20 City Leaders Selected for First-of-its-Kind Global Fellowship for Cultural Policy
World Cities Culture Forum and Dubai Culture & Arts Authority unveil the fellows selected for the Global Fellowship – a first-of-its-kind programme designed to empower the next generation of city cultural leaders.
The 2026–27 Global Fellows
World Cities Culture Forum and Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) today announced the launch of the Global Fellowship, a pioneering leadership programme designed to support the next generation of cultural city leaders, and revealed the 20 selected fellows.
A first-of-its-kind programme, the Global Fellowship is a dedicated leadership pathway for civic officials and policymakers shaping culture in cities. Through global learning, mentorship and peer exchange, the programme will strengthen the skills, networks and expertise needed to develop ambitious cultural policies that improve quality of life in cities worldwide.
Co-founded by World Cities Culture Forum and Dubai Culture, the Global Fellowship is a legacy project of the World Cities Culture Summit 2024, which Dubai hosted in October 2024 under the theme ‘Tomorrow’s Culture: How Will the Next Generation Shape Our World?’
The academic programme, in collaboration with the University of Oxford’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums and the Aspen Institute, brings together international expertise in leadership development, cultural policy and city development.
Learning and experience design for the programme is led by Mischief Makers, bringing expertise in participatory learning experiences to the Fellowship.
Why a Global Fellowship?
Culture is a golden thread running through thriving cities – supporting health and wellbeing, attracting visitors and boosting local economies. Yet despite this critical role, there are limited formal training routes for the city leaders and policymakers who manage it, and many learn on the job, building their expertise through experience. The Global Fellowship has been created to address this gap and build a stronger pipeline of future cultural policymakers.
“All around the world, city leaders are championing culture and using the power they have to make real change. Their leadership environment is unique – it’s a place where civic responsibility, policy, politics and cultural transformation come together. We know culture can play an even greater role in the success of cities around the world, growing economies, bringing communities together, improving our health and quality of life – but only if we have great leaders in the right places, able to unlock its full potential. So, I am hugely proud of this new Global Fellowship, the first of its kind, as it responds to the growing need to nurture the next generation of civic leaders for culture. Co-founded with Dubai Culture & Arts Authority as a legacy of the 2024 World Cities Culture Summit, this bespoke programme connects emerging leaders with our global network of experts and will build the talent, skills and resilience needed to achieve impact at a city level. Congratulations to our cohort of twenty exceptional cultural leaders from across our global network.” — Justine Simons OBE, Founder, World Cities Culture Forum, and Deputy Mayor for Culture & the Creative Industries, London
Inside the programme
The pilot cohort brings together 20 mid-career professionals with experience delivering strategic cultural priorities in their cities. Over the course of the six-month programme, fellows will learn from and be mentored by global cultural and city experts, strengthening their leadership skills and developing practical approaches to advancing cultural policy in their cities.
Selected fellows will attend the 15th World Cities Culture Summit in Tokyo (28–30 October 2026), taking part in dedicated sessions alongside more than 150 global city leaders. Fellows will also participate in an in-person residency in Dubai in spring 2027, as well as online masterclasses exploring cultural city-making, urban planning, city administration, leadership and management.
Masterclass speakers will include Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr (Mayor of Freetown), Ricky Burdett (Director of LSE Cities and Professor of Urban Studies at the London School of Economics), Anne Hidalgo (Former Mayor of Paris), Gail Lord (Founder and President of Lord Cultural Resources) and Justine Simons OBE (Founder of World Cities Culture Forum and London’s Deputy Mayor for Culture & the Creative Industries).
Each fellow will also develop a strategic cultural project for their city, supported by expert mentoring and creating opportunities to apply learning directly to local policy innovation and practice. Alongside this, fellows will take part in professional development sessions with senior World Cities Culture Forum alumni, focused on developing their leadership skills, networks and careers.
