8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
1/38
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
2/38
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE MEMBERS
CO-CHAIRS
Honorable Frank Hodsoll Co-Chair | Principal, Hodsoll & Associates
Ambassador Cynthia Schneider Co-Chair | Distinguished Professor, Diplomacy,Georgetown University
MEMBERS
Alicia Adams Vice President, International Programming, Kennedy Center
Ambassador Nicholas Burns Professor Practice of Diplomacy & International Politics,
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Adele Chatfield Taylor President & CEO, American Academy in Rome
Elizabeth Daley Dean School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California
Sandra Gibson President and CEO, Association of Performing Arts Presenters
Howard Gordon Executive Producer and Show-Runner, 24
Richard Kurin Under Secretary for History, Art,and Culture, Smithsonian Institution
Mary Ellen Lane Executive Director, Council American Overseas Research Centers
Steven D. Lavine President, California Institute of the Arts
Wayne Lawson Director Emeritus, Ohio Arts Council
Ellen Lovell President Marlboro College
Robert Lynch President & CEO Americans for the Arts
Laurie Meadoff CEO Cancer Schmancer, Inc.; Founder Chat the Planet
Christopher Merrill Director International Writing Program University of Iowa
Azar Nafisi Writer; Executive Director, Cultural Conversations, Nitze School
of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
FEDERAL AGENCY LIAISONS
Lea Perez Senior Advisor for International Affairs, Smithsonian Institution
(on detail from the State Department)
Eva Caldera Senior Advisor to the Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities
USCCD STAFF
Jessica Rowe Director of Programs & Initiatives, U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy
TASK FORCE HOST AT SUMMIT
Connie Wimer Chairman, Business Publications Corporation;
Member, Board of Directors, U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
3/38
From the time of the Founding Fathers, arts and culture have brought Americas ideas and ideals to life, contributing
to relationships of mutual understanding and respect around the world. The November 2010 U.S. Summit for Global
Citizen Diplomacy, convened by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, in partnership with the Department of State
and in support of more than 1,100 U.S. Non-Governmental Organizations, recognizes the importance of the arts and
culture within the broad spectrum of activities that constitute citizen diplomacy.
This report focuses on Best Practices selected by our International Cultural Engagement Task Force
(membership listed opposite). One of the Summits 10 Task Forces, ours examined activities that included the fieldsof dance; design; folk arts; humanistic study and publication; film, television, and the digital arts; libraries; literature;
music; opera-music theater; preservation; theater; and the visual arts; and the presenters, exhibitors, and networks of
these endeavors.
Cultural diplomacy is the linchpin of public diplomacy; for it is in cultural activities that a nations idea of
itself is best represented.STATE DEPARTMENT 2005 ADVISORY COMMITTEE CULTURAL DIPLOMACY REPORT
Faced with the difficult task of selecting Best Practices from a field of 59 extraordinary proposals, our Task
Force eventually narrowed its selection to the 14 activities (described below). They have made a real dif ference
contributing to peace and security, stability, economic development, human rights, justice, and mutual understanding
and respect. To leverage the potential of this type of cultural diplomacy on a sustained basis, State, Defense and
cultural agency funding needs to be substantially increased in the area of cultural exchange, and the barriers to foreignartists and scholars entering the country reduced.
The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy is granting National Awards to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic
Director Judith Jamison and Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford. Succeeding Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison built
on his international commitment, dazzling 23 million people in 71 countries with Aileys unique repertoire of African
American modern dance. Robert Redford founded the Sundance Institute to support emerging filmmakers. Due to his
international commitment, 30 percent of Sundance artists come from abroad. From Caracas to Cairo to Chongqing, an
invitation to Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival or a Film Workshop, is a coveted prize.
International cultural engagement activities also contribute to the economies, attractiveness, and social cohesion
of Americas communities, towns, cities, states, and the nation as a whole. This conclusion is supported by research
for government agencies, the Congress, the National Governors Association, the Conference of Mayors, and the
Conference Board, among others. Cultural Best Practices introduce the American public to people they need tounderstand, but have little information about. Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser has noted, for example, that
the Center presented the people of the Arab world at its Arabesque Festival, not just as political beings, but as human
beings.
Americas creative industries number among the countrys top three exports; over half of our film and television
revenues come from overseas distribution. Our creative products shape foreign publics views of America, often
positively. As a Zimbabwean audience member wrote William Harvey of Cultures in Harmony, You form the beautiful
face of America which the world is yearning for.
