India to host second BRICS Culture Working Group meeting in Varanasi on June 4-5, 2026

Key facts

• India will host the second meeting of the BRICS Culture Working Group (CWG) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on June 4-5, 2026.
• The meeting is conducted under India's 2026 BRICS theme, Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.
• The CWG will focus on three priority areas: creative economy and the role of artificial intelligence in cultural and creative industries, protection of cultural heritage and the return of cultural property, and the relationship between culture, climate change and sustainable development.
• Upcoming events include the third CWG meeting in Bhopal on August 5-6, the BRICS Cultural Festival, the BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting, and a BRICS Theatre Festival in New Delhi in October.
• BRICS full members comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.