WEBVTT - Mohamed Al Mubarak 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:04.960 People who want to see great art often go to 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:07.480 the Louver in Paris, but now there's another Louver. It's 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:09.720 an Abu Dhabi and it's about to be a Guggenheim 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:12.840 in Abu Dhabi as well. Who's behind building these museums 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:16.400 and other cultural attractions in Abu Dhabi. It's Mohammed al Mubark. 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:19.520 He's the chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:21.840 in Abu Dhabi, and I sat down with him recently 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:24.400 in his office to talk about why Abu Dhabi wants 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:28.040 to be a major cultural center and tourist attraction For 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:30.880 those people who aren't familiar with Abu Dhabi. Where is 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:31.600 Abu Dhabi. 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:35.000 So, Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Emirates. 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:40.120 It sits in the Arabian Peninsula. We are a connecting 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.600 point between east and West from present day and throughout 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:44.199 our history. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:49.839 The other major city that people know in UAE is Dubai, Yes, sir, 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:53.040 and so Dubai and Abu Dhabi have attracted a lot 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:55.760 of attention in recent years because they have a fair 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:58.560 amount of wealth and a lot of tourism attractions. So 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.000 let's just talk about at the beginning what your main 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.920 mission is as the Minister of Culture and Tourism. What 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:05.520 are you supposed to be doing in that role? 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:09.600 And I think what makes this job very interesting is 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:14.160 the passion it instills in myself and all of my colleagues. 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.240 We have something quite special here in Abbi and then 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.720 of that Emirates. What's special is that the continuous pursuit 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:23.440 of the enhancement of quality of life. And that's not 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:26.800 just for tourists, for the residents, it's for the amorates 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:29.560 living here. We continuously work hand in hand with all 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.480 our colleagues and our partners to create experiences to cater 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:35.360 to their needs. So as you can see in Ablebi 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:38.560 and in the UEE, almost every single year there's addition 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:43.960 of experiences. There's addition of institutions, editions of new concepts 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:48.920 that come in and create these fantastic curated experiences for 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:50.920 people to really chair, USh and enjoy. 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:53.400 What is the population of Abu Dhabi, So the. 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:56.160 Population of the ue slightly over eleven million people. 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:58.520 And Abu Dhabi is a fraction of that. 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:01.640 Yes, it's the largest land bank, as I said, the 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.640 capital city. You know, we're a little over three and 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:05.520 a half million people. 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.919 Your position is to make sure that people come here 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:11.720 and understand what the attractions are of Abu Dhabi. But 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:14.280 you're building a lot of things. So how long have 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:15.200 you been in this position? 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:20.440 So I've been at Aldaar for twenty years and at 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:22.800 the Department of Culture and Tourism close to ten years. 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:25.880 And you know, I'm very humbled and lucky to be 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:32.480 working for a government that has visionary ideas. Their vision 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.840 of investing in culture and culture institutions have not just 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:38.560 been set forth in recent modern times, but from the 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:42.200 inception of this country the idea of basically enhancing it 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:47.440 with entertainment projects, projects that are theme parks, projects that 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:51.520 are public parks, beaches, etc. Has always continuously evolved through 0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:52.480 the development of the UE. 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:55.160 And for those who are not familiar with Abu Dhabi, 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:57.360 when did it become as part of the UAA and 0:02:57.440 --> 0:02:58.400 independent country? 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.960 So as a country, it's nineteen seventy one, but its 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.359 history and the history of its people have dated back 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:05.720 for thousands of years. 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.200 And the founder of the country was shak Zayed. 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:10.920 Yes the late founder of the country, the late father 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:16.000 Shazaied and Hayan. He was a visionary man through his vision, 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.160 you see this country being created that caters to the 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:22.000 wants and needs of its people. And you know it's 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.480 been His story is continued on by his son, the 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:27.680 current president, His Highness Chahamed Benzaid. 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.720 When was oil discovered in Abu Aabi? 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:35.320 So oil was discovered prior to the formation of the country. 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.200 It was discovered, and when it was discovered, it was 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.360 thought of how am I going to utilize this natural resources? 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.960 Like we've always utilized our natural resources to find value, 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.680 to create value for our people, I sue. 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:51.160 But before oil was discovered, the main business in this 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:53.720 part of the world er Abu Dhabi was what. 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:57.240 You know, through time, we've always utilized our natural resources, 0:03:57.280 --> 0:04:01.080 whether it's pearls, whether it's copper. You know, we've always 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.120 been a trade partner. You know, our ancient trade routes, 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:07.920 whether it's we're ancient Mesopotamia to ancient China, We've always 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:12.920 traded natural resources throughout time. We've always utilized that. And 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:15.800 just like we've utilized oil, the next step is utilizing 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.920 the most important natural resources, which is us people, human beings. 