8th Culture Summit Abu Dhabi to take place in emirate

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) will host the eighth edition of Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, from 8 to 10 December 2026 at Manarat Al Saadiyat and across the Saadiyat Cultural District. Under the theme Towards a Reimagined Commons, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2026 will gather cultural leaders, thinkers, decision-makers, and practitioners to reflect on what connects us, not only as citizens of nations, but as co-inhabitants of a shared planet.

This year’s theme invites participants to rethink civicness by questioning and building spaces for imagination, conversation, and action. The theme Towards a Reimagined Commons was inspired by philosopher Susan Buck-Morss’s participation in the 2025 edition of the Culture Summit, where she introduced the notion of a planetary perception, encouraging us to recalibrate our perspective, re-examine how we organise collectively and reimagine ourselves beyond the limits of inherited frameworks.

His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “Culture is not only what we inherit from the past; it is also what we create together through interaction, exchange, and mutual influence. It is the space where ideas meet, where diverse perspectives enrich one another, and where understanding is transformed into shared progress.

At a time when the world is being reshaped by rapid technological, environmental, and social change, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2026 invites us to rethink how communities connect, imagine, and act collectively. "Through the theme Towards a Reimagined Commons, Abu Dhabi continues to reinforce its role as a global convening platform where cultures, ideas, and experiences come together not merely to be shared, but to generate new possibilities for collaboration, belonging, and collective advancement.

We believe that culture has the unique power to turn diversity into strength, dialogue into action, and human creativity into solutions that serve the common good. "This edition reflects our conviction that culture is one of humanity’s most powerful forces for building bridges across differences, strengthening civic imagination, and shaping a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future for generations to come.

” The 2026 theme will be reflected across the summit's three-day programme, structured around a series of sub-themes that explore different dimensions of the commons through panels, case studies, creative conversations, interactive workshops, and outcome-led reports.

Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2026 will bridge policy, industry, and practice, supporting practical outcomes and creating a unique opportunity to unlock the collective intelligence of the cultural and creative sectors at a global scale through the concept of the commons.

Day one will focus on Collective Memories, exploring how both official and unofficial histories shape our sense of identity and belonging, and how memory can contribute to diverse forms of civic imagination. The second day will explore Collective Space, examining the physical, digital, and symbolic spaces where culture takes place, and how these can be reimagined in ways that are participatory, inclusive, and sustainable.

The final day will examine Collective Imagination, looking to the future and considering how culture and creativity can help us imagine and build new shared worlds, and the tools and frameworks needed to bring these to life.

A living experiment in collective world-making, the summit will explore a shift in perspective from models rooted in ownership and exclusion to a renewed understanding of the commons: planetary in scale, grounded in mutual care, and open to plurality.

By reconsidering how we frame ideas of place, memory, and connection, Towards a Reimagined Commons creates a space to explore and enable new forms of collaboration and shared life. In a rapidly changing world shaped by environmental challenges, global shifts, and evolving technologies, the civic sphere faces new pressures.

Against this backdrop, the summit aims to identify what a reimagined commons might look like and how culture can contribute to its realisation. The summit will also explore the opportunities and responsibilities facing the cultural and creative sectors as they re-examine their business models, the communities they serve, and the values they uphold.

Culture Summit Abu Dhabi is an annual global forum that brings together international leaders from the cultural and creative sector to explore how culture can transform societies and communities worldwide. The flagship gathering reflects DCT Abu Dhabi’s commitment to enabling and fostering collaboration and innovation across the cultural and creative ecosystem; building a legacy of positive social impact; protecting, preserving, and promoting Abu Dhabi’s rich cultural heritage, and advocating for the intrinsic value of culture for building a sustainable future.

Culture Summit Abu Dhabi is presented in association with long-standing global core partners UNESCO, the Design Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, Google, and Recording Academy. This year, global core partners of the summit also include the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), a global network advancing arts and culture by strengthening the capacity, exchange and effectiveness of government funding agencies, and the Financial Times, a leading news organisation recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy.

Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2026 is open to attendee registrations through the website https://www.culturesummitabudhabi.com/.