When Her Excellency Hala Badri considers the impact of culture, she asks whether people can find themselves within it. A child encountering art in her neighborhood might begin to see creativity as something that belongs in her life, while the stories preserved around her offer a connection to where she comes from. “I believe culture creates impact when people can see themselves within it and imagine a wider future through it,” she says.
Since becoming Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority in 2019, Hala has brought an unusually broad range of experience to the role, shaped by a career across industries that might initially seem removed from culture.
Drawn from an early age to stories and the way they shape behavior, Badri carried that curiosity with her through a career spanning telecommunications, energy, media, real estate, and sustainability. Moving between sectors never felt like stepping away from a defined path so much as an opportunity to learn from a different environment and see her work from a new perspective.
“Every sector offered a different lens,” she says, each one adding to the way she understood people, organizations, and the responsibility that comes with guiding them.
During 11 years at du, she helped build a new national brand and witnessed technology’s ability to connect people at scale, an understanding she carried into later work at ADNOC and on the UAE National Pavilion for Expo 2020, where national ambition became something people could experience and feel part of.
“One of my clearest milestone moments was realizing that communication is a form of leadership that reveals purpose, aligns people, and builds trust,” she says.
As Badri’s career evolved, the people who shaped her most remained close to home. She speaks of her mother and daughter as her greatest sources of strength, while her grandmother gave her the spiritual grounding she carries with her today. Their influence continues to shape the way she thinks about what we leave for those who follow.
Only months into her role at Dubai Culture, she found herself navigating circumstances few could have anticipated. An organizational transformation was already underway when the pandemic changed how people gathered, created, and experienced culture.
With familiar ways of working suddenly disrupted, Her Excellency gave teams a clear sense of where the organization was heading while trusting them to help shape the way forward. As Dubai Culture adapted, digital engagement grew, and the creative community remained closely involved, supported by stronger governance across the organization. That approach was reflected in the results, with Employee Happiness increasing by 37% and Customer Happiness reaching 94% by 2024. “Resilience grows when people understand the destination and feel trusted to shape the route,” she says.
Badri listens before deciding, particularly when another perspective might challenge her first view. “A title gains meaning when it creates confidence, opportunity, and room for others to lead.”
Walking through Dubai offers her constant reminders of how naturally its history can remain present as the city changes. Heritage houses in Al Fahidi come alive with contemporary work, while industrial spaces in Al Quoz have found new life as creative homes. Across the city, public art brings unexpected encounters with creativity into ordinary journeys.
Hala Badri carries particular pride in ICOM Dubai 2025, which brought the global museum community to the city for the first ICOM General Conference held in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Years of work by museum professionals, partners, volunteers, cultural leaders, and young people had created something that reached beyond Dubai, giving the wider region a global platform.
“That moment reminded me that a bold bid can become a platform for an entire region when ambition is matched with collaboration and shared purpose.”
She places considerable faith in young Emiratis and UAE-based creatives finding their own ways to carry heritage forward while embracing new ideas and technologies. She wants them to inherit strong institutions and genuine opportunities, but also the confidence to decide what the next chapter should look like.
When Her Excellency speaks to women building their careers, she encourages them to invest first in what they know and what they can contribute. “Build depth, then let visibility follow,” she says. “Learn your craft, understand the context, ask for responsibility and choose roles that stretch your capacity.”
Her younger self would receive a different piece of advice: “Trust your voice sooner, and use it in service of something larger than yourself.”
“The finest legacy is a future that keeps creating possibility.”