International Cultural Engagement
TASK FORCE OVERVIEW
Frank Hodsoll and Cynthia Schneider, Co-Chairs
You see I am an enthusiast on the subject of the arts. But it is an enthusiasm of which I am not ashamed,as its object is to improve the taste of my countrymen, to increase their reputation, to reconcile to them
the respect of the world and procure them its praise.
THOMAS JEFFERSON TO JAMES MADISON, PARIS, SEPTEMBER 20, 1785
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
4/38
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
5/38
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
2010 NATIONAL AWARDS FOR CITIZEN DIPLOMACY AND BEST PRACTICE
1 Judith Jamison / Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater New York, NY
3 Robert Redford / Sundance Institute Beverly Hills, CA; Park City, UT
BEST PRACTICES
5 American Voices Houston, TX; Bangkok, Thailand
7 Brooklyn Academy of Music Brooklyn, NY
9 Cultures in Harmony New York, NY; Kabul, Afghanistan
11 Iowa International Writing Program Iowa City, IA
13 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Washington, DC
15 Sesame Workshop New York, NY
17 Silk Road Project Boston, MA
19 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Washington, DC
21 World Digital Library, Library of Congress Washington, DC
23 World Monuments Fund New York, NY
BEST PRACTICES AND SPECIAL RECOGNITION
25 Asia Society New York, NY
(Combining cultural engagement and foreign policy)
27 Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Washington, DC
(Engaging citizens of all ages and occupations in the art of dance)
Published in conjunction with the
U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacys U.S. Summit & Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy
November 1619, 2010, Washington DC.
Materials included in this document are the views of the
submitting organization and are meant to serve as a tool for discussion.
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
6/38
Top: Nasha Thomas-Schmitt, Co-Director Ailey Arts in Education Program with Revelations Residency students from Londons Islington Green School (2007). (Photo by Belinda Lawley)
Bottom: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theaters Revelations. (Photo by Paul Kolnik)
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
7/38
www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York, NY | www.alvinailey.org
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: JUDITH JAMISONEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: SHARON GERSTEN LUCKMAN
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (Ailey) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement. Declared in
2008 Cultural Ambassador to the World by the U.S. Congress, Ailey is both a premier modern dance company
and one of the most popular ambassadors of American culture abroad. The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy is
recognizing Aileys Artistic Director, Judith Jamison, with a National Award for her outstanding leadership in this area.
The Companys tours combine inspiring performances with innovative community engagement, resulting in
greater appreciation of American modern dance and the African-American cultural tradition all over the world. Over its
52-year history, Ailey has performed in 71 countries on six continents for an estimated 23 million people.
Ailey has a rich history of wide-reaching and groundbreaking tours. In 1962, it was selected by President
Kennedy to tour Asia and Australia. The company performed across Africa in 1967, and in 1970 became the first
modern dance company to tour the former Soviet Union in more than 40 years. In 1985, Ailey became the first
modern dance company to tour the Peoples Republic of China following the normalization of Sino-American relations,
and in 1997 it embarked on an historic residency in South Africa following the lifting of the international cultural
boycott. In recent years, the Company has performed in Denmark, France, China, Hong Kong, Turkey, Romania,
Russia, Israel, Greece, Italy, and throughout the United Kingdom, among other countries, reaching approximately
50,000 audience members internationally each year.
International fans number in the thousands on Alvin Aileys Facebook page and You Tube channel, and citizens
from 193 different countries visit its website each year. AileyConnect allows audience members to call in and then
select options that allow them to listen to choreographer notes or hear a message from a dancer or Artistic Director
Judith Jamison. With assistance from local cell-phone carriers, this program can be enabled in tour countries,
allowing communities around the world to engage with Ailey outside the theater.
International performances include special premieres and new productions from a repertory of over 200 ballets.
They also include pre- and post-performance discussions with Ailey dancers. The repertory features many works by
women and artists of color and reflects a broad spectrum of American culture. The international tours also include
community outreach and arts education that build cultural bridges and foster mutual understanding and respect
between the Company and local communities. Engagement activities are conducted in collaboration with community
organizations and local schools. Teaching artists work directly with students and their teachers, linking dance with
students academic subjects.
