The inaugural Edinburgh International Culture Summit was in 2012, as a forum for discussion about culture and how it relates to politics, society, economics and business.
Taking place during the maelstrom of the Edinburgh Festival, it offers the opportunity for those in the cultural world to meet and exchange ideas around big issues of the day with policy and business leaders.
The Summit is a collaboration between the Scottish Government, UK Government, British Council, Edinburgh International Festival and Scottish Parliament, delivered on behalf of the partners by the Edinburgh International Culture Summit Foundation, an organisation with chartitable status.
The stated mission of the Summit organisers is below:
"The Edinburgh International Culture Summit brings together Culture Ministers, artists, thinkers and arts leaders from around the world to share ideas, expertise and best practice, with a view to inspiring positive change in cultural policy and investment.
The Summit seeks to emphasise the importance of artistic exchange in a world that is increasingly complex and multi-lateral.
Our agenda is deliberately non-partisan and pragmatic. We aim to present multiple points of view rather than singular attitudes, ensuring that no country, continent or cultural perspective comes to dominate proceedings.
Culture and the arts have an inestimable impact on the vibrancy of the world we create and on the strength of the relations we create with each other."