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.400 Let's talk about some of the museums you're building or 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.359 have already built. So when I want to go see 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.840 the Louver, I usually go to Paris. But now I 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:31.279 found out you have your own Louver, just that connected 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:32.400 to the one in Paris. 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:37.000 By name, but not by curatorial intent or by misography. 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.080 So the louver Able of course, is in partnership with 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.040 the Louver Paris, as in partnership with AFM, which is 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:46.440 the Asian France Museums. That partnership is a long standing 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:50.640 partnership that continues to flourishes. In that partnership, there is 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.240 a there is a transfer of knowledge that's being transferred 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:57.200 to on a daily basis. There's loans that come from 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.760 the different French museums. That's compounded with the acquisitions that 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.400 we acquire for our assets and with the team building 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:05.400 that we have created from the opening of this museum. 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:07.880 They lend you some things from time to time and 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.360 you lend them something absolutely so are they going to 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:11.960 lend them on a leasha anytime soon? 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:16.000 Maybe? Maybe? You know. Currently we have a one of 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.839 the most beautiful paintings in our museums and at the 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:22.680 Louver is Da Vinci's John the Baptist, and it's quite 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:26.359 beautiful because the way we have the musography of the 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:29.720 Louver Abby is quite interesting because it gives you a 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:32.159 one to one view of everything you're looking at, whether 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.320 it's a painting, whether it's an artifact. It is very 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:38.680 sort of inept in creating a passionate interaction with what 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:39.280 you're looking at. 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:44.120 We're building another art museum of the Gugenheim. Now Louver's 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.160 big enough. Why do you need a Googenheim as well 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:46.880 right next door? 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.080 I think it's a great question. It's I think the 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:52.320 beautiful thing about the Ue and Abodabi is we live 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:55.480 with over two hundred nationalities and in doing so, they 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:58.479 have become a part of the countries and the city's fabric, 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:01.120 and we need to celebrate that. So we need to 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:06.359 celebrate everybody's identity, everybody's background, everybody's heritage, everybody's history. And 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:09.360 what a beautiful way in doing so in these beautiful institutions. 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:13.440 These museums are educational institutions and their community institutions. So 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:16.680 we wanted to curate really a story where you come 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:19.800 to saidiat cultural district and you, if you allow me 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.880 to curate the story, you start off at the Natural 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.440 History Museum, and at the Natural History Museum you get 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:26.400 a glimpse and you get an understanding of how we 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.400 came to be, how our earth came to be, how 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.960 our universe came to be from a scientific perspective. Once 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:34.039 you leave the Natural History Museum, you go to our 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:37.400 national museum, the Chersaid National Museum. There you understand the 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.880 history of this great land, not just the history of 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.120 the country, but the people of this land that have 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:43.960 been a part of this land for over three hundred 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:46.880 thousand years. You get a glimpse of what the past 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.200 and the present and the future looks like here in 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:52.600 the Ue. From there you maneuver yourself to the Eluf 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:56.240 of Abbababi, which is a beautiful universal museum. It is 0:06:56.440 --> 0:07:00.599 universal and stematic approach, so there you basically see a 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.800 part of view on an equal pedestal with the entire world. 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.159 Then you leave to the Guggenheim able By, which is 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.440 a contemporary art museum focusing on art from the late 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.800 nineteen forties to today, but it looks at it at 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:16.200 a truly global perspective. So yes, you will see art 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:19.920 from Pollock or Rothko or Bascia or Warhol, but it's 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:22.400 going to be side by side by artists from Kenya 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:26.240 from Nepal, from the Philippines and all over the world. 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.240 We have taken it upon ourselves to make sure that 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:31.760 art within the Gugenheim Abaab is showcased not just from 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:34.520 a Western perspective, but a truly global South perspective. 0:07:34.560 --> 0:07:37.280 You're wanting to build a modern contemporary art museum, Why 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:39.400 couldn't you just build one? Why did you have an 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:41.760 affiliation or why do you have an affiliation with Gougenheim? 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:42.560 What can they do for you? 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:45.000 So some mixture of things similar to the loof first 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.119 is a fantastic opportunity of transfer of knowledge, working side 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:50.640 by side with that fantastic team at the Guggenheim in 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:53.320 New York and at the Gougenheim Bilbao and working on 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:57.560 how we can detail this museum together. Compounded by that, 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:01.760 you know, you're taking years and blueprints of acquisition committees, 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:05.480 of curatorial committees, musography committees, and you're taking them and 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:07.880 then you're evolving them to your wants and to your needs. 