When the Wells Run Dry - Visions for the Gulf
The smaller Gulf states and emirates are preparing for that time now. The emirs have initiated ambitious cultural, athletic, environmental and educational projects in an effort to secure the future of their nations. DW-TV reviews these initiatives in its four-part documentary series “When the Wells Run Dry – Visions for the Gulf”
Part 1: Ecological Oasis
Some people are calling the project for a zero-emission, zero-waste city in Abu Dhabi’s desert “Eco-topia”. The Emirates want to invest 22 billion euros in the city of the future, called Masdar. “Normal” petrol and diesel cars won’t be allowed. To many people’s surprise a fair bit is happening environmentally in these states that can bank on fossil fuels for an estimated thirty years. They hope these enormous investments will allow them to catch up with the West’s technological lead in on the ecological front.
Part 2: Tapping into Learning Power
The Gulf states have another thirty years before most of their oil resources run dry. As a future source of wealth, tourism alone won’t suffice. Now the sheikhs are going full speed ahead to train their young, and the raw material of tomorrow is not crude oil or gas, but knowledge. In Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Oman future generations will have to shape their own destiny before the era of oil wealth draws to a close.
Part 3: Sports and Games
Oil wealth in the Gulf region is running out. But even so there’s a new positive, pioneering spirit. The Emirates are placing their hopes for the future on new concepts, increasing their tourist attraction and organizing major sports events. Dubai has applied to host the 2020 Olympic Games and Qatar the 2022 soccer World Cup, and they are planning major sports sites, unprecedented on our planet.
Part 4: Cultural Development
Within decades, the United Arab Emirates have transformed themselves from desert territories into modern statehood, thanks to oil. The speed of these changes and the influx of millions of people from all around the world have transformed Islamic-influenced societies into a cultural melting pot. Four German artists - a painter, a conductor, a designer and a museum curator - have moved to the Emirates to advance understanding and to help create a new, cosmopolitan Gulf culture.