Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, attended the Arab Media Summit 2026, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him.
Organized by the Dubai Press Club from September 15 to 17, the summit brought together a distinguished group of media leaders, intellectuals, academics, content creators, influencers, and professionals from across the UAE and the wider Arab world.
During the summit, Her Highness delivered a keynote address titled “This Is How the Story of Cities Is Written,” in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of the Dubai Media Council and Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the Arab Media Summit.
In the address, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum focused on the value of trust as one of the most important foundations shaping the relationship between people and the places in which they live. Her Highness emphasized that trust is not created in a single moment, but grows through experience and becomes firmly established when words are matched by actions, ultimately creating confidence in a brighter future.
From Building Reputation to Strengthening Trust
Her Highness emphasized that Dubai and the UAE moved beyond the stage of simply building a reputation long ago, entering a deeper phase centered on building and strengthening trust in people’s everyday lives.
Her Highness explained that this trust was not formed only during times of prosperity, but became even stronger during moments when society faced genuine challenges and tests.
Her Highness said: “When our leadership proved that people come first, standing with them and for them, and when our institutions demonstrated their ability to respond quickly, protect people, and ensure the continuity of their lives and businesses; this is when trust transformed from a value we speak about into an experience people live for themselves. Responsibility shifted from an institutional role into a unique social condition in which everyone participates, values became actions, and our multicultural and multinational society demonstrated its exceptional ability to show solidarity and cohesion.”
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also expressed pride in the solidarity and unity demonstrated by Emirati society, as well as the wisdom shown by the country in confronting crises, particularly during the recent aggression.
Her Highness said: “We witnessed something truly heartening. We saw how close our leadership and our Sheikhs are to the people, and how proud the people of the UAE are of their country and identity, and how firmly they hold to Emirati principles and to the path laid down for us by the Founding Fathers, may God bless their souls. This is the same path followed today by our leaders, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him. We expected this solidarity from a people devoted to the advancement of their nation, and who love their ruler, who in turn has devoted himself to the advancement of his people. What warmed our hearts even more was the support shown by residents, investors, and everyone who chose to live on this blessed land, standing behind its leadership and defending it with love and loyalty. It is a position we are deeply proud of.”
People at the Heart of Development
Her Highness noted that the scenes witnessed in the UAE during some of its most difficult circumstances prompted significant discussion and speculation, with some expecting large numbers of people to leave the country.
Yet reality demonstrated that a broad segment of residents and investors remained committed to their lives in the UAE and confident in the country.
In this context, Her Highness said: “Many expected that there must be something in return for defending the UAE, and today I confirm to everyone that this is true. The return is that they lived in a country that placed people at the heart of development, progress, and construction, and ensured that the outcomes of this development served them.”
Her Highness explained that everyone working in Dubai’s government sector understands the clear objective established by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for government entities and institutions: to ensure the happiness, comfort, and well-being of everyone living in Dubai.
When institutions, systems, and strategic transformations are all directed toward serving people and improving their quality of life, the natural result is the creation of a strong relationship of trust between individuals and the country, its leadership, and its government.
A Possibility Mindset Behind Achievement
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also discussed what Her Highness described as the “possibility mindset” that defines the experience of Dubai and the UAE, and which has contributed to successive achievements across different sectors while strengthening the country’s global competitiveness.
Her Highness said: “God has blessed us with a leadership that does not recognize the impossible, a leadership that has achieved successive successes across many sectors and fields and strengthened our global competitiveness. The reason behind these successes and achievements is not only the efficiency of our teams, the scale of our projects and investments, or the strength and resilience of our infrastructure, but also the possibility mindset that drives us toward achievement and keeps our eyes always focused on first place.”
Her Highness noted that the UAE has long believed in the abilities of its people and has also invested in everyone who has chosen to live and work on its soil, providing them with the tools, infrastructure, education, systems, and environment needed to succeed.
Through this approach, people have become genuine partners in shaping the future, while success has become accessible to everyone willing to combine ambition with hard work and determination.
Her Highness stressed that the deeper value of the UAE experience does not lie only in the major achievements it has delivered, but in the approach and mindset that made those achievements possible and sustainable.
Belonging Is Not Created by Opportunities Alone
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also spoke about Dubai’s success as a global city that has attracted tourists, investors, and residents from around the world.
Her Highness emphasized that attracting people through opportunities, jobs, and investment may be possible for successful cities, but creating a genuine sense of belonging requires something more.
True belonging begins when people feel that their relationship with a place is not based solely on what they receive from it, but also on what they are able to contribute to it.
When individuals feel that their presence has value and that they have a genuine role in shaping the future, their relationship with the city evolves from simple residence or employment into a deeper connection built on participation and belonging.
Media and Artificial Intelligence: Trust Is More Valuable Than Ever
Her Highness then turned to the major transformations taking place across the media sector, where the nature and tools of content creation have changed significantly.
Information is no longer scarce, reaching audiences has become easier, and content creation is no longer limited to a particular institution or organization.
Her Highness also highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in making content production easier and in transforming ideas into stories capable of reaching wide audiences in a short period of time.
However, this abundance of content has made trust more important than ever, particularly as AI-generated material continues to expand alongside the spread of misinformation and digitally manipulated content across online platforms.
Her Highness explained that this reality presents a major challenge to the credibility of news and information at a time when audiences are becoming increasingly cautious about what they see and read across different platforms.
Her Highness also pointed to the particular importance of this challenge in the Arab world, where people under the age of 30 account for more than 55% of the population.
This generation is deeply connected to the digital world, yet it is also increasingly aware of the risks associated with fake news and fabricated content.
Her Highness noted that the danger becomes even greater when everything becomes capable of being falsified, potentially leading to a decline in trust even in the truth itself.
Human Experience Cannot Be Replaced
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum emphasized that as technology makes storytelling and publishing easier, authentic human experience becomes even more valuable.
Technology can expand the reach of a story, improve the way it is presented, and deliver it to millions of people within seconds, but it cannot replace the honest and spontaneous human experiences that give a story its true spirit and meaning.
For this reason, the real-life experiences of people remain among the most powerful tools for building trust and shaping the image of cities and societies.
The most influential stories are not necessarily those a place tells about itself, but rather those that people tell about it as a result of the experiences they have lived and the trust, opportunities, and sense of belonging they have found there.
Arab Youth and Shaping the Future
Her Highness also addressed the Arab region’s exceptional cultural and civilizational wealth, including its deep history, diverse cultures, and a language that has carried thought, poetry, science, and knowledge across centuries.
Alongside this heritage, the region today possesses significant human potential, talent, and younger generations with an unprecedented ability to connect with the world and benefit from modern technology.
Her Highness emphasized that giving these generations trust and space to participate in shaping the future will allow their role to go far beyond benefiting from existing opportunities.
Instead, they will be able to create new opportunities themselves, contribute to significant transformations, and lead change with confidence and capability.
Great Cities Make People Partners in Their Future
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stressed that successful cities are capable of attracting people, but great cities go further by giving their residents a real opportunity to participate in shaping their future.
When people feel trusted and are given space to contribute and succeed, they themselves become storytellers of the city, and their experiences become living testimony to its ability to inspire belonging.
The true story of a city, therefore, is not written through projects alone, nor only through what it says about itself. It is written through the impact it leaves on people’s lives and through the stories its residents carry with them and share with the world.
Her Highness concluded the address by referring to the school of thought of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, saying: “We learned from the school of Mohammed bin Rashid that working with sincerity and genuine intention comes before achievement… and achievement is what speaks for itself.”
