2010 Cultural Diplomacy Conference: Cultural Diplomacy as a Listening Project?

On Monday, 8 November 2010, the International Communication Program of American University’s School of International Service, with sponsorship from the MountainRunner Institute and the Public Diplomacy Council, will host a 1-day conference to consider the extent to which, and how, cultural diplomacy might be a “listening project.”

From 12:00pm to 4:30pm on the AU campus, this conference is an opportunity for productive exchange among key stakeholders in the future of cultural diplomacy, all of whom should be in more regular conversation: the policy community, practitioners in public diplomacy, and academic researchers on the topic.

Open to the public, this conference seeks to feature international voices in the ongoing conversation about cultural diplomacy. The meeting will further be organized around three plenary speakers, with each followed in turn by a respondent. Together, each plenary and respondent will explore different accounts of the implications for “listening” in terms of kinds of approaches to cultural diplomacy:

Plenary 1: New Social Media and Public Diplomacy 2.0

Plenary 2: Educational, Cultural Exchanges

Plenary 3: Cultural Intelligence: Does it include listening?

Expected speakers:

  • Nicholas Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, USC
  • Rick A. Ruth, Director of the Office of Policy and Evaluation, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State
  • Edward O’Connell, President, Alternative Strategies Institute, Inc.
  • Sherry Mueller, President, National Council for International Visitors
  • Andrew Kneale, Cultural Relations Project Manager, British Council USA
  • Ben Connable, former head, Marine Corps Cultural Intelligence Program
  • J.P. Singh, Associate Professor of Communication, Technology and Culture, Georgetown University

For more information on the conference, including reserving a seat and direction, visit the conference website.