“Healing a Broken World will take place on April 22nd and 23rd, 2021. This virtual summit will address the power of culture in repairing our communities and reimagining our post-pandemic future”.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is launching “Healing a Broken World,” a virtual summit taking place on April 22-23, 2021, in the context of World Creativity and Innovation Day. For the Summit, renowned Latin American and Caribbean cultural leaders, artists, economists, urban planners, architects, technologists, and others will address concerns of recovery and growth in the post-pandemic era. A keynote talk, three-panel discussions, and five specially commissioned performance works to be premiered will take place during the two days of the Summit.
The Summit is part of the IDB’s commitment to be at the forefront of efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Bank seeks to generate solutions that will allow its member countries to regain health and reignite economic growth in the wake of this historic crisis. This initiative is aligned with UNESCO’s recent statements urging decision-makers to include culture in their national recovery plans.
“The pandemic has accentuated the health, economic, and social issues that many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean now face. Our communities must find ways to heal, and art and culture can be part of the solution by creating pathways for change, taking a role at the forefront of recovery efforts,” said Trinidad Zaldívar, Chief of the Creativity and Culture Unit.
Healing a Broken World’s two-day program will be comprised of:
- A “Vision Talk” by Gustavo Dudamel, Music & Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Co-Chair of the Dudamel Foundation, about the power of arts for social change.
- Panel discussions on the impact of cultural institutions in reimagining communities; artists as first-responders in times of crisis; and the future of our cities and their technological advances in light of remote work, learning, isolation, and new platforms for communication and mobility. Distinguished speakers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, the UK, and the US will take part in the discussions and contribute their ideas to the summit’s website and a publication to follow.
- Five specially commissioned performances by distinguished artists from the region, including Bijari (Brazil), Lorena Wolffer (Mexico), Maria José Machado (Ecuador), Christopher Cozier (Trinidad and Tobago), and Nicole L’Huillier and Patricia Domínguez (Chile).
The Summit is presented by the IDB with the support of a network of cultural institutions across the Americas, and curated by Manuela Reyes, Senior Associate and curator of the IDB’s Creativity and Culture Unit, and Steven Henry Madoff, founding Chair of the Masters in Curatorial Practice program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. The event will be held in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation. For free registration and further information about the event, please click here.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
