We had the pleasure of attending the World Cities Culture Summit Opening Ceremony and the Cities and Regions Network Forum, two gatherings that brought together artists, policymakers, and creative thinkers to reflect on culture’s transformative power. Together, they offered both inspiration and a reminder that culture is not a decorative layer of society but its connective tissue. We were delighted to join these conversations as part of ELIA’s broader engagement with creativity, collaboration, and policy innovation across Europe. 

 

The Opening Ceremony of the 14th World Cities Culture Summit in Amsterdam carried the theme “Stronger Together: Culture in a Changing World.” Bringing together culture leaders from 55 cities worldwide, the World Cities Culture Forum is the leading global network of civic leaders from over 45 creative cities, representing 260 million people. This year’s edition was a celebration of unity, creativity, and empathy at a time when cultural communities worldwide are being tested. A crucial moment to discuss the importance of art and culture, share experiences and exchange knowledge, and debate city challenges, such as the climate crisis, social inequality. The event opened with a shared determination. Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries in London, and Touria Meliani, Deputy Mayor for Arts and Culture in Amsterdam, both underlined the urgency of keeping culture at the heart of our cities. Meliani spoke movingly about Amsterdam’s commitment to “keep the city alive” through the arts—to maintain spaces for creativity even as cities struggle with affordability and sustainability. “These are no times to stand alone,” she said. 

 

Simons reflected on the first summit, held in Amsterdam ten years ago, and asked what cities must do to remain relevant in the 21st century. Her answer, that culture is both a golden thread and a North Star, beautifully captured the summit’s spirit. The 5th edition of the World Cities Culture Report, launched during this event, revealed that cultural participation has rebounded since COVID, proving once again that creativity and resilience go hand in hand. 

 

Among the most compelling moments was journalist Clarice Gargard’s intervention. She cited a poem that spoke of resistance, vulnerability, and hope. An affirmation that “art remains one of the most dangerous and essential human acts.” A strong message that art can be both care and courage. 

 

From the Dutch National Ballet’s evocative “Let Amsterdam Dance” to the International Theater Amsterdam’s performance exploring what it means to be an artist, the morning pulsed with energy and emotion. Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, captured the essence of it all: “culture helps us stay human through uncertainty.”  

 

The second half of the day, the focus shifted to implementation at the Cities and Regions Network Forum, hosted by EIT Culture & Creativity. The event explored how cities and regions can nurture thriving cultural ecosystems through collaboration, innovation, and shared values. 

 

Anette Schaefer, CEO of EIT Culture & Creativity, opened with a call to collective imagination. She was followed by Ambra Trotto, Director of Transformation Area, who reflected on transformation and the New European Bauhaus, an invitation to see creativity as a way of designing fairer futures. The panel on EIT Culture and Creativity's (C&C) Regional Hubs then illustrated how local and regional structures can collaborate to sustain artistic innovation. Fabio Palma, director at EIT C&C's Regional Hub South West, described cities as “the key to understanding the creative structure,” while Angelica Monaco, director at EIT C&C'S Regional Hub South, noted that smaller cities, too, deserve visibility and support. 

 

The artistic intervention “In Search of Magic” by Libia Castro and Ólafur Ólafsson brought a powerful dimension of activism and collectivity, showing how art can provoke and participate in civic transformation. Later, Erica Bol, from the Foresight Policy Lab of the JRC, introduced the Futures Garden from the EU Policy Lab, merging foresight, design, and behavioural insights to imagine new forms of policymaking. It was fascinating to see how creative thinking is being woven into experimental policy frameworks from AI ethics and generationality to trauma-informed governance. 

 

We were then invited to follow the hands-on workshop facilitated with the help of sector experts. Divided into color-coded tables, we imagined artifacts from the city of 2050 that we would bring into the present. At our table, each participant shared an object representing a principle they wished to preserve or create. As the steward, we presented a folded sheet of paper, a simple yet symbolic key representing the foundation of an open, inclusive community. This idea deeply resonated with ELIA’s mission to embrace plurality and its belief in the power of community as the driving force for cultural transformation. 

 

In our group, we mapped each of our objects onto the EIT’s six thematic challenges, focusing on labour gaps and inequalities in the creative sector. Our group discussed how exclusion often leads to simplified narratives and stories that divide rather than connect. To counter this, we proposed the power of the hairdresser: empowering trusted community figures, such as local barbers or shopkeepers, through creative initiatives and open cultural spaces. These local connectors, we argued, can bridge understanding where institutional communication often fails. 

 

Gijs Gootjes, Director of the EIT Culture & Creativity's Regional Hub North West, summarised our discussion perfectly: instead of trying to overexplain complexity, “maybe we should make life easier.” Another member of our team added: “normal innovation for normal people.” Both ideas underscored that meaningful transformation begins locally when people feel seen, valued, and included in shaping their cultural environments. 

 

Culture is more than what we create; it is how we connect, learn, and imagine together. The Opening Ceremony gave us the emotional spark; the Forum gave us the structural language to act on it. We left with new ideas, new connections, and a shared belief that, as one speaker beautifully said, “the beauty always shines through.”