Archive · 6 Aug 2026
BRICS Culture Group Meets in Bhopal on AI and Heritage
BRICS is a club of countries that like to work together.
Some of these countries sent delegates to a meeting in Bhopal, a city in India.
They are talking about culture, which includes art, music, books and old traditions.
The meeting will last four days.
The countries want to help each other with creative jobs and protect their cultural treasures.
They also want to make sure that artificial intelligence is used in fair and good ways.
India suggested a digital platform where the countries can share ideas and work together.
Visitors watched Indian dances, listened to music and saw traditional clothes.
The meeting is one step before a bigger meeting of culture ministers.
At the end, they plan to write a special agreement called the Sanchi Cultural Connect Declaration.
The four-day BRICS Culture Working Group meeting opened Wednesday at Kushabhau Thakre International Convention Centre in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Delegates discussed proposals for BRICS sub-working groups on the creative economy, copyright and artificial intelligence (AI).
Proposals also covered a UNESCO cooperation corner, a BRICS artist registry, a Heritage Provenance Research Hub and a traditional knowledge systems repository.
India proposed creating a BRICS Cultural Connect Digital Platform to enable knowledge sharing and institutional networking across member nations.
The talks aim to finalise the Sanchi Cultural Connect Declaration and draft the statement for the 11th BRICS Culture Ministers' Meeting.
- Who
- Delegations from Brazil, China, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Iran, Russia and Ethiopia, with Egypt joining in hybrid mode, led by officials such as Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary of India's Ministry of Culture.
- What
- A four-day BRICS Culture Working Group meeting focusing on cultural cooperation, the creative economy, ethical use of AI in culture and heritage preservation.
- When
- Wednesday, the inaugural day of the four-day meeting.
- Where
- Kushabhau Thakre International Convention Centre in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
- Why
- To advance cultural cooperation, finalise the Sanchi Cultural Connect Declaration and prepare for the 11th BRICS Culture Ministers' Meeting.
- Event
- BRICS Culture Working Group meeting
- Duration
- Four days
- Location
- Kushabhau Thakre International Convention Centre, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Theme
- Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability
- Focus Areas
- Creative economy, ethical use of AI in culture, heritage preservation, traditional knowledge systems
- Participating Countries
- Brazil, China, South Africa, UAE, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Ethiopia (Egypt in hybrid mode)
- India's Proposal
- BRICS Cultural Connect Digital Platform
- Expected Outcomes
- Sanchi Cultural Connect Declaration and draft statement for the 11th BRICS Culture Ministers' Meeting