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:10.920 Museums are great, and I I'm involved with a number 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:14.280 of museums myself the United States, but also there are 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:17.840 performing arts parts of the cultural world. Are you involved 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:21.320 in performing arts as well, absolutely. I mean Unesco designated 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:23.640 as a city of Music. Music is very close to 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:24.040 our heart. 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:25.800 As I said, you know, when you live with over 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:28.880 two other nationalities, they bring in their musical touches to 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.480 the story. So you know, our events calendar is filled 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:35.720 with music from everything from classical music to hip hop, 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:39.440 to pop, to Korean pop to dance, and the list 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.760 goes on. And you know since COVID, where the world 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:44.360 told us people are not going to come to these 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.040 live events, we have pretty much sold out every single 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:49.560 live musical events catering for all demographics. 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:52.760 That you build a facility for these as well, yes, sir, yes, sir. 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:55.320 And let me ask you who is going to go 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:58.040 to all these because your population is not that big. 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:00.160 Do you have enough people that can fill up all 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.280 these museums and performing arts arenas and so forth. 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:07.000 So I think first and foremost is the why, as 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:09.560 you rightfully said, why are we building these So when 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.520 it comes to our cultural institutions, because we truly believe 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.960 that culture is the backbone of any forward thinking society. 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:18.640 Culture has to be embedded in our DNA like it's 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:21.560 always has been, so they're not The institutions were not 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:24.280 built for tourists, that are actually built for the residence 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:26.640 here and for the future generations of residents here in 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.280 Abbabi and the United Aldamirates. And of course then you 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:32.080 have the tourism story. Last year we had little under 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.719 five point three million tourists. We're looking to target this 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:36.360 year a little bit over six million tourists. 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:39.320 Where are your tourists principally coming from, really from all 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:39.880 over the world. 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:41.880 But I think if I'm going to look at five time, 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:45.000 my top five destinations, you're looking at the Indian market, 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:49.480 the Chinese market, the Russian market, the UK market, of course, 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:53.040 the Western European markets, whether it's Germany or France. So 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:54.360 they're really coming from everywhere. 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:56.000 What about the Americans? Are they showing up? 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:58.200 Absolutely so. We have seen a double digit growth of 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:00.600 the last two years with American tours coming from the US. 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:02.679 You know, I was chairman of the Smithsonian for a 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:04.920 number of years, and very often when we had a 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:09.440 popular museum attraction, we get calls who people wanted free tickets. 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:12.200 Tickets are free, but they wanted access. If you ever 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:13.720 get that kind of request. 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.200 Yeah, And you know, the fact of the matter is, 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:17.679 like I said, these museums are educational institutions. So first 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:21.800 of all, all kids going for free, all military personnel 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.600 going for free, anybody over the age of sixty goes 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:29.440 in for free. And then anybody who's doing research gets 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:33.880 a heavily subsidized aspect of their ticket. They also get 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.320 the right to basically enter all our research labs. So, 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.480 like I said, they are educational and community facilities. What 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:43.880 about private equity people, they go on for free if 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:44.480 they sponsor. 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:48.600 So as we talk, there's a fair amount of turmoil 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:52.120 in some parts of the Middle East, obviously, but what 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:54.080 about this part of the Middle East? Is it affected 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:58.559 by what's going on in Israel? And Gaza and Syria 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:01.160 and Lebanon are not so affected? 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:03.520 I think first and foremost, one thing that we all 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.640 as human beings look for is peace and harmony. You know, 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:11.360 nobody wants to see devastation happening anywhere around the world, 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.440 regardless if it's next to you or not next to you. 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.760 The United Emirates is home to two hundred nationalities from 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:20.440 all over the world, different religions, different backgrounds, and the 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:23.600 focus is really on how we keep our community safe 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:27.000 and make sure that basically we work with entire diplomatic 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:28.920 ties to make sure that we can find the solution 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.119 that caters for the wants and needs of the overall 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:34.200 world when it comes to peaceful coexistence. 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:37.640 Now in the United States, there's a big concern about 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.560 immigration into the country as a political issue. Yes, sir, 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.360 here you have a lot of immigrants coming in. More 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:46.880 immigrants live here than people from the native part of 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.600 Abu Dhabi. I assume is that a concern or is 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:50.480 that not like a problem? 