Despite the Arabic language being spoken by hundreds of millions globally, a concerning trend has emerged where 80 percent of media consumed by children in the UAE is in foreign languages. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, recently highlighted this disparity as a critical challenge, noting that there is a massive untapped market for high-quality Arabic media. He proposes a 50-50 balance between Arabic and foreign content, viewing this not as a sign of the language's decline, but as a golden opportunity for local creators to bridge the cultural gap through modern platforms like gaming, animation, and social media.

To reverse this trend, Al Mubarak is calling on the region’s youth to take the lead, positioning them as the primary drivers of future cultural growth. By looking at the global success of South Korean media as a blueprint, he believes that with the right level of regional coordination and intellectual investment, Arabic content can achieve international reach. He concluded his address at the Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries with an urgent appeal to young creatives to focus on producing compelling content in Arabic, promising that Abu Dhabi stands ready to support these efforts to ensure the language remains vibrant and relevant for future generations.