The Ailey organization relies on grants and other contributions in order to support its international touring
programs. Those interested in helping Aileys international programming should contact Amanda Nelson, at
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
8/38
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
9/38
www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Sundance Institute
Beverly Hills, CA & Park City, UT | www.sundance.org
FOUNDER: ROBERT REDFORDEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: KERI PUTNAM
Sundance Institute is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement. The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy is
recognizing the Institutes founder, Robert Redford, with a National Award for his outstanding leadership in this area.
The Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and
to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. For nearly three decades, the Institute has promoted
independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences.
In 1981, Mr. Redford gathered friends in the Utah mountains to discuss ways to support emerging filmmakers
telling personal, independent stories. The result was the Sundance Institute. What began as a retreat for a handful of
artists has today expanded to serve composers, directors, editors, playwrights, and screenwriters worldwide. Each
year, the Institute brings international artists to the United States to develop their work in uniquely creative labsalongside U.S. artists and under the guidance of acclaimed advisors, all experts in their fields. The Institute has also
adapted this model for use in other countries, working with local partners to engage artists on their home soil.
Thirty percent of the artists supported through Sundance Institute labs and the Sundance Film Festival come
from abroad. Early international programs a multi-faceted Latin American Initiative; screenwriters workshops in
Mexico, Chile and France, and pilot film festivals in Tokyo and Beijing have grown into Institute support for a range
of international projects, workshops, pitch sessions, work-in-progress readings, screenings and seminars across each
of the Institutes seven creative programs. Notably, to name a few: the RAWI (Storyteller) Screenplay Development
Lab in association with the Royal Film Commission of Jordan; the Sundance Documentary Fund, the preeminent
global funder of cinematic feature films from around the world committed to human rights, justice, civil l iberties and
related contemporary social issues; an East African Theatre Lab supporting theatre artists from Ethiopia, Kenya,
Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda; labs for film composers in Mexico and Poland; Native American and indigenous artistdevelopment in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand; a partnership with The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC),
dedicated to supporting contemporary nonfiction films targeting the audience in the Arab world; and the International
Filmmakers Award provided to filmmakers from Europe, Latin America, the United States and Japan.
Ever in search of unique storytellers, Institute staff travel the globe to conduct labs, lend expert ise as artistic
advisors and curators, scout for talent, advocate for the arts, connect with the local creative communities, and provide
a continuum of support for artists.
The annual Sundance Film Festival is one of the most significant film festivals in the world, a vital platform to
expand opportunities for American artists and to engage audiences worldwide. The 10-day, multi-venue celebration
of film, art, conversation, ideas and entertainment brings together filmmakers, students, visual artists, government
officials, cultural influencers, and journalists from over 110 countries, providing exposure for artists as well as for an
array of cultural, political and social issues. The State Departments International Visitor Leadership Program annuallybrings to the Festival international filmmakers, and The Open World Cultural Leaders Program uses the Festival to
promote cross-cultural understanding through professional exchange.
Sundance Institute is committed to creative collaboration and works closely with relevant government agencies,
arts councils, museums and similar cultural organizations. For 2010-2011, the Institute is partnering with the Presidents
Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the
Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services on an international cultural exchange program designed to
travel 10 independent filmmakers from the United States and around the world to 12 sites, here and abroad.
Those interested in supporting Sundance Institute should contact Keri Putnam at [email protected]
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
10/38
4 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
American Voices
Executive Director: John Ferguson
Houston, Texas | Bangkok, Thailand
www.americanvoices.org | www.yesacademy.info
American Voices represents an international cultural engagement Best Practice. For the past 17 years, it has provided
concerts, workshops, master classes and interactive performance projects to over 200,000 live audience members
in 110 countries on five continents. Under the direction of John Ferguson, the Jazz Bridges, Broadway, Hiplomacy and
Yes Academy programs further accessibility and understanding of American performing arts and culture in areas of the
world emerging from conflict and isolation or lacking opportunities for exchange and dialogue with the United States
American Voices has enabled mutual understanding and capacity building by supporting the next generation
of cultural leaders, teachers, and community arts activists through youth development, and teacher and arts
administration training, coupled with donations of artistic supplies, musical scores and instruments. American Voices
concerts with the Iraq National Symphony Orchestra (the first concert in Iraq by Americans in over a dozen years) and a
Kabuls Foundation for Culture and Civil Society in Afghanistan with the Jazz Bridges program have been groundbreakinAmerican Voices also created the first ever Jazz festivals and Broadway productions featuring local performers in
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Moldova, Kosovo, Egypt, and
Lebanon.
