Post by Sir Paul J.R. Dujardin

63 today. Fifty years of questions, encounters and commitment. Today I turn 63. My journey did not begin with a title or an institution. It began in 1976, when my brother #Jacques, then a student at the #RoyalAcademyOfFineArts in #Brussels, opened the door to museums, concerts, exhibitions and artists’ studios, with the warm support and encouragement of our entire family. That same year, I became active in #JeunessesMusicalesBrussels at #BOZAR. Soon afterwards, I was turning the pages of musical scores during concerts @ #Bozar. A small gesture, perhaps — but the beginning of a lifelong commitment to #Art, #Culture and #Heritage. Fifty years later, I still return to the same question: Can art help change the world? Perhaps not on its own. But #Art helps us remain human. It teaches us to listen before we judge, to build #Bridges where others build walls, to embrace #Complexity, and to recognise #Beauty not as an escape from reality, but as a deeper way of engaging with it. Today, I think with gratitude of #Jacques, who first opened that door; of #Lydia, my life companion, whose wisdom and integrity continue to inspire me; of my family, our children, my friends; and of the artists and thinkers who have shaped my understanding of the role of art in society. For me, #MichelangeloPistoletto stands for #Thought: art as “the most sensitive and complete expression of human thought.” #AiWeiwei stands for #Courage and #Politics: “Everything is art. Everything is politics.” And #AnaSchnabl, a voice from a younger generation of thinkers in #Slovenia and the #WesternBalkans, reminds us that art must also protect #Ambiguity, #Attention and #Freedom in a world that too often demands instant judgement. After fifty years, I believe less in certainty, but more than ever in #Dialogue, #Imagination, #Care, #Responsibility, #HumanDignity and #LifelongLearning. Perhaps art will not save the world. But without #Art, #Culture and #Heritage, we may forget why the world is worth caring for in the first place. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. The journey continues.