Sir Jonathan Mills (Festival Director and CEO Edinburgh International Festival): Ladies and
gentlemen, I add my warm welcome to those of the Presiding Officer, the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport and the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs.
The title of the 2014 Edinburgh International Culture Summit is “Culture—A Currency of Trust”, which
reflects a belief in the capacity of the arts to build bridges of understanding between nations, states
and cities, and to create a climate of trust and good will. Those moments throughout history when
human society has been at its most innovative, inventive and prosperous have been defined by its
culture—by the arts and sciences in close proximity and collaboration. That was witnessed, for
example, in the period that is known as la Convivencia—the coexistence—which existed during the
height of the caliphate of Córdoba in 10th and 11th century Spain, when Islam, Judaism and
Christianity co-operated harmoniously, and to which Jordi Savall and his musicians of Hespèrion XXI
have just paid such eloquent homage.
The theme of the summit 2014 is somewhat provocative. At a time when economic systems have
become forces unto themselves, and struggle to be perceived as being transparent or trustworthy, the
thought that the creative outpourings of our civilisations—visual arts, sculpture, cinema, music, dance
and literature—might fill such a vacuum and become a mechanism for encouraging confidence and
good will, as a true and genuine currency of trust, seems to be appropriate—if a little confronting.
Culture is a prism through which to perceive the equilibrium of any society. The stories that we
choose to tell about ourselves reflect our ambitions and values and have an inestimable impact on the
cohesiveness and vibrancy of the world that we seek to create.
The Edinburgh International Culture Summit is hosted by a city in which for almost 70 years cultural
relationships of the most diverse and intense kind have been initiated and nurtured. The summit is
part of an endeavour to draw together the strands of those and similar activities in a world that is
increasingly complex and multilayered, and to emphasise the important role that cultural exchange
can play in such times.
The decision to hold the summit in August, during the Edinburgh International Festival and all
Edinburgh’s summer festivals, extends to you all the opportunity to engage directly with one of the
most diverse and vibrant cultural celebrations in the world. As much as the summit is a Scottish
initiative, it also offers a genuine international perspective. I encourage you to embrace it as your
festival, and not just ours. Your presence is an encouragement to the 25,000 artists from more than
70 countries who gather in this city in August every year.
Equally, as a forum in which practitioners and politicians can come together, the summit provides you
with a platform for discussing and promoting, and for testing and trying, substantial global issues of
mutual interest, with a highly ambitious alliance of artists and cultural professionals.
In devising a programme for the summit, I am keen to cultivate a balance of voices that represent
multiple perspectives rather than singular attitudes. The recommendation is that no continent or
particular perspective should dominate the proceedings. The summit asks you to compare the
different ways in which we define and solve problems in a range of contexts and communities, and to
share your knowledge and to learn from each other’s practical experiences. The summit is in two
parts: there will be a series of short presentations here in the Scottish Parliament’s debating chamber,
which will provide impetus for longer discussions and there will be debates in which you will
participate in private session.
We have come together to consider three interlinked and far-ranging topics, under the titles “Values
and Measurements”, “Advocacy and Identity” and “Cities and Culture”. I hope that we will explore
various ways in which we choose to define, measure and value the place of culture in our lives; to be
aware of the divergent geographic approaches to that complex process; to acknowledge the many
Governments that are signatories to important international conventions for the promotion and
protection of culture, and the diversity of its forms and expressions; to examine the role of culture in
international relations and national identities; and to discover the specific role that cities and city
governance can contribute to enhancing opportunities for individual and collective creativity. I hope
that what will emerge from the summit will be a series of practical recommendations that are sensitive,
sensible and—above all—applicable and achievable.
Since the programme went to print, there have been a few last-minute changes. Because of urgent,
sad and unforeseen circumstances, Irina Bokova cannot be with us. Danielle Cliche, who is secretary
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Convention on the Protection
and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, will present the speech that Madam Bokova
prepared and will read it on her behalf.
I am grateful to Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Culture Company 2013, who provided
such inspired leadership to the city of Londonderry as part of the UK’s inaugural city of culture
programme in 2013, for replacing Bridget McConnell as the rapporteur for our cities and culture
discussions.
I acknowledge the support of the summit 2014 programme partners: the Aga Khan Foundation,
Asialink, the United Cities and Local Governments agenda 21 for culture, UNESCO, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s media lab.
I wish you well in the deliberations at the summit, and I hope that your time in Edinburgh is inspiring
and rewarding. Thank you, and enjoy the days that we have together.