In 2007, American Voices launched the Youth Excellence on Stage (YES) Academies to inspire and motivate youth
artistically and personally, while providing an alternative perspective to widely held and often negative views towards
the United States. The YES Academy programs provide high quality professional training and performances in some of
Americas great cultural genres (including Broadway, Jazz, and Hip Hop, childrens theater, and classical orchestra) to
youth and young adults ages 725. Between 2007 and 2010, these youth academies will have engaged over 3,250
youth in places that include Afghanistan, Belarus, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Syria and Thailand. American
Voices has also reached tens of millions through global live television and radio broadcasts amplified by virtual,
interactive tools such as Facebook, YouTube (youtube.com/Americanvoices), Twitter, Skype, and SMS texting.In 2009, American Voices hosted six youth academies for over 2,000 students on an operating budget of
$296,000. The majority of its programming is offered on a scholarship basis to participants through a limited amount o
earned income and a diverse base of funders/partners that include: national ministries of culture, U.S. Embassies and
military bands in their regions of operation, individuals, private foundations, and in-kind donations of time and resources
by artists, teachers and administrators, partners and universities.
Positive measurements of success are based on quantitative and qualitative indicators including participant
evaluations, audience attendance and outreach, the quality and breadth of artistic outputs, diversity of student bodies,
and the ability annually to sustain programming in multiple regions. Fundraising is a perennial challenge and in recent
years sources of support have been more forthcoming from stakeholders located outside of the United States. The
American Voices baseline-operating budget is $300,000. Those interested in helping American Voices should contact
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
11/38
www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: Dr. Gene Aitken works with Brass students at new Afghan National Institute of Music.
Bottom: Hiplomacy in Kyrgyzstan: HaviKoro Break Dancers warm up aspiring young dancers in Jalalabad.
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
12/38
6 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)
President: Karne Brooks Hopkins
Executive Producer: Joseph Melillo
Brooklyn, NY | www.bam.org
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement. BAM is a globally focused institution
that is committed to producing large-scale cultural exchange initiatives that connect people from across the worldfrom
artists and performers, to cultural entrepreneurs, policy makers, and scholarsto share ideas and learn from one another.
Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas and DanceMotion USASM epitomize BAMs commitment: both used the dynamic power of the arts
to enable audiences and participants alike to identify their shared values and build common understanding.
Producing Large-Scale Models of Cultural Engagement.In June 2009, BAM, Asia Society, and the New York
University Center for Dialogues produced Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas, a ten-day festival and two-day policy conference in New
York City. The goal: to showcase the richness of Islamic art and culture for U.S. audiences and foster cross-cultural dialogue.
Muslim Voices was the largest, multi-venue celebration of Islamic culture ever presented in the United States, reaching
audiences of over 23,000. Nine other New York-based organizations joined in the festival. Media partners WNET/THIRTEENand The New York Times further extended the initiatives reach. BAM will participate in another international festival of this
nature showcasing Cuban arts and culture in 2011.
An ambitious project unprecedented in the United States, Muslim Voices presented over 300 artists, performers, cultural
entrepreneurs, policy makers, and scholars from over 20 countries. The two-day academic and policy conference at the NYU
Center for Dialogues brought together 44 performers, writers, cultural entrepreneurs, government officials, commentators,
religious leaders, and scholars from across the globe to debate the role of culture in advancing understanding between the
Muslim and Western worlds. It also sought to identify practical steps for improving U.S.-Muslim relations through cultural
exchange. According to a local Brooklyn business owner who participated in the festival, Its good for this country. This is a
way to just talk together.1(www.muslimvoicesfestival.org)
Sharing American Dance Around the Globe. In August 2008, BAM was selected by the U.S. Department of State
to produce the 2010 pilot DanceMotion USASM. This was the first international tour of American dance of this size and rangesupported by the State Department in over 20 years. The tour brought three American dance companies to sixteen cities in
nine countries in three regions: Southeast Asia (Burma, Indonesia, and Thailand), Africa (Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa),
and South America (Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela). The three dance companies were OCD/Dance from San Francisco,
CA (to Southeast Asia); Evidence, A Dance Company (to Africa); and Urban Bush Women (to South America), both from
Brooklyn, NY. The program offered multiple opportunities for exchange between artists, audiences, and cultures through
21 performances and 104 cultural exchange activities. Several host embassies reported that DanceMotion USASMwas their
biggest cultural event of the year, and in many cases, the 2010 tours were the first by any American dance company in years.
