This report surveys Canadian institutions as they engage in what Director General for Culture and Communication in Germany’s Foreign Office Andreas Görgen called a “new diplomacy” (2016). Drawing from the Mitacs research project Global Engagement of Museums in Canada, it explores the types of activities that exist and proliferate in this sphere. It also analyzes these activities and orientations to examine what they reveal about the ability of Canadian institutions to bridge cultural difference and foster intercultural understanding. This study leads to an assessment of the prominence of Canadian institutions in broader cultural ecosystems. Seeking to understand how museums bring together communities and support cultural engagement, it contends with how individual cultural workers understand and conceptualizes these activities.

With an introduction by Drs. Sarah E.K. Smith and Jeffrey Brison and chapters by Ben Schnitzer, Bronwyn Jaques, Katie-Marie McNeill, Simge Erdogan-O’Connor, Christina Fabiani, Sebastian De Line, Kyle Hammer, Tyler Russell, Vanessa Runions, Elyse Bell, and Antoine Devroede