This opening session will navigate the multitude of tipping points and changes faced by society and the cultural and creative sectors (CCS) today, offering perspectives from two cultural leaders with prolific artistic and cultural practices: a pioneering media artist in Korean contemporary arts, and a computer scientist and poet advocating for Indigenous data sovereignty. Together, they will explore the urgent need for technology and digital spaces that enable diverse narratives, as well as poly-spaces that foster critical thinking and collective gathering amidst deepening societal fault lines. Their dialogue will examine the role and value of culture in today’s world – how it both challenges and adapts to shifting realities – while speaking to its power to inspire resilience, resistance and positive change.

This first plenary will reflect on the social dimension of culture and the CCS in our current context of exponential change, which is profoundly transforming the world around us at unrecognisable speed. We will examine recent progress, familiar and systemic challenges, and new tensions; and consider how global issues manifest locally and affect distinct contextual realities whether national or regional. We will reflect on cases where the role of culture has been recognised in broader policy agendas, and address roadblocks that remain.

Together, we will explore key questions to chart the path forward. What future do we envision for culture? What is at stake, and what is non-negotiable? What should collective action be to advance the agenda for a standalone goal for culture in the post-2030 UN sustainable development agenda?

The World Café is a dynamic, participatory conversational process for sharing ideas and generating collective insights on the future of arts and culture. Delegates will engage in smaller groups and imagine possibilities around a range of key issues informing the future of arts and culture. Each group will be tasked with exploring a specific area in need of innovative solutions, from different perspectives. Discussions will focus on identifying what is needed to bridge the gap between the present and the desired future.

Delegate groups will envision what 2050 might look like if key issues are successfully addressed. They will collaboratively develop a roadmap that charts a path from current realities to an aspirational future, including a solutions-focused synopsis of the process that could get us there.

The World Café will pose eight themes, each with a provocateur who will set the scene. At the conclusion of the session, each provocateur will provide a synthesis on the roadmap/s for the relevant theme.

This panel discussion examines the unique trajectory of South Korea’s arts and culture on the global stage, analysing how they both reflect Korean society and resonate beyond cultural boundaries. The discussion will focus on elastic futurity—the idea that the past is not a constraint but a resource that shapes new possibilities for the future. Through this lens, Korean artists reinterpret history in innovative ways, using it as a tool to rethink identity, belonging and change. Of particular interest will be the dialectic between futurity and present reality in Korean arts: this is where different perceptions of time come together, shaping artistic styles that are unique to Korea but able to speak to both local and global audiences. This elastic temporality is a flexible sense of time that encourages us to radically reimagine what is possible. Here, the future is not a fixed path but instead becomes a malleable space of potential.

Speakers will consider how the complex interrelationships between cultural production, societal dynamics, technological innovation and governance structures influence the evolving landscape of the arts in South Korea today. They will also discuss how these dynamics can inspire broader conversations about the future of arts and culture worldwide, offering new ways to imagine a more open and interconnected global community.

The workshop offers a platform for artists, curators, researchers, arts managers, cultural workers and policy makers to collectively and critically reflect on the many dimensions of Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) impact on culture and the arts. The workshop will start with a presentation on the current landscape of AI, followed by focused discussions in smaller groups. Together, participants will explore how AI is influencing linguistic diversity, the creative industries and wider geopolitics, addressing its risks and possibilities and considering both the technology itself as well as its social, cultural and ethical implications. Importantly, the workshop will also delve into how cultural narratives shape the development and application of AI. By fostering a critical dialogue, the workshop aims to equip participants with the insights and perspectives needed to navigate AI’s evolving role in the cultural and creative sectors and inform government agencies on these issues.

Our operating environments continue to be defined by complexity, polycrisis and uncertainty, with overlapping developments that profoundly reshape societies, international relations and the CCS. How is change perceived across different communities and societies? What local shifts are unfolding in different regions? What key actions are needed to advance solutions, and what barriers hinder progress?

From systemic inequality and limited resources and knowledge, to fear of prosecution and geopolitics that affect communities and daily life, the discussion will also explore how recent shifts have influenced connectedness and whether diverse knowledge systems are in use within the CCS. Finally, it will consider how cultural institutions, and creative communities can effectively plan for risk and build resilience in times of prolonged instability and uncertainty.

Cultural participation does not only mean access to goods and services. Approached holistically, and through a cultural rights lens, it encompasses the development of cultural and creative capacities and practices through individuals’ own narratives, the exchange of ideas, community practices and open decision-making processes in policymaking.

Participation fosters diversity and divergence, both of which are essential for a plural and inclusive cultural sector. Within current participatory systems, whose voices dominate discourse, and whose remain marginalised or unheard? And how do we create spaces that truly amplify diverse voices?

This session explores the contexts in which active participation is enabled or impeded and examines opportunities and challenges for both the CCS and the governance of culture. We will delve into how participatory systems can reset the way we relate to one another – building kinship beyond national borders, identities and gender – while safeguarding the diversity of cultural expressions. Additionally, we will consider structures embedded in various knowledge systems that can allow us to build networks, connect and collaborate, and how these can inspire participatory models for cultural work.

Cultural discourse is increasingly polarised, particularly in the face of political shifts and increasing pressure on cultural and social platforms, which erodes public debate and our ability to engage in meaningful dialogue on a range of complex issues. What forms and deforms connectedness today? What happens when participatory systems break down due to the inability to find common ground for healthy debate? What collective actions can communities take in our current context to address these challenges and create safe spaces for open dialogue?

This long table discussion – designed to blur the lines between speakers and the audience by fostering participatory conversations – will explore how digital platforms and social media can be leveraged to cultivate a sense of belonging and connectedness, counteract echo chambers and promote diverse cultural expressions. Additionally, it will explore strategies to ensure the safety of cultural operators and build effective alliances in the face of rising risks and increasing fragmentation.

This session will unpick the hierarchies within knowledge systems, including colonial legacies, to examine the structures that sustain them and the urgent need for new patterns of interrelation. The discussion will consider strategies for challenging and reshaping dominant paradigms and power structures, with a focus on fostering more equitable and inclusive representation of diverse cultural narratives.

To what extent do current knowledge systems within the CCS amplify underrepresented voices? How effectively are diverse knowledge systems – including Indigenous knowledge, living cultures, academic research and interdisciplinary approaches – being integrated into the CCS? What role does technology have in enabling agency and diversity? How can decolonisation transform and reshape knowledge systems within the CCS to ensure diversity and inclusivity in navigating future challenges and opportunities?

The Open Session offers delegates a unique platform to showcase their projects and pitch ideas to peers. Interested delegates will be invited to register their interest four weeks ahead of the Summit. During the session, up to 8 delegates will present their work in an engaging Pecha Kucha-style format, followed by an exchange of ideas with the audience.