25 October 2017

Harvard University

How can culture take shape in and contribute to public diplomacy? To answer this question, nacdi, along with the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University (specifically the Politics and Social Change Workshop and the Canada Program) co-sponsored a panel discussion on October 25th 2017 at Harvard entitled: The Object/s of Cultural Diplomacy: Negotiating Diversity and Inclusion in the Global Era. Moderated by nacdi co-founder Dr. Sarah E.K. Smith (Carleton University), this panel discussion brought together a range of practitioners and scholars from North America and Abroad (Dr. Peggy Levitt, Wellesley College/Harvard University; Dr. Hanan Toukan. Brown University; Dr. Sascha Priewe, Royal Ontario Museum and nacdi co-founder; Dr. Nicholas Cull, University of Southern California; Simon Dancey, British Council). The panelists addressed historic and contemporary case studies, as well as the perspective of the practitioners engaged in cultural diplomacy initiatives. Panelists also spoke to the successes, failures, and aspirations of cultural diplomacy, foregrounding new avenues of inquiry in this burgeoning field of study.

The event also drew a sizeable audience from the Harvard community and beyond, and was an opportunity for nacdi to build its emerging network and explore partnership activities for the coming year. Stay tuned – we’ll be sharing an in-depth blog post on this dynamic discussion soon.