In addition, BAM shipped 846 books and DVDs on American dance to 20 cities in all nine countries. The program reached
audiences of over 15,000 globally.
DanceMotion USASMreached a large number of youth, from young female Muslim participants in Indonesia to schoolchildren in
Colombia. As a 9th grader from South Africa said, It was my first time to see a danceThe dancers were strong and powerfullike birds flying in the sky and kudus running fast.2 (www.dancemotionusa.org)
Programs of this scale and scope require years of advance planning and substantial funding (Muslim Voices $1.9 million;
DanceMotion USASM$1.4 million). Those interested in helping BAMs international programming should contact Karen Brooks
Hopkins, President, at [email protected].
1 Issa Odtallah, Brooklyn business owner, as quoted in Festival for New York, That Muslim City by Felicia R. Lee,The New York Times,6/4/102 9th grade student from Grahamstown, South Africa as quoted in Evidence: A first time experience for many,Upstart, 3/9/10
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
13/38
www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: DanceMotion USA (2010) ODC/Dance Workshop at the Mary
Above: Muslim Voices: Arts and Ideas (2009) New Orleanss
Craig Adams in concert with Pakistans Qawwali Gospel Creation. (Photo by Scott Smith)
Right: Muslim Voices: Arts and Ideas (2009): Community Souk. (Photo by Seon Gomez)
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
14/38
8 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
Cultures in Harmony
Executive Director: William Harvey
New York, NY | Kabul, Afghanistan | www.culturesinharmony.org
Cultures in Harmony (CiH) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement. A Pakistani music student once
asked its Director, William Harvey, When are you coming back? Having just played at Karachis National Academy
of Performing Arts, Mr. Harvey replied that they would do their best to come back the following year. The Pakistani
music student wasnt satisfied. He responded: Dont just make a link. Build a relationship. You are feeding an
entire nation.
Mr. Harvey and CiH are in the business of building relationships and have already returned to Karachi.
CiH has since 2005 conducted 19 projects in 11 countries all on a shoestring. The projects have created
50 American musical diplomats, the majority of whom are women. In Zimbabwe, CiH has taught AIDS orphans how
to write music inspired by water, highlighting water access issues at their school. In the Philippines, CiH and the
Cartwheel Foundation worked with different indigenous groups to develop compositions celebrating their heritage.
In Papua New Guinea, CiH helped the Yoro tribe create compositions about the environment, HIV/AIDS, and culturalpreservation. In Egypt, CiH helped underprivileged girls from Alexandria compose music about their lives. CiHs
project in Cameroon has catalyzed the largest increase in membership ever seen by the Cameroon Nigeria
Youth Movement.
In Konya, Turkey, where the whirling dervish ceremony originated 700 years ago, CiH musicians became
the first female musicians to join male musicians in accompanying the ceremony. CiH partnered with UNICEF in
Moldova for a benefit concert that collected 7,000 books for their childhood literacy program. In Zimbabwe, CiHs
benefit concert for Eyes for Africa raised funds to restore sight to 145 people. CiH master classes for classical
musicians have benefited thousands in Qatar, Egypt, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Mexico, and Tunisia.
CiH has been profiled in newspapers, radio stations, websites, and TV channels, everywhere from Zimbabwe to
Pakistan to the Dominican Republic. CiH projects have changed the perceptions of those with whom they connect.
Amal, a young Tunisian violinist, typifies the response: Youve changed the image that I had about Americansbecause youre completely different. Youre nice, kind, friendly, generous, awesome, beautiful. CiH sustains its
relationships through Facebook (over 1,000 members from over a dozen countries). The CiH YouTube channel
includes over 30 videos; its Flickr page features well over 100 photos. CiH also has an extensive presence on
Twitter, MySpace, and in the blogosphere.
The majority of CiHs budget is international travel. Since partners in the host countries arrange
accommodations and ground transportation, CiH can send five musicians to Tunisia for a week for $10,000. CiH
currently aims to transition towards engaging its Operations Manager on a full-time basis. It has received extensive
support from the U.S. State Department, the Samuels Foundation, the Copland Fund, the McGraw-Hill Companies,
and numerous private individuals.
