Recently in Cultural Diplomacy Category

On 2 March 2010, I’ll be in Brussels at Conflict Prevention and Resolution: the Role for Cultural Relations, a discussion hosted by NATO, Security & Defense Agenda, and the British Council . The discussion will be in three parts: Why Culture Matters, Case Studies in Cultural Relations in Conflict, and Designing a Cultural Approach to Civil-Military Relations.

Event information, including registration and agenda, is available here. More on the event will appear at www.MountainRunner.us.

Ambassador Cynthia Schneider looks at two international "American Idol"-style shows - one in Afghanistan, and one in the United Arab Emirates - and shows the surprising effect that these reality-TV competitions are creating in their societies.

More required reading on cultural diplomacy from Cynthia:

• The Great Silencing: Intolerance and censorship in the Arab world
• New  Way Forward:  Encouraging Greater  Cultural  Engagement with Muslim Communities
• Cultural Diplomacy: It's the Culture, Stupid (subscription required)
• and this related RAND report, Barriers to the Broad Dissemination of Creative Works in the Arab World

Cynthia gets it. Public diplomacy is about more than direct engagement and building relationships. The tactical desire to focus on the immediate payback of our policies blinds us to the slow yet enduring benefits of indirect empowerment of others.

See also:

• Defining Public Diplomacy