Creative Industries Middle East

Middle East | Government

The League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية‎ Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabiyya), commonly called the Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية‎ al-Jāmiʻa al-ʻArabiyya), is a regional organization of Arab states in and around North Africa and Southwest Asia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945.
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Middle East and Cultural and Creative Sectors

According to CISAC, Africa and the Middle East are a rising market for Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS), with US$58 billion in revenues (3% of worldwide CCS) and 2.4 million jobs (8% of worldwide CCS), according to EY (December 2015). In the CISAC comparison of CCS in worldwide regions, the growth seems to be high in the Middle East. The worldbank in 2017, estimates “creative industries are growing fastest, at more than 10% a year” in the Middle-East.

Numbers differ though for specific countries, as well as the characteristics of CCS vary from TV to games, and architecture to visual arts. The world bank for instance estimates creative industries to contribute 7% to the global GDP in Kuwait. CCS in other Middle East countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, are rising very fast.

Some countries have strong investment programs, based on cultural and creative industries policy. Beginning of 2018, the United Arab Emirates launched the UAE Cultural Development Fund, related to the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development. In this way, cultural activities and projects can be effectively supported.
> ecbnetwork.eu/creative-industries-in-the-middle-east

Did you know?

The Middle East is a subcontinent with no clear boundaries. The term “Middle East” was popularized around 1900 in the United Kingdom; it has a loose definition traditionally encompassing countries or regions in Western Asia and parts of North Africa. The corresponding adjective to Middle East is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner.

The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, and throughout its history the Middle East has been a major centre of world affairs. The Middle East is also the geographic origin of three of the world’s major religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The Middle East generally has an arid and hot climate, with several major rivers providing for irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas. Many countries located around the Persian Gulf have large quantities of crude oil. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive region.

One widely used definition of the “Middle East” is that of the airline industry, maintained by the IATA standards organization. This definition — as of early 2007 — includes Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. This definition is used in world-wide airfare and tax calculations for passengers and cargo.