanford University graduate who quit a full-time government job has successfully smashed stereotypes about Arabs and West Asia through his videos. .

Sindhu Biju, popular vlogger and Programme Director of Radio Asia 94.7 FM, stumbled into content creation when she lost her fulltime job as a Radio Jockey in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I realised I could utilise my strength as a news gatherer and presenter and began reaching out to my followers with news updates about rules and regulations in the UAE regarding the pandemic, quarantine, vaccination, as well as provide interviews with officials. The fact that people had faith in the accuracy of the information I provided was beneficial to me.” Ms. Biju, who has verified accounts on various social media platforms and has an influencer licence, provides information on everything that is of interest to the Indian expat community – from visa changes to restaurants and locations they could visit on a weekend.

Last year, Proxyrack, which provides proxies and residential VPN services, named UAE the social media capital of the world with “an almost perfect score of 9.55 out of 10” where people have an average of 8.2 social media platforms and spent 7.29 hours on the Internet daily. The report noted that though the Gulf nation has the most expensive internet at just over $100, it had the highest percentage of population connected to the web and Facebook.

Being part of the UAE’s rapidly growing digital content industry and influencer marketing can be exciting and lucrative provided one plays by the rules. The UAE through its National Media Council regulates media content and its strict laws and decrees ensure that media outlets and individuals abide by the country’s values and cultural standards. There are clearcut guidelines on anti-discrimination, data protection, intellectual property, respecting the privacy of others, and so on. Influencers who promote paid advertisements must obtain a licence for an annual fee, which varies from emirate to emirate. Influencer incomes are subject to 5% VAT, and operating without permits can mean hefty fines and account closure.

A dusty port town in 1971 that had a phenomenal transformation as a glitzy paradise and cosmopolitan hub for trade and tourism, Dubai is today the perfect instagrammable city and a centre for influencer culture. A city that can market its cooler months as the “World’s Coolest Winter” can also act as a magnet aiding influencer relocation to the desert haven. And summits like 1 Billion Followers accentuate the emirate’s push to be ahead in the race.

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Book Fairs in the Gulf: How Sharjah positions itself as the reading emirate of the UAE

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Dragons may be legendary, but they are not passe for the children and adults who visited Sharjah and its much-loved book fair this year, interacting with and tailing the animal personas through the corridors and halls of Expo Centre Sharjah.

The curtain has fallen on the 42nd edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), held under the theme “We Speak Books”, which attracted to its venue an estimated 1.2 million visitors, from 109 countries. This is no ordinary book fair where only bibliophiles go. It is a 12-day carnival of sorts for residents and international visitors alike – children’s workshops, panel discussions, celebrity visits, food trucks, cookery shows, roaming theatre and its performers, police academy band music, special cultural programmes from the country that is Guest of Honour, and many more. The best part is that every programme on offer is free of cost.

The previous edition in November 2022 had attracted 2.17 million people from 112 countries; over 1.3 million titles and 1500 activities had seen all roads leading to Sharjah chock-a-block with traffic. However, with the Israel-Gaza war casting a pall of gloom in the Arab world, festivities remained muted this year. 

Occupying centrestage at the venue was an exquisite collection of books, manuscripts, maps and other sea-faring equipment from Portuguese expedition through Arabia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Organised in conjunction with the University of Coimbra, Portugal, the exhibition retraced the Portuguese presence in the Gulf, and the region’s importance as a trading post and halt en route to India.

If the presence of the reigning don of Indian cinema Shah Rukh Khan had caused a stir and a houseful attendance in 2022, this year it was Bollywood’s Kareena Kapoor, Kajol and Neena Gupta who brought fans, eager to hear their tuppence worth on books and life, in large numbers to the venue.

But it is not the filmstars alone who add value to the cultural extravaganza organised by the Sharjah Book Authority. Literary giants from the international and Arab worlds – the likes of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, prolific Libyan-born novelist Ibrahim Al-Koni, Swedish behavioural expert Thomas Erikson, Canadian journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell – and renowned astronauts Sunita Williams and Hazza al Mansouri (UAE’s first man in space), and comedian Bassem Youssef headlined SIBF 2023 enriching it with their perspectives and experiences and offering the fascinated audience valuable insights into the future. 

