The Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries returns to Manarat Al Saadiyat on 20 September, with a programme built around Arabic-language AI, creative-industry financing and the commercial value of Arabic IP. The fifth edition is free to attend with registration.
Organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, the congress runs this year under the theme “Arabic as Infrastructure: Language, Identity and Economic Power in the Digital Age”. The framing is deliberate: what began in 2022 as a publishing congress has widened into the creative industries at large — books, film, games, dubbing and the platforms that carry them.
What’s on at the Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries
The session titles do the work. Arabic Content Value and IP covers book rights, transmedia franchises, game localisation and licensing. Financing Arabic Creative Industries brings Anghami co-founder Eddy Maroun, Global Ventures founder Noor Sweid and producer Mohamed Hefzy together to talk about the investment gap in the region’s creative economy. A gamification session argues that games and interactive learning can carry Arabic-language acquisition, cultural identity and community engagement.
Who’s speaking
Anne-Claire Legendre, president of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, opens with a session on Arabic language and identity in a changing world. Egyptian singer-songwriter Hamza Namira follows with a discussion of his craft and an evening acoustic performance. Historian Roy Casagranda traces Arabic’s imprint on Spanish and Italian, while Ahmed Amin runs a masterclass on writing Arabic comedy for digital and Todd Gallicano — writer of the 2023 Netflix film Best. Christmas. Ever! — covers building worlds that extend across platforms.
The Arabic Language Law session
A dedicated session covers the UAE’s forthcoming Arabic Language Law, due in 2027. Mubarak Al Nakhi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Culture, will walk through the requirements announced in May: expanded Arabic teaching in schools and universities, and wider use of the language in public advertising and conferences.
How to attend
The congress runs 20 September at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi — the same venue that hosted Animenia Abu Dhabi earlier this year. Entry is free upon registration through the congress website. The full 2026 programme and speaker list are still being announced, per the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre; last year’s edition featured Nadine Labaki, Mo Amer and Hend Sabry. The congress is the latest step in an Abu Dhabi push that has also paired Abu Dhabi Gaming with ASPIRE on AI-assisted game development, and it sits alongside the emirate’s broader event calendar — the World Future Energy Summit opened there in January and Animenia’s 2026 run landed at the same venue.
When and where is the Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries?
The fifth edition runs 20 September 2026 at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, as a single day of keynotes, panel discussions and masterclasses.
Is the Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries free to attend?
Yes — entry is free upon registration. Register your interest through the congress website (congressaci.com/contact).
What is the theme of the 2026 congress?
Arabic as Infrastructure: Language, Identity and Economic Power in the Digital Age. The programme covers Arabic-language AI tools, the commercial value of Arabic IP, game localisation, creative-industry financing and the UAE’s forthcoming Arabic Language Law.
What is the Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries?
An annual Abu Dhabi event launched in 2022 by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, part of the Department of Culture and Tourism. It began as a publishing congress and has expanded to cover the wider creative industries, from film and music to games and AI.
