JANUARY 2008 NEWSLETTER

Dear readers, friends and colleagues of ICD,

the new year brings with it many exciting developments for ICD. From our new Berlin headquarters near Wittenbergplatz, ICD is embarking on original and innovative projects and initiatives with a range of new partners and sponsors. We hope that you enjoy reading our newsletter, and we look forward to your active engagement with ICD in the coming year, whether at an ICD event, or as a participant in one of our up-coming programs.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Walter, Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank to speak at ICD event on February 22nd Istanbul.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Walter, Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank will speak at Sabanci Center in Istanbul as a Leadership Initiative of Germany Meets Turkey - Young Leader Benjamin Didszuweit, jointly organized by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, the Istanbul Policy Center and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the Sabanci University. [See below for more info]

Having been successfully established following a pilot project in 2007, Germany Meets Turkey- A Forum for Young Leaders (www.germanymeetsturkey.org) is now in its second year of existence. The ICD is happy that the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the main supporter of the program in 2007, has now joined Germany Meets Turkey as an official partner of the ICD in Germany. We believe that this partnership is a tremendous contribution to the sustainability of GMT.  We are also proud to welcome the Sabanci University with its Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) as a new operational partner in Turkey. We would like to thank again our silver sponsors DWS Investments and Funds@Work for their generous contributions and their help with developing the program in 2006/07.

Together with IPC, ICD will hold the next GMT Study Tour in Turkey in October 2008.  This tour will involve a trip to Ankara and Istanbul, and will include not only the participants from the 2007 tour, but an additional 12 individuals. The official call for applications for the selection process in 2008 will be published on GMT’s official homepage www.germanymeetsturkey.org in February.

In addition to the official Study Tour, together with the help the GMT’s Young Leaders, its advisory board and ICD’s partners, GMT is going to launch further separate events  throughout the year with the aim to educate enhance and sustain German-Turkish relations. On February 22nd, 2008 Prof. Dr. Norbert Walter will be our guest speaker at an event at Sabanci Center Istanbul on recent developments in the world financial markets. To learn more about this event or to request an invitation, please contact Necdet Yildiz at: yildiz@cultluraldiplomacy.org.

Prof. Dr. Norbert Walter is the Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank. He was previously Director at the renowned Kiel Institute for World Economics and was a John J. McCloy Distinguished Research Fellow at the American Institute for contemporary Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington. As Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Group, Norbert Walter is responsible for a globally integrated approach in economic research. He is also member of the management of Deutsche Bank think-tank, which covers a wide spectrum of issues ranging from economic forecasting to country rating and sector analysis. Norbert Walter is a member of the Committee of Wise Men on the Regulation of European Securities Markets ("Lamfalussy group"). He was also a close adviser to Gerhard Schroder's government.

Osborne Clarke Law Firm forms new Partnership with ICD´s program Canada Meets Germany

The institute for cultural diplomacy is proud to announce its newly established partnership with Osborne Clarke Law Firm [www.osborneclarke.com], one of Europe’s most respected and dynamic law firms. Osborne Clarke will be partially sponsoring the 2008 and 2009 Canada Meets Germany - A Forum for Young Leaders [www.canadameetsgermany.org]. Understanding the need for corporate funding, Osborne Clarke’s financial contribution is helping to further develop the CMG program. More sponsorship is still needed and we look forward to both forging new partnerships and strengthening our present ones. Please contact Mark Donfried for more information about becoming a partner of ICD and getting actively involved in Canada Meets Germany or other partnership opportunities at ICD: donfried@culturaldiplomacy.org.

ICD Berlin International Community - "World Language Party," - February 2, 2008 in Berlin

World Language Party, Berlin, February 2nd
The ICD, in collaboration with English Events in Berlin, is proud to announce the long-anticipated World Language Party at Cinestar in Potsdamer Platz on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 20:00. “Berlin’s new International Meeting Point” features concert pianist T. Thorson with appetizers provided by Ars Vini Restaurant, featuring a chocolate fountain for all you chocoholics.

English Events in Berlin strives to create an international atmosphere where people from various cultures can meet, speak in languages of their choice while sharing their varied experiences. The events are prepared in such a way that participants who wish to speak with someone with similar language backgrounds or experiences can do so with the greatest of ease.

Join in celebrating the first World Language Party at the cocktail bar at CineStar (Potsdamer Platz), mix with an international crowd, meet lots of new friends, and listen to great music. The admission is just 3€, and includes a welcome drink. See you there!

For further information regarding any of these events please contact Charles Clawson at clawson@culturaldiplomacy.org or at 0163-5272213.

ICD Berlin International Community - Weekly Boat Party and Concert, every Wednesday evening

Cultural Diplomacy isn’t limited to formal events and international relations, come and see it live and in person…on a boat! The ICD is proud to host the weekly Boat Party aboard the Eastern Comfort held every Wednesday. The Eastern comfort has a cozy fireplace atmosphere in winter and is located in the heart of Berlin overlooking the river Spree by the East Side Gallery.  This is a weekly party known for its friendly, casual ambience where you can meet and talk with people in a variety of languages. Our good friend Charles will help you with introductions and arranging language tandem partners. Entry is only one Euro with cheap drink specials all night with a live band. Previous themes have included music and food from Cuba, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece…just to name a few. What will be the next theme? Come check it out--it's each Wednesday.