A panel discussion in progress at the fair.
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Special Arrangement

The presence of a large expatriate community from the State of Kerala in India has meant book launches, seminars and a near-exclusive hall dedicated for works in their native Malayalam language. According to Sanjay Jesudas, Sales Manager at DC Books Dubai, an Indian publisher and retailer that established its presence in the UAE in 2008 with the Sharjah book fair, the company does roaring business during the annual fair. “We had nine stalls at the book fair, which included exclusive stalls for Indian titles and Malayalam books, apart from international books. We always have good sales at the book fair, including library purchases by schools.” Anbuselvi Manoharan, a sales executive at Jashanmal Books, noted that the book authority’s generous gift of vouchers to school students encouraged many budding readers to stock their personal libraries with the latest releases. 

A DC books stall at the fair.

A DC books stall at the fair.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Sharjah, which likes to be known as the cultural capital of the UAE, has carefully cultivated its image though numerous activities promoting arts and culture. Ruled by a man of letters, Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad al Qasimi, the emirate has a prestigious array of museums, universities and libraries that seal its position as a haven of art and culture. The Ruler generously allocates funds to the tune of $1.2 million every year to stock Sharjah libraries with books from leading Arab and international publications. The fair is also the biggest revenue generator in terms of sales for many Arab publishers.

Sharjah’s prowess as a reading emirate and as a champion among book fairs, is evident from its rising credentials – it was the “market focus” at the London Book Fair last year, the Guest of Honour at Seoul this year and the would-be Guest of Honour at the upcoming book fair in Greece next year. 

The emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are not far behind in organising book fairs – since its inception in 2009, the Emirates Literature Festival has seen a starry mix of celebrities and authors who engage, inspire and transport visitors to the world of books, and also convey to the rest of the world that Dubai is more than its skyscrapers and malls. Abu Dhabi has its own exclusive book fairs in the capital and in the cities of Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

Dispelling myths

The book fairs go a long way in dispelling popular myths about Arab nations lagging behind in education and knowledge acquisition. The World Bank and UNESCO have actively supported West Asian governments in devising innovative strategies for tertiary education and knowledge acquisition respectively. The Arab Reading Challenge, launched by UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, is one such initiative to raise awareness about reading, improve Arabic language skills and promote cultural awareness and Arabism in the pan-Arab universe. The challenge is for students from Years 1-12 to read as many as 50 or even more books in an academic year and summarise them to qualify for the vetting, with the winning student clinching $1,50,000 and the winning school $1 million. Interestingly, participants also hail from India, Pakistan and many European nations.

This is not a one-off phenomenon. Education in the Arab nation has evolved in 50 years to boast a literacy rate of around 95% for both men and women. It attracts a student clientele from other parts of Asia – including India – and Africa. Together with home-grown universities, prestigious Western and Indian universities have established campuses in the country. The capital Abu Dhabi hosts the West Asian campuses of New York University, INSEAD Business School, and Sorbonne University. Indian Institute of Technology’s first overseas campus is commencing classes in Abu Dhabi in the coming academic year. Dubai and Sharjah are home to numerous high-ranking public and private universities such as University of Birmingham Dubai, BITS Pilani Dubai, and American University of Sharjah. Ajman and Ras al Khaimah are not far behind in providing niche courses and institutes. A medium of instruction in English, global faculty, world-class infrastructure and a cosmopolitan living are ample reasons for the well-heeled to choose the UAE for their higher education.

The oil-producing Arab nation has shown that the way forward is not just oil but soft power through education, space and tourism.

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What purpose does the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) serve? | Explained

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From left, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Japan), Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Italy), President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India), President Joe Biden (U.S), President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (UAE) and President Emmanuel Macron (France) attend Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event on the day of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, on September 9, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The story so far: At a special event on the sidelines of the recently concluded G20 summit in New Delhi, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to establish the ‘India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor’ (IMEC). Other than the two co-chairs of the event, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden, the signatories included leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the European Union (EU), Italy, France and Germany.

The project, which forms part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), may also serve as a counter to China’s economic influence in the Eurasian region, observers have suggested.

What is the corridor? 

