Shaping a Better World Through Cultural Innovation

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Shaping a Better World Through Cultural Innovation

Salzburg Global Seminar prepares to welcome 49 new participants for latest program of the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators

Photo by Peder Cho on Unsplash

Artists, entrepreneurs, and innovators from around the world will convene in Salzburg next week to discuss and strategize ways to drive change through the power of the arts and culture.

More than 50 leaders from around the world have been selected for the sixth program of the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators - Cultural Innovation, Leadership and Collaboration: A Global Platform.

This year’s program, which takes place between October 22 and October 27, brings together participants and faculty from 17 countries including Albania, Argentina, Austria, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malta, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

The YCI Forum fosters creative innovation and social entrepreneurship for global development. In this year’s program, participants will undergo leadership development and craft new ways to advance positive social change.

YCI Program Director Susanna Seidl-Fox said, "By connecting and supporting this next generation of creative changemakers, Salzburg Global aims to support and strengthen the evolving cultural ecosystem, catalyze cross-sectoral connections, and expand the possibilities for civic innovation and social improvement through the power and creativity of the arts worldwide.”

All participants are aged between 25-35 and have at least two years of professional experience in the arts or cultural sector. Each participant is passionate about creating social change within their community.

This year’s program is also aligned with several Sustainable Development Goals. Participants will look at how people within the arts and cultural sector can create sustainable cities and communities as well as positive innovation for the future.

Salzburg Global Seminar is delighted to welcome back YCI Fellows who have participated in previous programs as Facilitators. They will be on hand to assure continuity, communication, and exchange of best practices across the Forum.

Faye Hobson, YCI Program Manager, said, “The goals of the program in Salzburg are to welcome the new YCIs into the YCI Forum network, connect them with each other, and provide opportunities for them to reflect on their own practice, as well as on their role in their community, in their city, and as part of the YCI network worldwide. This year the YCI Forum is being co-created by Salzburg Global, the YCI facilitation team, and members of the YCI Forum network. We believe that co-creation taps into the collective insight and potential of groups, and is especially effective when bringing together YCIs from around the world who are facing common challenges in their work to generate breakthrough solutions that shape a better world.”

The expected outcomes of this program include:

  • Supporting next generation creative change-makers who are major, yet unrecognized or under-resourced, drivers of civic innovation and imaginative social change;
  • Creating a world-class network of Young Cultural Innovators to strengthen and encourage cross-sectoral collaboration between the arts sector and other sectors over the next five years;
  • Building the capacity of a critical mass (500+) of networked young creative change-makers committed to innovative leadership, social impact, entrepreneurial approaches, and exchange of best practices within and among “YCI hubs” worldwide;
  • Generating a multiplier effect through the “YCI hubs” by sharing the learning from the Salzburg sessions and inspire innovation, collaboration, and peer mentoring at the local and regional levels; and
  • Disseminating the Forum’s groundbreaking ideas around the intersection between the arts and social impact to a broad community of stakeholders and build a creative impact network for continuing dialogue, collaboration and advocacy, through social media and catalyzed by the “YCI hubs.”


The Salzburg Global Seminar Program, Cultural Innovation, Leadership and Collaboration: A Global Platform, is part of the Young Cultural Innovators Forum annual program. The program is held in partnership with Adena and David Testa, Arts Council Korea, Arts Council Malta, the Bush Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, Japan Foundation, the Korea Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Nippon Foundation, Sheika Salama Bint Hamdan al Nahyan Foundation, Shalini Passi Art Foundation, and World Culture Open.