Establishment of the Ministry
Emiri Decree No. 57 of 2021 was issued, outlining the functions of the ministries. The Ministry of Culture is responsible for all cultural and media affairs, as stated in Article 13, which includes:
- Overseeing for cultural, artistic, and heritage affairs.
- Preserving national and popular heritage, highlighting its unique characteristics, and conducting related studies and research.
- Supervising the organization of the cultural and heritage environment in the state.
- Organizing events and celebrating national occasions.
- Issuing licenses for the creation of artistic groups.
- Supervising public libraries, cultural institutions, and museums.
- Proposing and implementing policies for the media sector and setting technical standards and content guidelines.
- Licensing and overseeing the establishment and ownership of audiovisual broadcasting stations and monitoring their broadcasted content.
- Issuing licenses for publications, press releases, and artistic works, and overseeing their content.
- Supervising the media sector to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and systems.
- Setting conditions and standards for the establishment of clubs, centers, committees, and associations with cultural and media purposes, and issuing related approvals and licenses.
- Enhancing the national talent base in the media sector.
- Supporting and supervising media content development initiatives.
Historical Overview
The Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage was established in mid-2008, after several stages of development. The first entity related to the ministry was created in 1998 with the establishment of the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Heritage. The foundation for a ministry dedicated to Culture and Arts began with the creation of the Department of Culture and Arts in 1976 as a unit within the Ministry of Information. In 1977, the department, along with the Public Libraries and Museums and Antiquities Departments, was transferred to the Ministry of Education and Culture.