This month the Prince Claus Fund attended CultureSummit in Abu Dhabi. 

Fashion designer and Prince Claus Laureate Carla Fernández, former network partner Odile"Kiki" Gakire Katese, and director Joumana El Zein Khoury discussed the Transformative Power of Culture. 

Transformative Power of Culture

Two innovative thinkers joined Director Joumana El Zein Khoury at the CultureSummit 2018 to share how their work has made a significant and lasting impact. The panel included fashion designer Carla Fernández, who described her revival of textile traditions in Mexico and Odile Gakire Katese, who broke tradition to form an inter-ethnic female drumming group in Rwanda, Ingoma Nshya. Carla received the Prince Claus Award for her work in 2013, and Odile was a Network Partner of the Prince Claus Fund for six years. The discussion was moderated by the host and organiser of the summit, David Rothkopf, CEO of The Rothkopf Group. 

 "At the Prince Claus Fund, we believe in the power of culture to transform societies for the better. We don’t just believe it, we’ve seen it in the work of our partners, like that of my fellow panelists today, Odile and Carla. Coming to share these stories and discuss the impact culture can have was an opportunity we couldn’t miss! It’s exciting to be at CultureSummit to connect with others in the field who share our belief that culture can make real and lasting change." - Joumana El Zein Khoury, Director of the Prince Claus Fund

CultureSummit Diplomat of the year Award

The Prince Claus Fund was also recognized at the summit with a Cultural Diplomat of the Year Award for its role in forming international cultural collaborations that “promote international understanding, bridge differences, and enact positive change worldwide.” 

Others awarded include the Silkroad Ensemble, founded by cellist and composer Yo Yo Ma to bring musicians and artists together across disciplines for collaborations that foster cross-cultural understanding through the arts; Karim Wasfi, Conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra and Founder President of Peace Through Arts Global Foundation; and Hassan Sharif, the late artist from the United Arab Emirates whose multimedia works pioneered contemporary art in the UAE.  

About CultureSummit 

Abu Dhabi The CultureSummit was first held in Abu Dhabi in 2017 as a high-level international summit to bring together leaders from the worlds of government, arts, media and technology to 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. The Prince Claus Fund was invited to attend as participants. 

More here: www.culturesummitabudhabi.com