Climate Culture Forum to Launch in September Climate Culture Forum to Launch in September

In the Culture Council, a randomly selected group of 75 cultural practitioners will examine the role of art and culture in the climate transition. The outcome will be a Climate Covenant for Culture, through which the sector will position itself as a serious and inspiring partner for climate issues and endorse agreements that contribute to making cultural production more sustainable.

“There is no shortage of sustainable initiatives in the culture sector,” says Chris Julien, the cultural and eco-philosopher from Utrecht University who initiated the project. “What is missing is a shared framework with broad support and a decisive vision. Well-informed decision-making from a diversity of perspectives is crucial for this, and that is what the Culture Council will provide. After nearly three years of preparation, coordination, and fundraising, the Culture Council will launch in September 2026.”

“The Culture Council is an innovative form of citizens’ assembly, bringing together a sector rather than a population,” says co-initiator Maurice Seleky, who works as a member of the Management Team at the Amsterdam Museum. “In recent years, citizens’ assemblies have proven themselves to be an effective model for making decisions on complex issues, including climate change. They can create support, counter polarization and develop long-term policy proposals more quickly. It is a complementary way of practising democracy regarding urgent societal challenges.”

“The Culture Council was established by 15 organisations and is supported by 17 funders, based on a shared trust in the innovative, creative, and transformative power of culture,” says Francien van Westrenen, a Management Team member representing the Nieuwe Instituut, which coordinates the project. “The cultural sector has much to offer in terms of the transition needed for a liveable climate, and the public expects this contribution from the sector.”

The recruitment campaign begins on 9 June. Cultural creators from across the Netherlands can register on the website to take part in the Culture Council. Participants will be selected by lottery based on criteria such as age, gender, region, position and cultural discipline. The aim is for this pool to be as representative as possible of the Dutch cultural sector, which employs around 400,000 people and accounts for around 20 billion euros in direct added value for the Dutch economy.

Ambassadors for this Culture Council campaign include actress and climate activist Carice van Houten, designer and director of Noorderlicht Roosje Klap, curator and director of the Jan van Eyck Academy Hicham Khalidi, director of the Netherlands Photo Museum Zippora Elders, founder and director of the Waag Futurelab Marleen Stikker, and Meta Knol, art historian, author, and chair of the Climate Culture Council.

Between September and November 2026, a randomly selected group of 75 cultural creators and employees of cultural institution (from various roles, disciplines and regions) will meet four times. During these sessions, they will learn, deliberate and provide advice in accordance with the principles of a citizens’ assembly. They will be assisted by facilitators and provided with information and knowledge by experts in climate, sustainability and culture. Ultimately, the group will formulate recommendations for the cultural sector to play a meaningful and positive role in addressing the climate transition, while considering the opportunities and dilemmas involved.

In early December, these recommendations will be ‘returned’ to the sector and subsequently adopted as the Culture Covenant for Climate, through which the sector will position itself as a serious and inspiring partner on climate issues and endorses agreements that contribute to the sustainability of cultural production.

The Culture Council Climate will take place on 21 September, 5 October (online), 26 October and 16 November 2026 in Leiden. In December, the findings will be presented to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), and directors and other policy- and decision-makers in the cultural sector. 

The Establishing Committee (Instellende Commissie)* has given the Climate Culture Council its mandate. The consultation is organised by Bureau EMMA. Nieuwe Instituut acts as coordinator and secretariat.

For more information: www.cultuurberaad.nl

*Committee members are: the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO), the Boekman Foundation, Culture+Entrepreneurship, the Creative Coalition, De Zaak Nu, DEN, DutchCulture, the National Institute for Culture Education and Amateur Art (LKCA), Nieuwe Instituut, the Dutch Association for Performing Arts (NAPK), the Dutch Association for Supervisors in Culture (NVTC), the Association of Dutch Pop Music Venues and Festivals (VNPF), the Netherlands Public Library Association (VOB), the Association of Theatre and Concert Hall Directors (VSCD) and the chair of the Museums & Sustainability working group of the Netherlands Museums Association, brought together initiators Maurice Seleky and Chris Julien.

The consultation has been made financially possible by contributions from: the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, the Boekman Foundation, the Culture Fund, Culture+Entrepreneurship, DEN, the Film Fund, Fund 21, the Cultural Participation Fund, the Performing Arts Fund, the City of Amsterdam, the City of The Hague, the Literature Fund, the Mondriaan Fund, NVTC, the Pictoright Fund, the Creative Industries Fund NL and De Hoorn Foundation.