the international conference on cultural diplomacy & the un · 2012. 2. 1. · the conference...

The International Conference on Cultural Diplomacy & the UN

“Cultural Diplomacy & Soft Power in an Interdependent World: The

Opportunities for Global Governance”

(New York City & Washington D.C., February 21st - 24th, 2012)

icd - institute for cultural diplomacy


The International Conference on Cultural Diplomacy & the UNUntertitelvariable

www.un-culturaldiplomacy-conference.org - Institute for Cultural Diplomacy

The International Conference on Cultural Diplomacy & the UN

“Cultural Diplomacy & Soft Power in an Interdependent World: The Opportunities for Global Governance”

(New York City & Washington D.C., February 21st - 24th, 2012)

Event IntroductionThe “Conference on The United Nations and Cultural Diplomacy” is one of a three – part series of International Conferences held by the ICD on the issue of ‘International Institutions and Global Gover-nance: The Role of Cultural Diplomacy’. The aim of the conference this year is to reflect on the role of the United Nations within the international system, on global governance as a whole in terms of key international issues and on how Cultural Diplomacy takes place. The program will consist of lectures, seminars, debates and panel discussions that will feature leading figures from international politics & diplomacy, academia, civil society, and the private sector.

In an age of international instability and discontent the United Nations marked a transition towards a more soft power based approach to international relations. With its specific aim to foster peace and co-operation agreements, the United Nations was the first institution to focus on relations between states and international understanding. Cultural Diplomacy is becoming increasingly important within inter-national relations and The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy reflects the desire to expand on this work.

This conference will focus on and analyze “Could Cultural Diplomacy represents a useful tool for fos-tering international cooperation within an institutional framework and within the wider global govern-ment?”

Conference Locations »

Based in Washington D.C. and NYC, the conference will be hosted at the UN headquarters in NYC and in the UNDP offices in Washington D.C.

Conference Participants »

The conference is open to applications from governmental and diplomatic officials, civil society practiti-oners, young professionals, students and scholars, private sector representatives, journalists, and other interested stakeholders from across the world.

Certificate of Attendance

All participants will be awarded an official certificate of attendance upon completion of the program, which provides details about the speakers and topics at the conference. Each certificate will be signed by members of the ICD‘s Advisory Board.




Conference Speakers »Speakers during the conference will include leading figures and experts from civil society, international politics, academia, diplomacy, and the private sector from across the world. These speakers will include a number of individuals from the ICD Advisory Board (for further information about the Advisory Board please click here).

Participant Papers »The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy encourages research and progressive thought on the fields of culture, globalization, and international relations. As such, the ICD welcomes participants of the con-ference to submit relevant papers addressing topics within these fields particular to their interests and passions. Participants can submit papers written in the past for other purposes or ongoing research, or written specifically for the conference. Groups of students are also allowed to submit collaborative pieces of work.

Conference Agenda

The goal of the United Nations and Cultural Diplomacy Conference is to induce new momentum in the debate about the role of international institutions such as the United Nations, the working of global governance as a whole and effectiveness of Cultural Diplomacy. In discussing these issues The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy hopes to facilitate new tools to promote international relationships and coope-ration in a globalized world.

The Congress seeks to achieve a deeper understanding of Cultural Diplomacy policies in this new mo-dern age and will achieve these goals by exploring the routes and avenues by which a balance can be sought between ‘hard’ and ‘soft power’ represented by institutions such as the United Nations.

The following issues will be mentioned and explored:

The Role of Cultural Diplomacy in International InstitutionsIn our globalized, interdependent world cultural sensitivity is necessary requirement of success. In the shifting political and economic landscape new regions come into focus and international institutions have to find the way to successfully cooperate with institutions from these regions. During the confe-rence we aim to discover how cultural diplomacy can facilitate this process as well as how international institutions can apply cultural diplomacy in their practices to increase their effectiveness.