Mr. Harvey lives and works in Afghanistan as the Violin and V iola Teacher of the Afghanistan National Institute
of Music, founded by Dr. Ahmad Sarmast. He teaches violin to boys who went without proper instruction for yearsand to impoverished girls who were selling chewing gum on the street. Through CiH, music continues to remind
people of the shared humanity from which they may draw the strength to understand one another.
CiHs international work has made a real difference. In 2009, CiH spent $60,000 on six projects. Those
interested in helping William Harvey and CiH should contact [email protected].
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
15/38
www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top left: Emily Holden lets children at school in Pakistan try her violin (2009) Top right: leTrumpeter Peter Evans improvises with woman from ancient
Aeta indigenous community in the Philippines (2008). Bottom: William Harvey shakes hands after outreach concert at primary school in Essos
neighborhood of Yaound, Cameroon (2009).
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
16/38
10 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
International Writing Program, University of Iowa
Director Christopher Merrill
Iowa City, IA | http://iwp.uiowa.edu
The International Writing Program (IWP) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement. Founded in 1967, IWPs
annual Fall Residency program has brought to campus over 1,200 authors from more than 120 countries. In the last
eight years, IWP has increased its focus on important literary voices in the Middle East and Muslim world. When Israeli
and Palestinian writers speak to local audiences about their conflict; when a radio interviewer asks an Iraqi editor about
the situation in his country; when Muslim writers from countries as disparate as The Netherlands, Kenya, Indonesia,
the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan give joint public readings more than perceptions are changed. Mutual
understanding, respect, and trust are advanced.
IWPs annual ten-week residency at the University of Iowa is, first and foremost, a space in which writers of all
nations are regarded, and feel themselves regarded, as equally valuable artists. Yet, the program also ensures that the
writers almost all first-time visitors to the U.S. can experience the complexity of American l ife while community
members explore and refine their own perspectives on those from abroad. The writers are a regular presence in UIclassrooms, in local schools, in community forums, and on local television. They likewise travel to academic and
cultural institutions around the country.
Recognizing that international cultural engagement thrives on reciprocity, IWP in 2006 developed overseas
programs to bring established American writers abroad. Reading Tours have taken Americans to Syria, Jordan,
Jerusalem, the Palestinian Territories, Turkey, Cyprus, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tunisia, and Morocco (with potential
tours upcoming to Pakistan, Indonesia, Bosnia, and Ethiopia). Annual symposia in Paros, Greece, and Fes, Morocco,
have united American and international writers in discussions of common issues. And, two installments of the Life of
Discovery exchange have explored collaborations between emerging American writers and ethnic minority writers from
China, with sessions in both countries.
IWPs traditional online presence (a website, a journal, an archive) has evolved to include Web 2.0 hosting, regular
chats, blogs, tweeting, and the posting of videos to a YouTube channel. IWP videoconferences have provided forumsfor American and Irish students to talk with Irish poet Eavan Boland and for Bosnian writers to contribute to discussions
on the City. A recent online class joined American women students and young Saudi women writers in the study
of important American and Saudi texts. Technologys classroom impact has inspired IWP to initiate distance-learning
projects where American writers are training a writing-as-therapy instructor in Haiti and teaching writers from all
religious confessions in Lebanon. They will soon work with womens groups in Afghanistan/Pakistan.
To reach the next generation of cultural diplomats, IWP has also created Between the Lines, an annual two-week
summer writing camp for 12 high-school Arabic-language writers from the Levant, Maghreb, and Gulf states, who live
alongside and share programming and class time with American students in the Iowa Young Writers Studio. These
students (six boys, six girls) participate in writing workshops, visit local sights, and deepen their understanding of
America.
IWP requires $1.5 million each year to sustain its programs. Those interested in helping IWP should contact IWPDirector Christopher Merrill ([email protected]).
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
17/38
1www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: Tom Sleigh (USA) teaches students at Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya (2009). Bottom left: Between the Lines Class of 2009 in Iowa City: Faculty and students from Austria, Israel,
Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Authority, and Syria. Bottom right: Daniel Alarcon (USA) interviews Birzeit University Student, Birzeit, Palestinian Authority (2006).
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
18/38
12 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Michael Kaiser: President, Vice President, International Programming
Alicia Adams: Vice President, Education
Washington, D.C. | www.kennedy-center.org
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center) is a Best Practice of international cultural
engagement. For nearly four decades, the Kennedy Centers numerous international cultural engagement activities
have created in-depth relationships and collaborations which increase mutual understanding, respect, and trust.
