- #RoadtoLuanda25
- Youth
AEF at MONDIACULT 2025: Culture Collab Lab High-level Dinner
- The Africa-Europe Foundation
Culture Collab Lab: AU & EU Cultural Cooperation
Hosted by: Africa Europe Foundation (AEF) & UNDP
Date: 29 September 2025 | Time: 19:00-21:00 CET
Location: Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona
By 2050, one in four people will be African, yet today the continent claims just 1.5% of the $2.3 trillion global creative economy—a staggering gap when compared to Asia’s $438 billion in creative exports or Europe’s 55% stranglehold on creator royalties. While AU-EU partnerships pay lip service to cultural heritage and youth empowerment, they systematically exclude the creative economy’s transformative potential, despite clear evidence that Africa’s creative industries could drive employment, innovation, and equitable growth.
The upcoming G20 and AU–EU Summit offer a pivotal platform to transform potential into action. Together, Africa and Europe can design inclusive frameworks, pioneer innovative distribution models, and cultivate vibrant cultural networks that amplify creativity across borders. By deepening collaboration, the partnership can move beyond participation to co-lead the global creative future—setting new standards for equity, opportunity, and shared prosperity.
CONTEXT AND RATIONALE
This side event at MONDIACULT 2025 will catalyze a vital dialogue on unlocking the powerful synergy between Africa and Europe's creative youth. It will focus on forging actionable strategies that bridge skills gaps, champion equitable partnerships, and modernize policies to harness the full potential of the cultural sector.
Leveraging UNESCO's premier global forum, we will convene key policymakers, creatives, and investors to analyze insights resulting from a year-long research initiative on Africa-Europe cultural cooperation coordinated by the Africa-Europe Foundation.
Strategically timed ahead of the 25th AU-EU Summit in Luanda this November, this initiative is designed to directly inform the Summit's policy track on culture. The process will translate recommendations into tangible action, driving the AU-EU partnership toward concrete, measurable outcomes in the cultural and creative sectors.
FORMAT
This high-level 60-minute dinner convenes decision-makers to discuss these co-created proposals and explore opportunities for implementation and follow up. The goal is to generate tangible input and shared priorities, ensuring the transformative potential of the cultural and creative industries is a central pillar on both the G20 and AU-EU agendas.
Duration: 60 minutes | Participants: Creatives from Africa and Europe, policymakers, investors, researchers