Wednesday, October 4, 2023
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) announced that UAE capital’s Manarat Al Saadiyat will host the sixth edition of its leading global forum, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi from October 29 to October 31, 2023.
This edition’s theme, “A Matter of Time” will bring together an exceptional group of thought leaders from over 90 different countries to discuss how culture can alter how the world perceives time. These thought leaders come from a variety of cultural fields, including art, heritage, media, music, museums, public policy, and technology.
His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi is welcoming academics, policymakers and innovators from around the globe to Abu Dhabi to address this concept to drive change in the creative industries and wider cultural landscape. He states that this Culture Summit of 2023 will explore the role of culture in changing the world’s tempo by offering a closer look at their relation to time.
Founded in 2017, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi is an annual international conference that brings together experts in policy, research, art, and culture to examine pressing contemporary issues affecting the cultural industries. Culture Summit, an extraordinary forum for discussion, policy development, and knowledge exchange, is organized by DCT Abu Dhabi in partnership with international partner organizations. This year’s partners include, among others, UNESCO, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, Economist Impact, the Design Museum, Google, and the Recording Academy.
Ernesto Ottone R., Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, says: “2023 is a landmark year for the culture sector. At a mid-point in the implementation of the SDGs, artists and culture professionals can bring new solutions to fill existing gaps. The time is now to act for the integration of culture as a stand-alone goal in the post 2030 international development agenda”.
The summit sessions will focus on “new cultural time” that is more in tune with the pulse of human awareness and the rhythm of nature. The impact of this change on how culture is produced, received, and consumed will be examined by experts, creative thinkers, artists, change agents, policy makers, and leaders from the culture and creative industries. It will also be examined what role culture, which so frequently holds together past, present, and future, might play in assisting us in navigating this turning point in how we relate to the concept of time.It has a goal of identifying ways that culture can transform societies and communities around the world and turning these into actions and solutions. The schedule for this year’s conference includes a multi-track agenda including keynote addresses, plenary sessions,
panel discussions, artist talks, case study workshops, creative conversations, policy seminars, cultural performances, and an art exhibition.
Al Mubarak says, “Culture Summit Abu Dhabi continues to be a cornerstone of a diverse cultural programme which is curated to inspire creativity and knowledge development; helping to diversify and build a knowledge-based economy”.
The Summit program will follow a particular sub-theme each day to explore how our relationship to time is changing, consider the difficulties this evolution poses for the cultural and creative industries, and offer targeted, practical solutions.
Day 1 – Time to Remember (The passage of time) examines how we comprehend time in a time where everyone’s attention span has changed and everything is recorded to be remembered forever. Can we reconcile the past, present, and future to create new fruitful common ground? What part does culture play in forming collective memories? What alternatives can we offer to the linear view of time so that we can reconsider a more enduring relationship with time?
Day 2 – Time to Act (Seizing the moment) sheds light on how “fast culture” is permeating society and slowly destroying critical thinking and our ability to handle complexity, causing major alterations in the way culture is created, received, and consumed. On Day 2, speakers and audiences will be invited to discuss how culture and the creative industries might support us in slowing down and navigating complexity and unpredictability with more ease.
Day 3 – Time to Share (A never-ending time) – Despite the challenges and uncertainties of our era, it is imperative that we collaborate to address pressing, enduring concerns such as the climate crisis and its associated problems. How can we use time to create opportunities for reconciliation between humanity and the environment? By introducing the concept of “deep time” and the growing desire to become good ancestors, Day 3 will emphasize what culture can provide in the wake of new long-term horizons. This final sub-theme will encourage discussion of the worldwide problem of climate change and the necessity of closing the generational divide.
Tim Marlow OBE, Chief Executive and Director, the Design Museum, says: “Culture Summit Abu Dhabi has established itself over a relatively short time as a critical forum for bringing together cultural communities from across the world.”
Kenneth Cukier, Deputy Executive Editor of The Economist states that The Economist Impact is honoured to be a part of the annual Culture Summit Abu Dhabi which celebrates the power of narrative to shape individual and collective identities for progress and purpose.
Richard Armstrong, Director Emeritus, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, says: “The Guggenheim has developed a close relationship with DCT Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi audiences over the past 15 years. The Culture Summit attracts today’s most creative thinkers and makers in conversations that demonstrate our shared and hopeful future.”
Culture Summit Abu Dhabi has previously featured speakers and highlights that have provoked thought, such as Madeleine Albright, Darren Walker, HE Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, Ruangrupa, Frank Gehry, and Trevor Noah, all of whom have enriched discussions and sparked cultural conversations.
DCT Abu Dhabi and UNESCO jointly produced the “Culture in Times of COVID-19: Resilience, Recovery and Revival” paper as a consequence of the Culture Summit 2022, providing a global overview of the pandemic’s effects on the cultural sector since March 2020 and offering strategies for its resurrection.
Tags: Covid-19, Culture Summit, DCT Abu Dhabi
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