“The Global Fellowship represents an important step in translating Dubai’s global cultural ambitions into lasting impact. As a flagship legacy of the World Cities Culture Summit 2024, it builds on the dialogue and partnerships established in Dubai to create a platform that invests in people, advances knowledge, and strengthens collaboration between cities. Through the Fellowship, we are not only developing the next generation of cultural policymakers and civic leaders but also creating an international network capable of exchanging ideas, addressing shared challenges, and developing new approaches that recognise culture as an essential driver of sustainable urban development and quality of life.”
— Her Excellency Hala Badri, Director General, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority
Meet the fellows
The Global Fellowship brings together 20 cultural city leaders from across five continents.
Laura Lee Odegaard – Austin
Division Manager of Cultural Affairs & Investments, City of Austin
Laura is a Manager of Cultural Affairs & Investments for the City of Austin and a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow and internationally recognised cultural policy expert who has worked across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. She oversees Austin’s $25M+ cultural investment portfolio spanning grants, public art, international partnerships, and cultural programming citywide.
Julia Ryan
Boston
Chief of Staff, Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture
Julia is Chief of Staff for the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, where she has been working for ten years. She focuses on a wide range of topics, from artist housing to grantmaking, creative workforce development, community engagement, program development, and interdepartmental projects embedding artists and creative workers within local government.
Barbora Kocianova
Bratislava
International Cooperation Officer, Department of Culture
Barbora is a culture management expert with a background in law and European affairs. Former EU reporter and MEP advisor, she spent years shaping cultural policy and cultural international relations at the national level. Currently, she leads international cultural cooperation, driving impactful local development for Slovakia’s capital city.
Hyangmi (Melanie) Won
Busan
Senior Researcher, Busan Cultural Foundation
Melanie is a Senior Researcher at Busan Cultural Foundation, conducting cultural policy research and proposing strategies. In her PhD, she researched historical Korean and French cultural policy; her research has informed proposals on artist support, cultural participation, international arts exchange, and urban cultural policy in Busan.
Afnan Abdulla
Dubai
Director, Asset Management & Logistics, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority
Afnan is the Director of Asset Management & Logistics at Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, where she leads the strategic stewardship and transformation of Dubai’s cultural and heritage assets. She brings expertise in asset management, cultural infrastructure and operational excellence, advancing resilient, future-ready cultural destinations.
Hessa Aljarwan
Dubai
Manager, Studies & Policies, Quality of Life, Dubai Roads and Transport Authority
Hessa is a Quality of Life Studies and Policies Manager, researcher, and public-sector practitioner working at the intersection of people, place, and mobility. At Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, she leads quality-of-life research and projects, combining environmental psychology, behavioural science, and human-centric design to shape mobility experiences.
Hesham Al Olama
Dubai
CEO, Media Development & Films/Games Commission, Dubai Media Council
Hesham is a leader with a decade of experience shaping high-profile initiatives across the public and private sectors in media, telecommunications, global development, and government. His career reflects a commitment to innovation, purpose-driven leadership, and initiatives that strengthen the UAE’s creative and economic landscape.
Mozah Lootah
Dubai
Senior Manager, Arts & Literature, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority
Mozah is a public art curator and cultural development manager at Dubai Culture, leading strategic commissions, partnerships, and citywide initiatives. Her work connects artists, communities, and government entities to shape Dubai’s public realm, strengthen cultural participation, and advance the city’s position as a global creative hub.
Noora Bin Kalban
Dubai
Director, Exploration Policies & Programs, Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority
Noora is the Director of Exploration Policies & Programs at KHDA, designing policies to align Dubai’s higher education with its 2033 strategic objectives. Previously at MBRCGI, she led public sector innovation initiatives by developing custom prototypes for national challenges. She also co-founded Medaf, a community art space.
David Waddell
Edinburgh
Senior Manager, Cultural Partnerships, City of Edinburgh Council
David is the Senior Manager for Cultural Partnerships at the City of Edinburgh Council. He is responsible for arts, festivals, events and filming, as well as wider culture projects and partnerships. He manages the city’s cultural grant funding and ensures the city’s culture sector is strategically supported.
