Reimagining Cultural Leadership: Reflections from the World Summit in Seoul
This week, Culture Action Europe Secretary General Lars Ebert is in Seoul, South Korea, where he is contributing to the 10th World Summit on Arts and Culture, organised by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). Lars published a contribution to the summit’s discussion paper entitled “From Practice to Policy and Back: Advancing Cultural Democracy in Europe.” In it, he explores how cultural democracy can provide a critical framework for reshaping Europe’s cultural landscape in the face of increasing polarisation, shifting participation patterns, and democratic fatigue.
Lars’ piece offers a timely provocation: “While culture is foundational to democracy, it must itself be democratic to fulfil this essential role.” His argument is not just philosophical—it is urgently practical. From co-creative theatre projects in Brussels to civic engagement labs in Porto, his paper showcases how cultural institutions across Europe are experimenting with new governance models, participatory formats, and more equitable forms of decision-making. True participation, he writes, “goes beyond merely accepting an invitation… it’s about having the power to invite, set the agenda, imagine new possibilities.”
These reflections arrive just ahead of BEYOND 2025: Being Many, Culture Action Europe’s and their co-organisers Fondazione Fitzcarraldo and Club Silencio‘s international cultural gathering that will take place next week in Torino. The four-day event will focus on participatory leadership, cultural innovation, and the transformative role of culture in social cohesion—principles deeply aligned with Lars’ call for a pluralistic and inclusive cultural ecosystem. Set in the dynamic neighbourhood of Quartiere Aurora, BEYOND will serve as a living lab for many of the very ideas explored in Seoul: co-creation, intergenerational dialogue, and collective agency.
Three key takeaways from Lars’ contribution stand out: first, cultural democracy is not a policy add-on—it is a fundamental condition for democratic resilience. Second, leadership in the cultural sector today must move beyond representation and toward shared authorship. And third, cultural institutions must become spaces of active negotiation and plurality: not transmitters of inherited values, but enablers of new futures. As we prepare to welcome over 250 people to Torino, we’re looking forward to the opportunity to more deeply unpack, as a group, how we can lead from bold and diverse perspectives.