Cultural Summit 2025

Cultural Summit 2025: The power of art and culture in global change

At the Cultural Summit 2025, we took part in a series of important conversations, debates and musical performances – focusing on how art and culture can strengthen community, democracy and resilience at a time marked by crisis, conflict and change.

The festival kicked off with the opening debate ‘Cultural Resilience’, which shone a spotlight on how the role of culture must be rethought at a time of crises and security policy challenges. The debate was part of the official cultural programme under Denmark’s EU Presidency, and we followed up with a talk on the need for cultural preparedness – a conversation about how the cultural sector can stand ready when crisis strikes.

The second day was filled with a number of conversations about the role of culture in global change, democratic participation and community across borders. Among other things, we focused on how art and culture can build bridges between people and local communities, and how the cultural sector itself can practise fair and sustainable working conditions. Another conversation centred on culture as one of our strongest tools in facing global challenges – and how we put it to active use. The day concluded with a burst of glitter and glamour at the Eurovision music quiz “Glitter or Geopolitics?”.

The third and final day featured music, film, literature, debate and powerful voices from Europe all the way to South America’s rainforest. Here, we took part in the talk ‘The Battle for Europe’, met European literary voices and heard poetry from Ukraine as testimony from the frontline of war. We also took part in a conversation about how Nordic cooperation is thriving politically, yet facing cultural challenges. The day also featured several musical performances, including a singalong from The EU Song Book and music from the rainforest.

We look back on three inspiring days at Cultural Summit 2025 and are pleased to have been part of the official cultural programme under Denmark’s EU Presidency.