Cultural Diplomacy Forum in Lithuania

On November 18th, the scientific conference Cultural Diplomacy Prospects in Building a Sustainable New Post-War Europe will be held at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.

‘Awareness of another culture does not only mean the discovery of another person’s behaviour but also constitutes an aspect of one’s own power’ (Leonidas Donskis, Philosopher, Professor at Vytautas Magnus University, Member of the EU Parliament).

Vytautas Magnus University, together with the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Berlin Academy of Cultural Diplomacy, is organising a scientific conference titled Cultural Diplomacy Prospects in Building a Sustainable New Post-War Europe. Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is reshaping today’s international and cultural relations, is prompting a rethinking of cultural diplomacy.

Although cultural policy is a national prerogative of the EU member states, the war motivates us to discuss the cultural internationalisation of Central and Eastern Europe or the European Union, which means increasing mutual understanding as well as creating new networks of solidarity and cooperating in the development of soft power.

Cultural diplomacy is not only understood as the formal work of cultural attachés but also as the activities of various organised cultural institutes, forums and initiatives of individual artists. The key question is how these organisations and individuals can contribute to building sustainable democracies across Europe, including in post-war Ukraine and Russia.

The event is organized by Vytautas Magnus University and
the Lithuanian Parliament