The proposed IMEC will consist of railroad, ship-to-rail networks (road and sea) and road transport routes (and networks) extending across two corridors, that is, the east corridor – connecting India to the Gulf, and the northern corridor – connecting the Gulf to Europe. As per the MoU, the railway, upon completion, would provide a “reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement existing maritime and road transports routes”. 

It would enable the transportation of goods and services from India to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Europe, and back. All in all, it is expected that the corridor would increase efficiency (relating to transit), reduce costs, enhance economic unity, generate jobs, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. This is expected to translate into a “transformative integration of Asia, Europe and the Middle East.” 

The MoU states that participants, intend to enable the laying of cables for electricity and digital connectivity, as well as pipes for clean hydrogen export along the railway route.

The MoU states that participants will “work collectively and expeditiously” to arrange and implement all elements of the transit route. These relate to technical design, financing, legal and relevant regulatory standards. A meeting is planned in the next sixty days to carve out an “action plan” with “relevant timetables”. 

How has it been received? 

While Mr. Modi suggested the corridor “promises to be a beacon of cooperation, innovation, and shared progress,” Mr. Biden referred to it as the “real big deal”. 

Ms. von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said the corridor was “more than ‘just’ a railway or a cable, it is a green and digital bridge across continents and civilisations.” She called it the “most direct connection” between India, the Gulf and Europe: with a rail link that would make trade between India and Europe 40% faster. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country will also be a part of the corridor, also welcomed the move. He said that the link would help realise “a multi-year vision that will change the face of the Middle East, and Israel, and will affect the entire world.” 

On the other hand, with the corridor being suggested as a competitor for China’s BRI, the announcement did not draw enthusiasm from the Chinese media. An editorial in the Global Times highlighted doubts from Chinese experts about the project’s credibility and feasibility. T “It is not the first time for Washington to make empty pledges to various countries and regions,” it read. 

What geopolitics is at play here? 

It has often been believed that China is utilising the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from the Indo-Pacific to West Asia to further their economic and political influence, particularly on sovereigns with relatively instable economies.  Financial Times  points out that, for the U.S., the project could also serve to counter Beijing’s influence “at a time when Washington’s traditional Arab partners, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are deepening ties with China, India and other Asian powers.” 

Professor Michaël Tanchum, Senior Fellow at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy, said in August 2021 that a corridor connecting India to Europe via West Asia and the Mediterranean region could serve as an “alternative trans-regional commercial transportation route” to the troubled Chabahar-based International North-South Transit Corridor. “Instead of Chabahar, the ports of the UAE —India’s third largest trading partner — would serve as the Indian Ocean connectivity node,” he said. 

He observed that from Mumbai, Indian goods shipped by this route could arrive on the European mainland in as less as 10 days — 40% faster than through the Suez Canal maritime route. 

Professor Tanchum also observed that India’s “careful cultivation” of multilateral economic cooperation with such a corridor “was of paramount importance.” According to him, “Despite India’s favourable demographics, geography and commercial transportation infrastructure are not alone sufficient to ensure that India will realise its potential as a Eurasian economic power.” He further elaborated that, “Commercial corridors only emerge where requisite large investments in port and rail infrastructure are coupled with an industrial base anchored in manufacturing value chains”— precisely the purpose of the present corridor. 

This corridor may also hint at further normalisation of ties between Israel and the countries in the Gulf. 

How does this relate to the Israel and Gulf relationship?

Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have diplomatic ties —primarily because of differences of opinion about the Israel-Palestine conflict. In fact, Israel has official ties with only Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco in the Arab region. In this light, the transit network which seeks integration on multiple fronts assumes particular significance. 

Financial Times learnt from a person briefed about the discussions, that the corridor’s passage through Jordan and Israel could also support the Biden administration’s effort to build on the recent normalisation of ties between Israel and several Arab states, including the UAE. This may push Saudi Arabia to follow suit and formalise ties. “China is one factor. The U.S. is also trying to refocus attention on the region, to reassure traditional partners and to maintain influence,” the publication learnt. 

With Saudi Arabia being the world’s top exporter of oil and UAE being West Asia’s dominant finance centre, the publication writes that both are “seeking to project themselves as key logistics and trade hubs between east and west.” 

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