Essay Example: The Role of Cultural Diplomacy in Strengthening International Relations

The phenomenon of cultural diplomacy has emerged as one of the most influential aspects of international relations in the world today. This is a form of public diplomacy or soft power, which entails the exchange of information, ideas, and other cultural aspects among different nations for purposes of promoting mutual understanding (Clarke, 2016). One prominent illustration of cultural diplomacy in action in recent years is The Berlin International Human Rights Congress (BIHRC), which took place between November 24th - 26th, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. This event was an important manifestation of cultural diversity in action as it illustrated how both the government and the private sector can come together to collaborate effectively in showcasing the countrys culture as a tool for improving its international image and strengthening international ties with its neighbors and strategic partners (Clarke, 2016). Therefore, the BIHRC congress demonstrated cultural diplomacy in action in various ways including the fact that the event brought together delegates from different cultures and nationalities to address a common subject, the main theme revolved around addressing the challenges of human rights and democracy from a cross-cultural perspective, the different venues that hosted the event in Berlin, and the governments commitment to showcase its culture and its commitment to addressing issues of human rights and democracy.

The event sought to address the issues of human rights and democracy in times of greater global insecurity (Clarke, 2016). The BIHRC is an international congress, which creates an environment for an interdisciplinary analysis of the various developments within the fields of human rights and democracy. This year, the event focused on exploring different developments in human rights and democracy over the past few years. The congregants considered the key issues shaping and influencing discussions at the international level in the world today (Grincheva, 2010). The program consisted of several platforms of discussion, including lectures, seminars, debates and panel discussions, which brought together several leading figures from international politics & diplomacy, academia, civil society, international development, and the private sector.

The BIHRC demonstrates cultural diplomacy in various ways. For instance, while the event was organized to discuss issues of human rights and democracy at an international level, the approach used revolved around fostering a cross-cultural understanding of addressing the challenges of implementing human rights issues and democracy in the world. Therefore, the congress brought together several key and influential leaders and personalities from different cultures and fields to understand the issues from multiple perspectives and create a mutual understanding that can be used for boosting relations between different nations when dealing with issues of human rights (Grincheva, 2010). For example, the conference brought together politicians, journalists, and academicians amongst other stakeholders that are actively involved in the fight for human rights issues and democratic governance across the world. Therefore, this event, besides focusing on an interdisciplinary discussion of the core issues in human rights and democracy, it was mainly influenced by the desire to foster a multicultural discussion on salient issues within the field of human rights with the main objective of promoting greater mutual understanding and cooperation across borders.

Furthermore, the event was hosted at different venues throughout its duration within the German capital. The three venues that served as host to the event include the German Parliament, the ICD House of Arts & Culture, and several other hotels in the city. From the perspective of the host country, this was an important platform to showcase its culture to the rest of the world, thereby strengthening its international relations with the participating countries. The fact that the event was held at the German Parliament is an important statement for the participating nations. Germany is one of the countrys applauded and respected internationally as a democratic state that has strong democratic governance values and respect for human rights (Wastnidge, 2015). Therefore, the fact that the conference was partly held within the German parliament to discuss issues of democracy and human rights is a huge statement from the Germans as one way of reaffirming their commitment to the subject of the conference (Ang, Isar, & Mar, 2015). The German Parliament is the principal body or arm of the government charged with the responsibility of drafting legislation for the country. Therefore, by agreeing to host the conference in its buildings, the German government was, in fact, building stronger tiers by showcasing an important part of its culture that has defined its history and politics over the years.

In addition, the event was also held at the ICD House of Arts & Culture, which is a major hub for culture and exhibitions in the German capital of Berlin. The center is mainly used to showcase the German culture to visitors and other interested parties. Therefore, the selection of this venue did not come as a coincident., but rather as a well thought out process that revolved around the need to embrace different cultures when discussing issues of democracy and human rights. The first approach in creating a common international understanding of human rights issues and the challenges involved is to begin by understanding how different countries deal with these issues and challenges from their own cultural perspectives (Ang, Isar, & Mar, 2015). The ICD House of Arts & Culture illustrates different aspects of the German culture from an artistic perspective. The participants in the conference had a chance of interacting with the German culture throughout Their discussions and deliberations and tried to relate that to the success or the challenges that the Germans were experiencing in dealing with the human rights issues and democratic governance.

