Page 15 - Post Summit_2019_AV

and the First Nations, the Virtual Museum can be included in libraries and used as a teaching resource. The prototype Virtual Museum can then serve as a model for other communities, as well as the dissemination of other forms of museum collections. Among this year’s Culture Summit participants, Alexander Kellner, Director of the National Museum of Brazil, gave a solemn account of the fire that devastated the building and its collections last year. Presenting the damage to his museum as an example, he warned of the threat to other historical institutions around the world, and he was prescient. Just a week after he spoke, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris was severely damaged by fire, prompting further examination of how to protect historical sites from such devastating accidents. As a result of this, UNESCO, a partner of Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2019, launched a project to establish guidelines, protocols and best practices to protect historical sites. The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi is consulting with UNESCO to help further this endeavour to safeguard our global heritage. Finally, recognising that each year Culture Summit Abu Dhabi has gathered some of the most eminent advocates and experts in the realm of arts and culture, participants said the expertise shared – and friendships forged – in Abu Dhabi should not dissipate with distance. Participants proposed a means of keeping up with each other’s professional work, a medium to seek advice and opinion, and a forum for disseminating news. Therefore, a Participants Network was suggested, based on the Culture Summit website and app, in order to link participants and attendees. A monthly newsletter is also planned as an engagement forum. At Culture Summit Abu Dhabi 2020, progress reports on these evolving Outcome Ideas will be presented. 11