Culture Summit Abu Dhabi to open eighth edition on 8 December
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi will stage the eighth Culture Summit Abu Dhabi from 8–10 December 2026 at Manarat Al Saadiyat and across the Saadiyat Cultural District under the theme ‘Towards a Reimagined Commons.’
Summit returns to Saadiyat with a focus on shared civic life
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) will host the eighth Culture Summit Abu Dhabi from 8 to 10 December 2026. The three-day forum, based at Manarat Al Saadiyat and venues across the Saadiyat Cultural District, will convene cultural leaders, policymakers, practitioners and thinkers to debate how culture can shape collective life.
Theme: Towards a Reimagined Commons
This year’s programme is organised around the theme “Towards a Reimagined Commons,” a concept informed by discussions at the 2025 edition and inspired by philosopher Susan Buck-Morss’s introduction of a ‘planetary perception’. The summit will consider how communities might reorganise shared resources and civic space beyond inherited models of ownership and exclusion, with an emphasis on mutual care, plurality and planetary scale.
Programme structure and priorities
Across panels, case studies, creative conversations, interactive workshops and outcome-led reports, the Summit will examine three core dimensions. Day one — Collective Memories — will investigate the role of official and unofficial histories in shaping identity, belonging and civic imagination. Day two — Collective Space — will address the physical, digital and symbolic places where culture is made, with attention to participation, inclusivity and sustainability. The final day — Collective Imagination — will explore how creativity can help societies envision shared futures and the tools required to translate ideas into practice.
Abu Dhabi’s framing and leadership
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said culture encompasses both inheritance and contemporary creation through exchange and interaction. He underlined the Summit’s role in positioning Abu Dhabi as an international convening platform where ideas and experiences generate collaborative opportunities and strengthen civic bonds amid technological, environmental and social change.
Partnerships and expected impact
Culture Summit Abu Dhabi is presented in association with long-standing global partners that include UNESCO, the Design Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, Google and Recording Academy®. New core partners for 2026 include the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and the Financial Times. The event reflects DCT Abu Dhabi’s ongoing commitment to fostering innovation across the cultural and creative ecosystem, promoting Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage, and exploring how culture can contribute to inclusive and sustainable development.
Against a backdrop of environmental pressures and shifting technologies, the Summit will also probe responsibilities facing cultural and creative sectors as they reassess business models, community engagement and values to serve the common good.
Source: WAM