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:52.400 Not a problem because the fact the matter is that 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:55.400 we're still a developing country. We're still a developing city. 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:59.040 Everything is done through a well thought of strategy. So 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:01.680 it's not just basically let's open our doors and everybody 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:04.120 come in. You know, you're looking for talent also, you 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:08.000 know teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers. These are people that are 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:09.720 flying in here that are helping us grow. 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:13.880 So sometimes when populations grow quickly, you see a lot 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:16.800 of crime. You have a lot of crime here. 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.280 It is one of the safest cities in the world. 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:22.920 One because there is a clear strategy and a plan 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:26.480 for that. But two, everybody lives here, loves the way 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:29.600 of life here. They want to sustain it. So everybody 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:31.400 works hand in hand together to sustain that. 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.000 In Europe and the United States, you often see in 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.719 major cities homeless people. I haven't seen any here, but 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.080 maybe there are some. There's homelessness a problem. 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.480 So when it comes to the local population, and this 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:45.480 is where I always go back and say, you know, 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:49.440 the government continuously works on enhancing the quality of life 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:52.200 of the residents and the locals of the United Emirates. 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:55.920 So US as locals, you know, we have opportunities to 0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:58.880 get free land for our housing, So free housing, free 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:04.800 medicare subzed power and water, and a job opportunity. So 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:07.640 you are given the tools to succeed. What you do 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:09.240 after these tools is really up to you. 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.760 Let's talk about your own background. So where were you born. 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:15.480 I was born in Paris, Paris, yes, Sir Paris friends, 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:19.360 and moved back to Abby and grew up here. I 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:23.680 had a fantastic upbringing. You know, the community society was 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:27.000 just amazing to be a part of it, always seeing 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:30.480 a sense of how leadership is so close to the people, 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:32.400 on how it always wants to make sure that the 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:35.800 people are comfortable and happy. You know, my mother did 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:40.200 an amazing job with my siblings and myself. We're very 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:42.400 close together. You know, my brother and my sisters were 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:43.840 all a very tight knit family. 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:45.360 How many shiplings do you have? 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:48.000 So I have a older brother and two older sisters, 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:49.000 so we're full of this. 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:52.400 Older brother runs Mubarra, which is an investment or. Yes, 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.920 Sir Abu Dhabie and your sisters are they involved in 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:57.720 Abu Dhabi in some way like you are? 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:02.040 So? My sister Razannel Mobarak, she works for the environmental 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.280 agency here nobleb You know, she is an advocator of 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:10.680 sustainability and safeguarding the environment. My other sister as a 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:14.920 studied lawyer and right now she has probably a very 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.720 important job which is focusing on her family. 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:20.320 Now, your brother once told me that you have a 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:25.440 big comic book collection. So you still collect that comic books? 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:26.400 And what are you going to do with them? 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.160 So I've I fell in love with comics at a 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.720 very early age. You know, I grew up. I remember 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:36.440 as early as I can. Every time I'd find a 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:40.440 Superman comic, or a Batman comic, or an X Men comic, 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:43.160 you know, whether it's DC or Marvel, I basically gobbled 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:44.880 them up. I took them up, and I ran up 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:46.520 to my room and I sat on my corner and 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:50.640 I basically just I love the concept of creating something 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:54.520 so imaginative, creating these worlds, you know, creating these characters 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.880 that are actually so detailed, but they have so much 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:00.800 weight to them, emotional weight to them. I love that, 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:02.960 you know. I love the concept of storytelling. And that's 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:06.440 what actually what my job's all about today. It's about storytelling. 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:10.640 Whether it's curating museums with the Fantastic team, whether it's 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:14.120 curating experiences in our theme parks, whether it's curating experiences, 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:15.360 it's storytelling and itself. 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:18.440 Finish your own story. Did you go to college in 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:20.120 the United States or yes, sir. 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:23.280 So, I went to college in Boston and Northeastern University. 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:25.200 Amazing four years of my life. 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:26.200 You know, I love study. 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:30.040 I studied political science and economics. Did study museums, No, 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.160 But I was I was always infactuated. 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:34.960 So when you went to college in Boston, as you 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.280 told people you were from Abu Dhabi, what did they say? 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:39.360 So where it was? 