Abu Dhabi reaffirmed its place as a regional cultural and innovation hub with the profitable internet hosting of the inaugural Congress of Arabic and Inventive Industries (Congress ACI), a significant occasion that introduced collectively greater than 1,600 professionals from native, regional, and worldwide companies working throughout the cultural and artistic sectors.
Held underneath the management of the Division of Tradition and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the Congress served as a dynamic platform to showcase the facility of creativity, storytelling, and cultural enterprise in shaping the Arab world’s future. Over 600 individuals additionally engaged in devoted capability constructing programmes, signalling a powerful dedication to expertise improvement and data change throughout the business.
One of many occasion’s main milestones got here in the course of the opening speech by His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, who introduced a groundbreaking partnership between DCT’s Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) and Amazon to develop the biggest Digital Arabic Library ever hosted on Amazon.
One other key second was the revealing of the first-ever Congress ACI Arab Youth Survey, offering helpful perception into the artistic aspirations, challenges, and alternatives perceived by the area’s youthful generations. The findings sparked significant dialogue throughout classes, with youth voices on the centre of the dialog.
All through the congress, attendees heard from a distinguished line-up of audio system and cultural icons. Amongst them had been famend actors Hend Sabry and Nadine Labaki, comic Mo Amer, and filmmaker Tima Shomali – every of whom shared private reflections on the position of creativity, id, and resilience of their respective industries.
This 12 months additionally marked the second version of the Youth X Congress and the Innovation Awards, which noticed a major improve in participation from college students and rising professionals. Attendance greater than doubled in comparison with the earlier 12 months, underscoring the rising affect and curiosity of the area’s youth in the way forward for cultural and artistic industries.

Congress ACI 2025 not solely celebrated the vibrancy of the Arab world’s cultural panorama but in addition set the tone for the longer term – the place creativity, innovation, and collaboration proceed to drive significant impression throughout generations.
