CultureSummit 2018 Abu Dhabi to Convene Leaders for “Unexpected Collaborations”
Second Annual Global Forum to Take Place April 8 – 12, 2018 at Manarat Al Saadiyat
CultureSummit Abu Dhabi is a high-level international summit that will bring together leaders from the worlds of government, arts, media, and technology to collaborate and address in concrete ways the role culture can play in addressing the great challenges of our time, from poverty and extremism to climate change and conflict.
| IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Michael Clyne |
| +1 917 204 9216 | |
| [email protected] |
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – The second annual CultureSummit Abu Dhabi will convene an audience of leaders from every corner of the world to discuss the power of culture to drive positive social change, from topics as wide-ranging as education to preserving heritage to combatting extremism. The Summit’s Steering Committee, chaired by HE Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development for the UAE, announced the forum would take place from April 8th through 12th, 2018 in Manarat Al Saadiyat and Abu Dhabi.
The inaugural CultureSummit, in April 2017, convened more than 450 participants from 80 countries to discuss cultural diplomacy as change agent for the digital age. Through a combination of presentations, panels and workshops, the action-driven programme addressed wide-ranging issues, from gender equality to globalisation, identifying art, technology and policy as a crucial yet underdeveloped intersection of those efforts. As a result, the 2018 Summit will cross spectrums to focus on the unexpected collaborations needed to strengthen that intersection. Performances and artwork by CultureSummit artists-in-residence and presenting artists will complement the forum’s programme to address global challenges with collaborations spanning art, technology, and policy.
CultureSummit 2017 recognised and paid tribute to a number of prominent international figures in cultural diplomacy, including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Dr. Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister HE Zaki Nusseibeh, the creators of El Sistema music education programmes, the producers of Sesame Street, the creators of the East-Western Divan orchestra, Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun, internationally-acclaimed artist Idris Khan, and MacArthur Award-winner Liz Lerman. Participants also represented a variety of arts organisations, including the China National Symphony, Vienna Boys Choir, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Tate Modern, and Carnegie Hall.
“We are looking for the 2018 event to build on the success of the first inaugural summit,” said HE Noura Al Kaabi, “We expect to generate concrete efforts and tangible results in identifying ways to enhance and support arts education worldwide by connecting with sectors that may not seem quite so relevant to supporting culture, or contributing to public awareness. We believe that the concept of culture is broad and all-inclusive, and endures great potentials to impact people’s lives.”
The event is organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi in conjunction with U.S. media firm The Rothkopf Group and global arts advisors TCP Ventures.
HE Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “The timing of CultureSummit 2018, coming as it does so shortly after the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi, will give leaders from culture, policy, technology and media communities worldwide a chance to see how Abu Dhabi has established itself as a global cultural capital of rapidly growing stature. While at the same time, the emirate maintains its own identity, celebrating heritage and culture as key components of an aspiring future.”
Carla Dirlikov Canales, chief executive of TCP Ventures and an internationally known opera singer, added, “The artists who participated last year found the opportunity to collaborate with new partners from different disciplines or locations especially rewarding. That’s why next April our focus will be on fostering new such collaborations – among artists, but also between artists and government officials, business people and thought leaders.”
For further information about CultureSummit Abu Dhabi or to seek press credentials, contact Michael Clyne at [email protected] or +1 917 204 9216. Additional details may be found at www.culturesummitabudhabi.com.
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CultureSummit is organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT) in conjunction with The Rothkopf Group, an interactive media and advisory firm specializing in global issues, and TCP Ventures, a global producer of artistic events at the intersection of culture and social impact.
