Highlights from the 14th World Cities Culture Summit, Amsterdam 2025

Culture and connection in Amsterdam 

From 15-17 October, World Cities Culture Forum brought together Deputy Mayors, cultural leaders and policymakers from 55 global cities in Amsterdam for the 14th World Cities Culture Summit. Over three days, delegates explored how cities can work together to strengthen culture in a changing world, sharing insights, strategies and innovations. 

Hosted by Amsterdam as part of their 750th anniversary celebrations, the Summit reflected the city’s enduring commitment to openness, creativity and cultural exchange. More than 200 cultural leaders from across Amsterdam and the Netherlands joined international delegates to share ideas and foster global collaboration. With over 40% of visitors drawn by its cultural offering, Amsterdam continues to grow as a global hub for culture. 

European Cities Unite: Culture in a Changing World 

On 14 October, 19 European cities met for a pre-Summit gathering to foster greater cultural collaboration across the region. They signed a call-to-action letter urging a stronger voice for cities in European cultural policy and the creation of a City Culture Fund. Keynote speaker, Glenn Micallef, EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, in return pledged to turn this vision into action. 

Representatives from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kyiv, London, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, and Warsaw—all cities from the World Cities Culture Forum—participated in the discussion, alongside delegates from Bratislava, Glasgow, Prague, Vilnius, Vienna, Reykjavik, and Sofia. 

Day one: Opening at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam 

The Summit opened with a warm welcome from Touria Meliani, Amsterdam’s Deputy Mayor for Arts and Culture, and Justine Simons OBE, Founder and Chair of World Cities Culture Forum. Our city roll call introduced two new cities to the network this year, Boston and Beijing. Delegates also received a special message from Lonnie G. Bunch III, 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, on using culture as a force for good.  

Launch of the 5th Edition of the World Cities Culture Report 

We launched the 5th Edition of the World Cities Culture Report featuring data and analysis from more than 40 cities, and over 125 city projects. The report provides a global snapshot of culture’s role in urban life and is now available as an interactive digital version with a data explorer tool for the first time.  

Panels exploring the key themes of our new Report included:

• Future-Proofing the Night: A Wake-Up Call – moderated by Lutz Leichsenring, Co-Founder of Vibelab
• Growing Up with Culture: What Does the Next Generation Want? – moderated by Ruth Mackenzie, Director of Arts, British Council, with insights from Almudena Maillo del Valle, Secretary General of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI)
• Climate Action: Is Culture the Missing Link? – moderated by Skinder Hundal, World Cities Culture Forum Associate, with insights from Laura Pando, the Managing Director of Julie’s Bicycle, and Luis Jeronimo, Director of Sustainability and Equity for Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
• Space for Culture: The Fight Back – moderated by Tracey Knuckles, Bloomberg Philanthropies, with insights from Shelley Trott, Executive Director for the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

The Summit offered live translation in Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese and English, enabling city representatives from six continents to exchange ideas. The day ended with a Gala Dinner at the Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of Honour, surrounded by masterpieces including Rembrandt’s The Night Watch. 

Day Two: Leadership, empathy and collaboration 

On day two, our cities gathered at Amsterdam’s home of jazz, Bimhuis & Muzeikgebouw, to focus on effective leadership and collaboration. The morning plenary speakers included: Touria Meliani, Deputy Mayor for Arts and Culture for Amsterdam, Ralph Remington, Director of Cultural Affairs, for San Francisco Arts Commission, Tommi Laitio, Convivencia Urbana (Former Executive Director for Culture and Leisure, Helsinki) with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Kate D. Levin moderating the conversation. 

Our Deputy Director, Isabella Valentini, showcased the Leadership Exchange Programme, introducing seven of the nineteen cities selected to participate in the third round. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the programme brings together leaders from city governments to share approaches that place culture at the heart of growing night-time economy, to pedestrianisation of high streets to developing the silver economy.  

We welcomed back leadership expert, Obi James, to host a workshop for our senior leaders, while Bloomberg Philanthropies’ directed an empathy mapping workshop to help cities gain greater understanding of their stakeholders’ needs. 

A Global Café covered topics from co-creation of public art and creating an inclusive night-time economy, to the rise of Creative Land Trusts, decolonisation, and making cultural tourism more sustainable. While a panel deep dived into what’s next for the creative economy, moderated by Araf Ahmadali, Director of Arts and Culture, Amsterdam, hosted in partnership with Netflix.  

The evening concluded with a magical reception at the Stedelijk Museum, in partnership with Netflix. 

Day three: Looking ahead 

On the final day, we wrapped up with an Ideas for the Future panel, exploring: What if culture could be the force that safeguards our wellbeing, strengthens our democracies, and guides our relationship with technology and AI? Moderated by Tommaso Sacchi, Deputy Mayor for Culture, Milan, we heard from: Nisha Sanjani, Founding Co-Director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab; Lucy Reid, Chief Strategy & Creative Officer at DemocracyNext; and Lauren Hendry Parsons, Director and Digital Rights Advocate at the Mozilla Foundation. 

Delegates left Amsterdam with new ideas, stronger connections, and a shared commitment to ensuring culture remains central to resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities for generations to come.