The Artistic Cultural Diplomacy Forum 2017

"Building Cultural Bridges through Art, Film and Music"

(International Event Series; Berlin; February - December, 2017)

Conference Overview

"The Artistic Cultural Diplomacy Forum 2017" is an international event series taking place in Berlin from February – December 2017 (the first event will take place from 16th – 19th February 2017) to explore the potential for art and music to provide a neutral platform for cultural exchange. Artists and practitioners from the fields of music, film, performance art, digital art, literature, and painting, will share their perspectives alongside renowned artists and leading figures from international politics, diplomacy, academy civil society, and the private sector.

For decades, all forms of the arts have served as a powerful, effective vehicles to inspire and enable people to build cultural bridges and come together towards prosperous peaceful relations. Over the course of many years now, people have discovered the unique potential of the arts and in particular music, cinema, and performing arts to transcend cultures, serving as common languages to bring together different groups and communities. These unique qualities have the unparalleled strength to continuously effect people and over time sculpt human society closer to the ultimate goal of global peace.

"The Power of Film & the Arts to Build Peace" will be celebrated during the conference and examine the immense transformative value that the arts and music hold as vehicles of Cultural Diplomacy. The vision of the conference is to bring an interdisciplinary mixture of celebrated artists, high level representatives from the film industry and practitioners of Cultural Diplomacy in order to prepare an agenda for after the conclusion of the conference, which will initiate programs and initiatives that will support global peace.

Conference Location

Based in Berlin, the event series will be hosted in the ICD House of Arts & Culture, the German Parliament and several hotels in Berlin.

Conference Artists, Speakers and Delegates

Speakers & Delegates during the conferences will include among others celebrated artists & musicians, film-makers, actors, producers, screenwriters, leading politicians, senior diplomats, senior academics, renowned authors, and journalists.

Conference Participants

Participation in the conference is open to artists, film & creative industry representatives, governmental & diplomatic officials, academics, artists, journalists, civil society practitioners, private sector representatives, young professionals and students as well as other interested individuals from across the world.

Participant Papers »

The Conference Committee encourages academic research and analysis of issues related to the goals of the Conference. The Conference Committee would therefore like to welcome the participants of the conference to submit a paper they would like to be considered for presentation at the conference as well as being included in the proposal document that will be issued following the conference and will be sent to all governments and leaders of the international community worldwide.

About Berlin »

There is nowhere quite like Berlin. Few other cities have played such an instrumental role in global affairs over the past 100 years. It has been, in every sense of the word, a battleground; not just for armies, but for the ideas and philosophies that are the very foundations of politics and society. Berlin remains a cultural extravaganza to this day, with young people from across Europe flocking to the former Eastern part of the city: Cheap accommodation, a thriving cultural and artistic scene, and a vibrant nightlife await them. In the center of the city, Berlin's status as the capital city of Europe's largest economy and the driving force of the EU is increasingly apparent: International NGOs and multi-national companies are establishing office and headquarters here. It was little surprise that US President Barack Obama choose Berlin as the location for his first public speech in Europe, addressing an audience of hundreds of thousands, he proclaimed "look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one." (More)