The third Unesco World Conference on Culture and Arts Education will take place in Abu Dhabi this week, where policymakers, ministers, and international delegates will gather to discuss the state of culture and arts education, which hasn’t happened since the last global meeting in Seoul 14 years ago.
The conference’s goal is to bring together the pillars of education and culture into policies that can shape the future. According to Stefania Giannini, Unesco’s assistant director-general for education, this is the first time that ministers of education and culture have come together to join forces and endorse a vision and a framework.
The previous two conferences in Lisbon and Seoul resulted in international goals being agreed. Still, this time the aim is to decide on a framework that can be put into action. Giannini believes that culture and education should be linked as they have transformative power. She notes that education is a cultural process and that culture is what and how we are, where we come from and where we go.
Both sectors have similarities but are often viewed as separate and aloof entities. The conference in Abu Dhabi aims to bridge that divide, and Giannini is hopeful that gathering all these ministers together will benefit creative industries and the creative economy. She also believes that these industries should include new pedagogies in their systems and be open to the educational systems from early childhood to university and beyond.
