Dubai Culture and KHDA Partner to Integrate Arts into Education

Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) have partnered to bolster the role of arts within the emirate's education system. They jointly organised an 'Innovation Lab: Integrating Arts and Design into the Educational System' at the Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children.

The session focused on developing mechanisms to embed arts and design into private school curricula and establish a framework to identify, nurture, and empower talented students. This initiative aligns with Dubai Culture's objective to advance creative education and equip future generations with skills vital for innovation, thereby strengthening Dubai's standing as a global hub for the creative economy.

Discussions during the lab involved senior leaders from both entities, examining the current state of arts and design education in schools, opportunities, and challenges. Participants explored ways to integrate various artistic disciplines, including creative writing, music, theatre, visual arts, design, culinary arts, project-based learning, and extracurricular reading, to foster early talent development.

The session also reviewed existing creative programmes in schools and benchmarked against international best practices. Key recommendations emerged, including the need for a comprehensive study to identify suitable policies and programmes for schools, mapping collaboration opportunities with relevant stakeholders, and defining priority initiatives for both short and long-term implementation.