The HubCities project enabled to advance on the comparison and theorization of diversity governance in Doha and Singapore. The analysis enabled to identify and show the coexistence of compartmentalized diversity management frameworks, which correspond to different policy actors, values, and transnational networks. The research shows that cultural and higher education policies each participate in these compartmentalized diversity management frameworks and shows how this compartmentalization is projected in the urban space.
The HubCities project has also analyzed the way Doha and Singapore’s cultural and higher education hub strategies adjusted to the pandemic. The closing of borders and the restrictions on ‘non-essential’ sectors, had dramatic consequences for tourism, culture, and higher education. At the same time, both cities have mobilized the crisis an opportunity to showcase resilience and innovativeness, encouraging digital innovations in culture and higher education.
The HubCities project enabled to initiate new reflections, in particular on the consequences of the digitalization of culture and heritage for the governance of diversity in cities, thanks to the organization of a conference in Singapore followed by a collective publication.