Cultural Diplomacy and culture in a Changing World

The concept of soft power has shaped a lot of international political and diplomatic thinking in recent years. It has heightened interest in the principles and practice of public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy. The purpose of this international forum is to re-examine cultural diplomacy and in particular the place of culture in international relations. Taking account of some current thinking on cultural diplomacy and current examples, the intention is to look forward to possible future developments and trends and who is likely to be shaping them.

What is cultural diplomacy? How are the wider, connective and human values of culture being used to negotiate and recalibrate international relationships in a fast-changing and sometimes dangerous world? How can culture be used to explore differences and appreciate commonalities at an international level without being turned into a tool of public diplomacy and potentially of national propaganda? Who sets the cultural diplomacy challenges and agendas and who are the players? To what extent is people-to-people communication across borders and the sharing of knowledge and information changing? Will new social networking tools and evolving social media technology present an opportunity or challenge to the future course of cultural and public diplomacy?

The Forum will be open to approximately fifty participants and be in the format of presentations and discussion groups with discussion leaders including John Holden of Demos, Terry Sandell of the British Council, Ladislav Pflimpfl of the Czech Embassy, Martin Fryer of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Helena Drobna Researcher Institut fuer Kulturmanagement Wien (UNESCO staff), Gerald Lidstone of Goldsmiths and others.

The Forum is being supported by the UNESCO Commission of the Slovak Republic, European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres ENCATC. The British Centre of the International Theatre Institute and Goldsmiths, University of London and would like to thank the Romanian Cultural Centre (www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk) for its partnership in hosting it.

The event will finish at 5:00, to be followed by a reception

For more information about this event please visit the following website:

To register please click here: http://www.gold.ac.uk/drama/iti/drama/iti/mailinglist/

ENCATC wishes to express its sincere gratitude to Gerald Lidstone of Goldsmiths for his efficient coordination of the ENCATC working groups Europe-International.