Fifth Culture Summit Abu Dhabi to explore future of post-pandemic cultural world

ABU DHABI, TGO: The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced the 5th edition of its leading global forum, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, which will take place under the theme ‘A Living Culture’.

Designed to explore creative cultural solutions to the most pressing issues affecting the world today, the in-person event will return to Manarat Al Saadiyat in the UAE capital from 16th to 18th May, 2022.

This year’s theme of ‘A Living Culture’ will examine contemporary issues driving change in the culture and creative industries (CCI) and the wider culture sector today. The global pandemic’s impact on cultural production and dissemination has shifted our relationship with culture, transforming it into a more living and dynamic part of our daily lives. New cultural ecosystems characterised by greater fluidity, collaboration and resource sharing are emerging to support and sustain the CCI. Meanwhile, the evolving global media landscape provides both challenges and opportunities for preserving and promoting diversity of cultural expression and inclusion.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “Last year global cultural leaders recognised that the post-pandemic crisis in culture was profound and unprecedented. As the recovery process now gains momentum, we are taking practical steps to shape and strengthen the culture sector regionally and globally through partnership, debate and collaboration. The cultural summit in Abu Dhabi will once again convene brilliant and creative minds to explore the power of collectivity in uplifting societies. There can be no economic recovery without culture, so we seek to focus on outcomes and transformative actions that drive effective cultural solutions to the global challenges of our time.”

Each of the three days of the event will be organised to examine these subjects through a different lens, channelling discussion aimed at generating solutions to the critical challenges and opportunities in a world transformed by COVID-19.

Living Cultural Ecosystems will take a sectoral perspective, looking at the severe impact of the pandemic on the culture sector and the resultant need for new, more dynamic or living cultural and creative ecosystems – systems that are more adaptable, resilient and responsive to change.

Living in Culture will consider the subject from a community perspective, examining the exponential increase in digital content creation and dissemination which arose from the pandemic’s disruption to the CCI.

Culture, Diversity, Power will explore how the CCI (Culture & Creative Industries), and broader cultural resources are powerful drivers in identity building and inclusion in a diverse global environment – both physical and digital.

Through a series of panel discussions, keynotes, presentations, screenings and conversations, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi will harness the expertise of attending intellectuals, artists, educators and creative professionals to examine urgent contemporary issues. This includes the impact of digital media and AI, creative ecosystems and indigenous practices, representation, and topographies of public spaces, among many others.

Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2022 is organised by DCT Abu Dhabi in collaboration with UNESCO, Economist Impact, Google, the Design Museum London and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Other participating partners include Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Sandstorm Comics, Cultural Foundation, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Berklee Abu Dhabi, The Recording Academy and the Culture Resource.