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.320 You know? I was lucky, you know, I went to 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.560 university and I went to a place where you had 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:46.960 a lot of international university kids from all over the world, 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:49.200 so they knew where U is, they knew where Abbi was, 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:52.960 but they had, you know, not a lot of information 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:56.440 about it. The funny thing right now is every single 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.400 student I went to school with has come to the 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.040 Abbab And when they've come down here, they've called me 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:03.120 and said, oh, you remember I was with you in 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:05.280 freshman year, I was with you in sophomore years with 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:06.960 here And I said, yeah, of course, remember, he said, 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:09.920 you know we've come here. It is amazing. They ask 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.840 you for free tickets to lover sometimes sometimes they do. 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.160 Sometimes they do. You know, I don't give my professor's 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:16.440 free tickets, but the students I do. 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:18.320 If I'm just going to say to you, I'm going 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:20.040 to leave the country in about an hour, I have 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.280 to fly back to the United States. I've got an 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.880 hour to visit something. What should I visit in my 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:25.440 one hour? 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:28.240 Due to our infrastructure? What I believe you can do 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:33.120 in an hour? You being a cultural enthusiast, I would 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:37.680 probably recommend you visit the Side Mosque. And you see, 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:39.239 it's this beautiful mosque. 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:40.600 And one of those gregious mosque in the world. 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.960 Absolutely, and it's just it's architectural stunning. You get there, 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:47.720 you get an understanding of this beautiful space. Maybe spend 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:49.840 twenty minutes there, and then if you have an hour, 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:53.160 and then it's a around eight to ten minute drive 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:57.200 to Russell Husson, the oldest standing fort here in Abodabi. 0:16:57.240 --> 0:16:59.240 It's in the center of the city. You also get 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:01.760 a view of the entire sort of city. Spend twenty 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:04.680 minutes there and then you shoot out. Eight minutes later 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:06.240 you're at the Louver Bladubby and then you're off the 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:08.920 airport and currently at the Louverbadubby, we have an amazing 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:12.159 post impressionist exhibition. If you get a chance, it's amazing, 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:15.280 some amazing Van goghs. So you tick that box. 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:18.320 You've had some NBA pre season games here, sir. Are 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:22.040 you planning and bringing any NBA teams here permanently or 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:23.000 just for pre season? 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:26.400 Sports and itself brings people together regardless what your background. 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.520 So we're big on sports entertainment. 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:28.840 You know. 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:32.239 We've started that the with Formula one in not just 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:36.480 focusing on the sport itself, but creating musical experiences, food 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:40.159 and beverage experiences, retail experiences, all engulfed over a weekend 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.760 and the whole city basically celebrates Formula one. Then you 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:45.919 took it to another step further where we took the 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.920 engineering and the sports excellence component and we've embedded it 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:54.160 within our school programs and our different educational programs. And 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:57.119 it's because since we've started Formula one to where we 0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:02.280 are today now we have a strong of female drivers, 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:06.040 male drivers racing in all aspects of racing within the 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:09.560 UE and beyond. So it is really a long term 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:12.760 partnership story with the sport itself. Same thing with UFC. 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:16.199 We brought in UFC. Prior to the UFC investment, there 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:18.480 was an investment in the sports ju jitsu. Jiu jitsu 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.520 became a national sport and today we have over seven 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.159 hundred and fifty thousand jiu jitsu fighters here in the 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:28.359 UE that have won global medals from all over the world. 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:30.399 You can clearly see that we are investing not just 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:32.720 in the sport, but in the infrastructure, both hard and soft. 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:35.640 So Abu Dhabi is part of the UAE, is part 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.680 of what's called the Golf Cooperation Council, which is a 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.480 number of countries that are blessed with having some oil. 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:43.000 I would say, most of them have a fair amount 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:49.760 of oil. They include Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:52.920 So are these other countries Shiella's saying, hey, don't bring 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:55.360 all these tours just to your country, because we want 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:57.760 to have some tours too, because they don't have anything 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:00.240 quite like you have. Did they ever mention this to you? 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.040 You know? On the contrary, you know, we've heard sort 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.400 of press outside press talk about, for example, competitiveness between 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.080 even Abadabi and Dubai. But the fact of the matter 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:12.000 is is we all are complementary, similar to what we 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.920 see in places like the US or even Europe, just 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:16.680 because of the size of the US. But we will 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.119 fly to the US, you know, their bucket list is 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:22.800 to go to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:25.800 and the list goes on. Same thing. In Europe, it's Paris, 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:30.439 it's London, it's Rome, it's Milan, and the list goes on. 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:33.080 When it comes to this region, like I said, it 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:37.240 is widely connected, it is in close proximity to each other. 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:43.840