Page 33 - MINISTRY OF CULTURE PR REPORT - APRIL 2025
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Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, the UAE Minister of Culture, speaking at the 2025 Culture
Summit Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
Also addressing delegates was Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, Unesco’s assistant director-general for
culture, who urged counterparts to ensure culture is enshrined in the organisation’s future global
development policies.
His comments respond to Unesco’s Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by UN member
states in 2015 and running until 2030, which omit culture as a stand-alone goal – a continued point
of controversy among cultural advocates.
“If we don't put culture at the centre of sustainable development for whatever agenda will be built
in the future beyond 2030, we are going to miss the greatest opportunity to speak about how culture
can help to build peace in this crazy world that we're living in,” Ramirez said.
He added that with artificial intelligence playing a monumental role in society in the years to come,
the cultural and creative industries will have an important role in articulating the benefits and
challenges they represent.
“Technology clearly can build the new future of some institutions,” he said. “But we cannot build
technology without ensuring that it's made for communities, livelihoods, well-being, and for the
construction of the next generation.”
Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al
Mubarak said a unified approach by the cultural sector will ensure AI remains a tool for creative
advancements.
“I do not see AI as a negative. I'm obviously very optimistic. I see it as a massive positive,” he said.
“But the only way it continues to be positive is if there is a unified view on how we're going to be
using this tool … [and how we] create opportunities for creators to flourish.”
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