• FacingtheChallengesoftheShiftingPoliticalandEconomicLandscapethroughCulturalDiplomacy(Focus:changesinpre-existinginstitutionalpractices,newpartnerships)

•NongovernmentalActors’PoliticalinfluentialPower(Focus:representingnationalculture,culturaldiplomacyinpoliticaluse)




•CulturalDiplomacymadebyInternationalInstitutions:TopDownApproach?(Focus:Bottomupandtopdownapproaches,achievementsinbotharenas,publicawareness)

•CulturalResourcesandValuesintheCorporateWorld(Focus:negotiationpractices,interculturalunderstanding,inter-culturalinternalmilieu)

•CanCulturalDiplomacybeinvolvedineverysectorofaninstitutionalframework?(Focus:CulturalDiplomacy;InstitutionalOrganisation)

• TheUnitedNationsandCulturalDiplomacyrelations:Whoshouldbeincluded?(Focus:CulturalDiplomacy;UnitedNations;InternationalNetworkingUNexpansion)

The Opportunity to Engage in International Dialogue within Global GovernanceIn an increasingly interdependent word, political, economic and social rules need to be global in order to be effective. In order to achieve them, dialogue between and among states, as well as non-state actors is a prerequisite, despite historical and socio-cultural differences. The Conference will explore the prospective of Cultural Diplomacy as a promising tool to mediate these differences and foster mutual understanding, thus leading to more effective and consensual problem-solving arrangements.

• InterculturalDialogue:ApracticalToolorFloatingConcept?(Focus:definition,benefitsandchallengesofinterculturaldiplomacy,cooperation,socio-culturalidentities)

• TheChallengesofGlobalGovernance(Focus:interdependence,cooperation,nationalvsglobalinterest)

•DialogueanddifferenceinaMulti-PolarGlobalizedWorld(Focus:interdependence,culturalclash,culturaldiplomacy,roleofChina/USA/EU)

• TheRoleofCultureinshapingGlobalGovernance(Focus:universalhumanrights,socio-culturalidentities,Westernhegemony,interculturaldia-logue)

• TheuseofInterculturalDialoguebytheUN(Focus:cooperationstrategies,compliance,interculturaldialogue)

‘Soft Power’ as a Tool for International Peace and International CooperationSince the formation of the League of Nations ‘Soft Power’ and international cooperation has become an important element within international relations and the workings of the international system. The creation of the United Nations and other international organizations has cemented cultural diplomacy and other ‘soft power’ tools within the international dialogue and as such it is important to evaluate and discuss these in regards to international issues such as peace and cooperation. This will allow par-ticipants and speakers to analyze their effectiveness and contribute to the dialogue in order to improve relations.

•WhatisPeaceandhowcanitbeachievedthroughInternationalEffort?(Focus:definitions;valueofpeace,innovations,Religionandit’saffect).

•WaranditsPrevention(Focus:culturaldiplomacyanditsrole;recentwarsandhowculturaldiplomacyhadhelpedallevi-




ateproblems).

• RecentPoliticalunrestand‘SoftPower’(Focus:Libya;Egypt;Roleofculturaldiplomacy).

•WhatistheUNdoing?TheUNPolicybetweenHardandSoftPower.(Focus:Pastprojects;effectiveness;future,balancinghardandsoftpower)

• PeaceandInternationalCooperationinthenext20years.(Focus:Riseofamulti-polarsystem;newinstitutions;Futuresteps).

Forging New Relationships and Understanding within the Institutional FrameworkIn an increasingly multi-cultural and globally governed world it is becoming necessary to establish where the policies of Political and International Institutes are heading. In order to gain an understanding of how we can work together efficiently, this conference will explore the future role of Cultural Diplomacy among institutional frameworks and in the essence of Global Governance. This will allow the partici-pants and speakers to discuss the various ways the United Nations and other International Institutions such as NGO’s can step forward using Cultural Diplomacy as its tool.

•Discoveringthetruthfromthemythsofinstitutionalframework.(Focus:InstitutionalFrameworks;Inter-relations;InstitutionalPolicies)

• ExploringnewWaysofInternationalCultureCommunication(Focus:CultureDiplomacy;Technologicaladvancements;Linguistics)

• TheFutureRelationshipbetweenTheUnitedNationsandNGO’s(Focus:TheUnitedNations;NGO’s;FutureGoals)

•WhereisthefutureforCulturalDiplomacyinInternationalInstitutesgoing?(Focus:CulturalDiplomacy;InternationalInstitutes;FutureInitiatives)

Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD)Kurfürstendamm 207-208 - D-10719 Berlin, Phone: +49 (0)30 2360-7680, Fax: +49 (0)30 2360-76811

E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.culturaldiplomacy.org

the international conference on cultural diplomacy & the un · 2012. 2. 1. · the conference...

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