Week 3: Dialogue and Collaboration: the most effective kind of Cultural Diplomacy

This week's reading made me reflect a lot about both my current work within international development and my mothers work in the performing arts. Having grown up surrounded by the performing arts, theater, dance and music and now being solely focused on building international relationships cultural diplomacy, as a whole, resonated with me as the bridge between these two (as well as many more) fields. While Cull's piece breaks cultural diplomacy into four categories, I appreciated that he emphasized that successful programs integrate all four aspects- the prestige gift, cultural information, dialogue and collaboration, and capacity building. That being said, perhaps it is because of my background, I think Cull’s “dialogue and collaboration” type of cultural diplomacy is vital for any larger public diplomacy policy.

Mr. Harvey from the Cultures in Harmony best practices article said it best "Build a relationship. You are feeding an entire nation." If the purpose of cultural diplomacy is to best represent a nation abroad and "dismantle potential cultural barriers", then the use of dialogue and collaboration is the first and most critical step in any cultural or public diplomacy policy. Positive results from dialogue and collaboration can ensure sustainable relationships are forged and a deeper understanding of one’s culture is appreciated.  This understanding can lead to a foundation for within other aspects of foreign relations. In one of my favorite examples of successful dialogue and collaboration, the Brooklyn Academy of music (BAM) held a 2-day conference bringing together "44 performers, writers, cultural entrepreneurs, government officials, commentators, religious leaders, and scholars from around the globe to promote understand...According to a local Brooklyn business owner who participated in the festival, 'it's good for the country. This is a way to just talk together'". This perfect example show how a simple dialogue and collaborative event can lead to future events, but also help build foundations in critical sectors for public diplomacy.

 

Similarly, I was struck by the work that American Voices and Youth Excellence on Stage Academies (YES) have been doing to shift the perspectives of motivated and artistic youth who may have held negative views toward the United States.  YES has been working to provide these alternate perspectives through cultural genres, such as Broadway, Jazz, Hip Hop, theater. These types of dialogue and collaboration are more indirect, but still have been shaping lives in challenging countries where public diplomacy campaigns could build upon.

Finally, I would like to discuss dialogue and collaboration in a personal context. Annually my mother’s o organization hosts a domestic theater-based conference, bringing together numerous organizations, theaters, actresses/actors, investors from throughout the country to share new ideas, build relationship and many find jobs. I think the conference totals about 4000. When I was working on a challenging proposal for Nigeria about 9 months ago, I went to my Mother to discuss with her theater organizations working abroad. I did this for many of the reasons Cull and the Task Force best practices discuss, the arts know how to engage, stimulate and build relationships that bridge culture. If any type of the cultural diplomacy should be isolated, I truly feel that it is dialogue and collaboration.