Sunny – YAO Yang
Guangzhou
Director, Institute of City Internationalization, Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences
Sunny serves as Director of the Institute of Urban Internationalization, a municipal city think tank. Their mission is to research and promote Guangzhou’s urban internationalisation. The team she leads publishes an annual Blue Book on Guangzhou’s Urban Internationalization Development, focusing on the city’s outward-oriented economy, international cultural exchange, and international communication.
Ntshuxeko Manganye
Johannesburg
Division Manager of Cultural Affairs & Investments, City of Austin
Ntshuxeko is a cultural development and public-sector leader with nearly 20 years’ experience across arts, cultural policy, heritage and creative industries. As Head of Arts and Culture at the City of Johannesburg, she leads strategy, partnerships and programmes that expand access, support practitioners and strengthen citywide cultural public value.
Mykola Shuliak
Kyiv
First Deputy Director, Department of Culture of Executive Body of the Kyiv City Council
Mykola has served as First Deputy Director at the Department of Culture of Kyiv since 2014.
Kyiv’s cultural network includes more than 200 cultural institutions. His work focuses on creating conditions that meet cultural needs, including developing municipal cultural policies and financial mechanisms, especially during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Kirsten Dunne
London
Head of Programmes, Culture, Creative Industries and 24 Hour London Unit, Greater London Authority
Kirsten is the Head of Programmes in the Mayor of London’s Culture, Creative Industries and 24 Hour London Unit, leading work on cultural infrastructure, public art and culture’s role in shaping neighbourhoods, communities and growth. As part of the senior leadership team, she has helped grow the Unit into a larger, more diverse service, strengthening culture’s contribution to the Mayor’s priorities.
Addes Tesfamariam Berhane
Milan
Policy Advisor, City of Milan
Addes is a cultural policy advisor for the City of Milan. She advises on strategic cultural projects, international relations, and inclusive policy. Operating at the intersection of culture and urban social change, she focuses on music, diasporic communities, public art and memory, and decolonial approaches.
Elizeu Santiago Tavares de Sousa
Rio de Janeiro
President, General Archive of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro City Hall
Elizeu is the President of the General Archive of the City of Rio de Janeiro, custodian of the city’s records since 1567. A historian, political scientist, and professor at CEFET/RJ, he is a 2026 Visiting Scholar in Harvard’s Department of History.
Eunhye Kim
Seoul
Team Leader, Cultural Heritage Utilisation Division, Seoul Metropolitan Government
Eunhye is a Team Leader at the Seoul Metropolitan Government with ten years of experience across transport, strategic planning and culture. She currently works in arts and cultural policy, with a particular interest in how data and innovation can help cities create more inclusive, responsive and citizen-centred cultural policies.
Ben Macintosh
Toronto
Manager, Cultural Partnerships, City of Toronto
Ben is the Manager, Cultural Partnerships for the City of Toronto, where he leads cultural strategy, cultural funding programs, public art, and cultural space initiatives. His career spans municipal government and the cultural sector, including roles at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Berenike Lettmayer
Vienna
Deputy Chief of Staff, Policy Advisor, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Arts & Science, City of Vienna
Berenike is the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Deputy Mayor for Arts and Science’s cabinet in Vienna. She oversees cultural initiatives, district museums, club culture, the temporary use of vacant urban spaces, and both cultural and adult education. She was also one of the key authors of Vienna’s Cultural Strategy 2030, leading the chapters on diversity, accessibility and affordability – topics that sit at the heart of her work.
Maga Ćwieluch
Warsaw
Project Manager, City of Warsaw
Maga works at the City of Warsaw’s Culture Department, at the intersection of cultural policy and strategy, using creativity to connect people, ideas and institutions and support culture’s role in urban life. Her professional path has been defined by multidisciplinarity, combining creative practice, curatorial work, journalism, cultural production and public administration.
We look forward to sharing the fellows’ journey throughout the programme, beginning at the World Cities Culture Summit in Tokyo later this month.