Similarly, by hosting the event in different hotels in the city, the German culture was at the core of the deliberations. Hotels are an important aspect of showcasing a countrys culture. Different countries have unique standards for hospitality and different cuisines that express their cultural traditions. Therefore, by hosting the events in several hotels in the city the conveners of the congress helped to introduce the participants to the German culture through allowing them to experience the hospitality sector of the Germans. Therefore, while the main subject of the conference may have seemed to be a political agenda, this is in fact further from the truth (Ang, Isar, & Mar, 2015). The conference was a cultural event that allowed the visitors or attendees to be exposed to the German culture through the tourism and hotel industry, the arts and culture, and the political side of the culture through the countrys parliament being used as a venue.

Therefore, by exposing the participants to the German culture, the conference allowed them to relate the culture of the German people to its approach to human rights issues and fidelity to democratic principles ("Policy & History | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India", 2017). They would also use the conference to expose their cultures by informing the discussion on how their home nations have been influenced by their cultures in their approach to dealing with these issues (Nisbett, 2013). This would, in turn, result in mutual understanding after the deliberations on the importance of culture when dealing with human rights and governance issues, and finally facilitating the development or creation of strategies and tactics of dealing with the ensuing challenges from a multicultural or cross-border approach (Ang, Isar, & Mar, 2015).

In this case, therefore, the primary agent of cultural diplomacy was both the government and the private sector. The government played a significant role in the process by allowing the participants to convent at its parliament buildings ("American Corners Poland", 2017). However, the private sector also played a critical role in the cultural diplomacy process as seen in the role that the hotel industry played in accommodating the participants and hosting the conference (Ang, Isar, & Mar, 2015). The conference was mainly targeting policy makers and influencers in the decision-making process as far as the issues of human rights and democracy are concerned ("Education & Culture | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey", 2017). This could be seen from the participants, who were invited from various disciplines where they played an influential role in driving the agenda of human rights and democratic governance in their countries.

In conclusion, based on the manner and level of organization that went into the conference or congress, it can be deduced that the event was largely successful. The event was a major showcase for the German culture to the participating delegates from different parts of the world. In addition, the Germans were largely hospitable and receptive in listening to the views expressed by the various participants emanating from their different cultural persuasions.

References

American Corners. (2017). Americancorners.rs. Retrieved 8 December 2017, from HYPERLINK "http://www.americancorners.rs" http://www.americancorners.rs

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Clarke, D. (2016). Theorising the role of cultural products in cultural diplomacy from a Cultural Studies perspective. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 22(2), 147-163.

Education & Culture | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey. (2017). U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey. Retrieved 8 December 2017, from HYPERLINK "https://tr.usembassy.gov/education-culture/" https://tr.usembassy.gov/education-culture/

Grincheva, N. (2010). U.S. Arts and Cultural Diplomacy: Post-Cold War Decline and the Twenty-First Century Debate. Journal of Arts Management, Law & Society, 40(3), 169-183.

Nisbett, M. (2013). New perspectives on instrumentalism: an empirical study of cultural diplomacy. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 19(5), 557-575.

Policy & History | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India. (2017). U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India. Retrieved 8 December 2017, from HYPERLINK "https://in.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/policy-history/" https://in.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/policy-history/

Wastnidge, E. (2015). The Modalities of Iranian Soft Power: From Cultural Diplomacy to Soft War. Politics, 35(3/4), 364-377.

Xuereb, K. (2017). Can nation branding be successful tool for the practice of public diplomacy? A Maltese case study. Place Branding & Public Diplomacy, 13(3), 255-263.