Noura Al Kaabi: 'Culture is for everyone, not just a specific level in community'

The Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development was speaking at the 2019 Culture Summit, which was launched in Abu Dhabi this morning

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  Noura Mohammed Al Kaabi, the UAE's Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development makes her keynote address at the Culture Summit 2019. Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi. All photos by Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  Mohamed Khalifa al Mubarak, Chairman, Department of Culture and Tourism makes his opening remarks at the Culture Summit.

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  Jorge Fernando Quiroga, Former President of Bolivia, speaks on the topic of Cultural diplomacy and responsibility in the age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  Mina Al Oraibi, Editor in Chief of The National, speaks on the topic of How can the media survive the new age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  Artist Emeka Ogboh speaks on the topic of How museums can creatively embrace the digital age at the Culture Summit.

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  Zaki Nusseibeh, UAE Minister of State speaks on the topic of Cultural diplomacy and responsibility in the age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Former Prime Minister of Spain speaks on the topic of Cultural diplomacy and responsibility in the age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  Bernardino Leon, Director General, Emirates Diplomatic Academy. speaks on the topic of Cultural diplomacy and responsibility in the age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  The crowd ask questions on the topic of Cultural diplomacy and responsibility in the age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  John Defterious, Emerging markets editor and host, Marketplace middle east CNN speaks on the topic of How can the media survive the new age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  A panel discussion on the topic of Cultural diplomacy and responsibility in the age of technology at the Culture Summit.

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  A performance by Marcos Lutyens at the Culture Summit.

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  Kudo Takashi, teamLab, Artist collective/Digital Art Museum, Tokyo speaks on the topic of How museums can creatively embrace the digital age at the Culture Summit.

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  Apian Poshyananda, Artistic director, Bangkok art Biennale speaks on the topic of How museums can creatively embrace the digital age at the Culture Summit.

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  Munira Mirza, Executive Director, Culture, King's College London speaks on How we define popularity v populism at the Culture Summit.

For the next four days, Abu Dhabi sits at the centre of the cultural world. Representatives from influential arts organisations, including the Royal Academy of Arts, UNESCO and the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, gathered at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Monday morning for the launch of the 2019 Culture Summit. And the message was crystal clear: culture must be about inclusivity.

Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, used her opening remarks to remind people that culture should transcend social class. "We believe culture is for everyone, not just for a specific level in the community," she said.

The theme of this year’s Culture Summit programme is Cultural Responsibility and New Technology, and Al Kaabi called on those present to “look for solutions to the questions we haven’t asked before”.

Al Kaabi also reminded people that, for all of the advancements in technology, it must not be allowed “to drive us, we will control it”.

'We want to learn about different culture and religions'

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, echoed Al Kaabi’s call for culture to permeate every echelon of society, and urged people from different cultures to work together. “This summit was created for people to talk, to connect with each other,” he said. “The whole point of this is to [get to] know each other a little bit more, to learn from each other, to solve each other’s problems.

“We all want the same thing,” he continued. “We want music in our schools, Mozart playing in our taxis, Beethoven in our bus systems. We want museums to be open for everybody. We want our kids to know who Chopin is, we want our kids to know who Gauguin is. We want to learn about different cultures and different religions.

“We all want that but we have to do something about it. If we do something about it individually, we might find solutions, we might make it work, but together we can do so much more.”

The opening day of the Culture Summit includes panel discussions on subjects such as, “How can media survive in the age of technology?”, “How can we define popularity versus populism?” and “Why is heritage a priority in crises?”.

Speakers include Apinan Poshyananda, artistic director of the Bangkok Art Biennale and Alexander Kellner, director of the National Museum of Brazil, which a fire devastated late last year.