Directions:
The ship is a 5-10 minute walk from Warschauerstr. U-Bahn/S-Bahn/Tram down Warschauerstr. toward the Oberbaumbrücke. Just before the bridge turn right onto Mühlenstr., and the Eastern Comfort entrance is about 100 meters down the street (Mühlenstr. 73) near the beginning of the East Side Gallery. On the ship, the lounge is on the 2nd floor. See you there!

For further information regarding any of these events please contact Charles Clawson at clawson@culturaldiplomacy.org or at 0163-5272213.

The ICD´s Academy for Cultural Diplomacy - Creative Writing Courses

A creative writing course will begin in February for persons interested in writing short or long fiction, biographies or narrative non-fiction in English. This will be a workshop format modeled after those in US universities. At each seminar a student's work-in-progress will be "work shopped" with an aim toward making it better while learning and being inspired in the process. The atmosphere is casual, friendly, supportive and serious. Participants may range from beginners to published writers. If you're interested in joining or would like more information, contact the instructor, Charles Clawson, through the email address or phone number below.

For further information please contact Charles Clawson at clawson@culturaldiplomacy.org or at 0163-5272213.

Cultural Diplomacy is the key to UK-Russia dispute

As part of ICD’s continuing work of researching international examples of cultural diplomacy, ICD Program Coordinator, Johnny Elliot recently published the article “Britain, Russia and Cultural Diplomacy.” The full text can be found here

The unfolding of diplomatic tensions between Britain and Russia into the cultural sphere has led writers and journalists to analyze and emphasize the nature of cultural diplomacy within modern diplomacy. The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent published an article ‘In praise of cultural diplomacy’, Simon Jenkins argued in the Guardian that ‘culture and lifestyle are the diplomacy of the 21st century’, while Ben McIntyre from the Times claimed that the incident highlighted the failure after the collapse of communism to win over future leaders to British culture. In this edition of the newsletter, Johnny Elliot from ICD gives his reaction to the incident, arguing that it shows a need for cultural diplomacy to be as neutral and non-partisan as possible. To learn more about the topic, please see:http://europe.courrierinternational.com

Cultural Diplomacy in relation to the World Economic Forum

Cultural Diplomacy, as understood as the use of ‘soft power’ signifies the intention to improve not only understanding, dialogue and trust between governmental institutions but also between societies in general. During times of common disappointment around the world about failures of recent ‘hard power’ or military actions, cultural diplomacy seems to offer an alternative and therefore gains importance. As potential platforms to promote cultural diplomacy, this article will examine the nature and intent of three important international forums: The World Economic Forum, the Open Forum and the Public Eye Award. The full text can be found here.

Humanitarian group relying on diplomacy for release of Canadian aid worker in North Korea

The Canadian Government as well as cultural and humanitarian groups and are hoping for the release of a Canadian aid worker recently arrested in North Korea. Mr. Jee Yell Kim of Edmonton, Alberta was helping to set up medical and dental clinics in the struggling communist country when he was arrested on November 3 2007 for unknown reasons. Understanding that Pyongyang does not react well to negative publicity and that this may complicate his release, Mr. Kim’s family and friends initially decided not to go public with any widespread media attention. Instead the family hoped for a quick and quiet release through diplomatic channels. The Canadian Government is continuing to work on a release agreement, though efforts will prove difficult as Canada does not have an embassy in North Korea. To further complicate matters, Mr. Kim was born in North Korea and may be held because of his return. Observers are commending the Canadian Government and the Kim’s family in understanding the cultural differences in negotiation between the two countries and for using quiet diplomacy as it is more appropriate in dealing with media-sensitive North Korea in hope of yielding the best results for the time being. Don Rickerd of the Canada DPR Korea Association remarked that the sensitivity of the government of North Korea meant that ‘church people asked for prayer rather than demonstrations out in front of some buildings. This sort of thing takes a long time to resolve."

Understanding the cultural sensitivities during periods such as this is crucial because misunderstanding and tensions tend to stem from a lack of understanding and haste decision making. Hopefully through the continuation of diplomacy, this issue will be resolved peacefully.

For more information, please consult:
http://www.macleans.ca

Scrapping of Australian Cultural Diplomacy budget attracts harsh criticism

At a time when the importance and potential of cultural diplomacy is being realized and utilized around the world, the Rudd government in Australia has drawn criticism for scrapping Australia’s cultural diplomacy budget. The move will save the government over $20 AUS by abandoning the Australia on the World Stage initiative and ‘through reductions in other cultural relations funding.’ Marise Payne, the chair of a bipartisan Senate committee on the role of culture in public diplomacy denounced the decision as ‘beyond belief,’ and ‘a devastating blow for thousands of Australians who use their unique talents to consistently put Australia at the forefront of cultural diplomacy.’ Ms Payne’s committee had made recommendations for the Australian government to introduce incentives for Australian student to study Asian languages and culture as an effective form of cultural diplomacy. Former foreign minister Alexander Downer (who established the Australia on the World Stage fund last year) was more forthright in his criticism of the Rudd government, calling them ‘philistines’ with ‘no understanding and no desire to understand the importance of promoting culture internationally.’ Downer had planned ‘major cultural promotions in key countries including China, Indonesia and the US’ to convey ‘a positive image of Australia’ to the world. The incident serves to highlight how modern governments ignore the value of cultural diplomacy at their peril, and how politically charged issues of ‘soft power’ can be.

Source: www.theaustralian.news.com.au