French President Francois Hollande welcomes Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on February 10, 2015. Photo: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.
Vincent Noce, Louvre Abu Dhabi to host summit on culture versus terrorism, The Art Newspaper, 5 July 2016
French president François Hollande builds global coalition to protect cultural heritage
The United Arab Emirates will host a high-level, international conference on terrorism versus culture, led by the French president François Hollande and the president of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The exact date is not yet fixed, but the event is due to take place in December in Abu Dhabi, when the Louvre Abu Dhabi building, designed by Jean Nouvel, is due to be completed.
Since 2015, France has taken the lead in this campaign. The decision to hold the conference, which will bring together ministers as well as museum and heritage experts, was made in May by the G7 summit in Japan, on a proposal from Hollande. Along with the other G7 members, France and the emirate are gathering a coalition of states to support the initiative, according to information from the Elysée Palace in Paris. It is expected to be formally announced at the Louvre today (5 July) during a visit by Hollande and a high-ranking official close to the emir, who will be in charge of this mission. According to our information, a French special envoy has already been appointed: Jack Lang, a former minister of culture and the president of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.
