Arts and Culture Programme Annual Meeting 2025

The World Economic Forum's Arts and Culture Programme for the 2025 Annual Meeting explores the balance between human intuition and AI in the 'Intelligent Age'. The programme features the 31st Annual Crystal Awards honoring Riken Yamamoto, Diane von Furstenberg, and David Beckham, and an opening concert titled 'Guardians of the Glaciers' that uses AI-generated visuals and music to highlight the climate crisis and polar ice loss. Additional exhibitions address gender equity, social justice, and sustainable fashion, while 'The Cultural Table' initiative facilitates dialogues between business and cultural leaders to drive socio-economic progress.

• The 2025 Crystal Awards recognize three leaders: architect Riken Yamamoto for sustainable design and community regeneration, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg for empowering women and gender equality, and David Beckham for his humanitarian work with children and as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
• The 'Guardians of the Glaciers' opening concert concludes a three-year climate-focused trilogy, shifting focus to polar ice caps in alignment with the UN General Assembly's 2025 International Year of Glacier Preservation. It highlights that Antarctica contains 91% of the world's glaciers and that their loss contributes to rising sea levels and biodiversity loss.
• The programme examines the tension between AI and human creativity, arguing that while AI can be a tool for expansion, human creativity is distinct because it springs from 'vulnerability, identity and experience'.
• The 'Work in Progress' mural highlights the systemic undervaluation of gender equity compared to tech investment, noting that based on the Global Gender Gap Report 2024, it could take 134 years to close the gender gap.
• Sustainable fashion is showcased through Kévin Germanier, who created over 120 costumes for the Paris Olympic Games, including the 'Golden Voyager' made entirely from upcycled materials.
• The 'Cultural Table' is a curated dialogue initiative launched in September 2023 to bridge the cultural and business sectors, aiming to use art to catalyze social impact and socio-economic progress.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Arts and Culture Programme Annual Meeting 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Arts_and_Culture_Programme_AM25.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Arts and Culture Programme Annual Meeting 2025. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Arts_and_Culture_Programme_AM25.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Arts and Culture Programme Annual Meeting 2025 |date=2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Arts_and_Culture_Programme_AM25.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025arts, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Arts and Culture Programme Annual Meeting 2025}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Arts_and_Culture_Programme_AM25.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }