H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak opens Reframing Museums, the global virtual symposium on future models for the arts and culture sector

16 Nov, 2020

H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), delivered the opening keynote speech of the Reframing Museums virtual symposium today at 11am.

The symposium has received over 1,000 registrants and brings together over 60 speakers from five continents to address new responsibilities and challenges facing museums today, as well as showcase opportunities for the arts and culture sector.

In the Chairman’s opening keynote, he spoke about why Abu Dhabi was the ideal location in which to convene the symposium:
“We are especially proud to have Louvre Abu Dhabi and NYU Abu Dhabi co-convening these incredibly vital discussions at a time when culture and museums are more crucial than ever. Abu Dhabi’s long-term commitment to developing an artistically conscious and creative city gives us an important voice in today’s global conversations around arts and culture. Today, we are honoured to open a symposium bringing the world’s brightest, most respected leaders and thinkers in their fields together to address the challenges and opportunities facing museums.

At DCT Abu Dhabi, we have turned to creativity and innovation in the face of adversity to strengthen our cultural offering to our communities, both physically and digitally. With safety set as an absolute priority, we also worked very hard to re-open our cultural sites to the public as soon as we could. It is recognised by our leadership that access to the beautiful cultural and heritage sites that we have on offer in Abu Dhabi is critical to the wellbeing of our society.

This year has re-animated the profound role that culture plays in connecting societies, building on the commonalities between countries, rather than what separates us. It is only through collaboration and standing together in solidarity that we will identify the successful models for the future.”