The Kennedy Center has provided a common space where men and women of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures
come together to share, explore, and appreciate their similarities and differences.
Performances and International Festivals Over the last 10 years, the Kennedy Center has presented more
than 5,000 artists from around the world. Individual presentations have ranged from the iconic Colombian pop
artist, Juanes, to the distinguished Bolshoi Opera and Ballet, to throat singers from Nunavut. Since 1997, the
Center has produced comprehensive international festivals exploring the contemporary cultures of the worlds
regions through music, dance, theater, film, fashion, food, and the visual arts. The festivals include African
Odyssey(19972000), AmericArtes(20012004), The Festival of China(2005), JAPAN! culture + hyperculture
(2008), ARABESQUE: Arts of the Arab World(2009), and, forthcoming, maximumINDIA(2011). In addition, New
Visions, New Voices, an international festival that creates new theatrical work for young audiences, has been
presented every other year since 1992. And, the Centers Performing Arts for Everyone department produces the
Millennium Stage series, working closely with the diplomatic community to present daily, free performances, which
feature artists from over 50 countries (cybercast daily across the globe).
EducationThe Kennedy Center produces print and online materials for teachers use in classrooms
via ARTSEDGE, the Centers educational website. Online interactives, podcasts, and lesson plans related to
international presentations and festivals support engagement and understanding of other cultures for students and
teachers. The Centers education programs also enable person-to-person cultural interaction by taking companies
and individual artists from various disciplines and countries to students and teachers in local area schools.
During the festival, ARABESQUE: Arts of the Arab World, young dancers from Los Angeles, CA, Washington,
D.C., and Muscat, Oman were brought together to work with renowned director, choreographer, and author, Debbie
Allen, who created a new production for young audiences, OMAN... 0 Man! Performances in D.C. and Los Angeles
gave U.S. audiences insights into the richness, similarities and differences between Omani and U.S. culture. And,
the 37 participating young people gained new friendships, learning first-hand about each others lives through
visiting one anothers countries.
Career Development for Young Artists. Young performers from all over the world come to the Kennedy
Center through the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, through study of composition and
ensemble skills with leading U.S. jazz musicians (including Dr. Billy Taylor, Wynard Harper, Terence Blanchard,
and Carmen Lundy), and through study with former principal New York City Ballet ballerina Suzanne Farrell. Music
and dance students come to the Center from China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Japan, and Mexico. The
Kennedy Center has also worked with the U.S. Department of State to tour American musicians internationally, as
well as international artists and arts managers across the U.S.
Arts Management. Over the last 10 years, the Kennedy Center has provided instruction in arts management
to arts leaders in 60 countries. Young arts managers come to the Center to study strategic planning, marketing,
fundraising, artistic planning, and board development. And, the relationships continue as these managers return to
their own communities throughout the world.
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
19/38
1www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: ARABESQUE: Arts of the Arab World OMANO Man! (2009). Lower left: ARABESQUE Student Workshop with Oriental Music Ensemble; Yousef Hbeisch demonstrating the
tablah (2009). Lower right: Festival of China Terra Cotta Warriors Exhibition (2005).
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
20/38
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
21/38
1www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: Chamki in India. Lower left: Anything Muppet in Indonesia. Lower right: Khokha in Egypt
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
22/38
16 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
Silk Road Project, Inc.
Artistic Director: Yo-Yo Ma CEO
Executive Director: Laura Freid
www.silkroadproject.org
The Silk Road Project is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement, dedicated to connecting the worlds
neighborhoods through the arts. Founded in 1998 by Artistic Director and internationally renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma,
and led by Laura Freid, CEO and Executive Director, the Project is a catalyst for innovation and learning through cross-
cultural exploration and interdisciplinary partnerships.
At the core of the Project is the Silk Road Ensemble, a collective of internationally renowned performers and
composers from more than 20 countries (including Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Canada, China, Hong Kong,
India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Korea, Mongolia, Spain, Syria, Tajikistan, the United
Kingdom, the United States, and Uzbekistan). Ensemble members collaborate on a diverse range of musical and
multimedia performances that spring from Eastern and Western traditions and contemporary musical crossroads.
The Ensemble has recorded five albums and performed to critical acclaim throughout Asia, Europe and North America.The Projects commissioning program has resulted in more than 60 new works by composers from 18 countries.
The Project is equally committed to educational programs that foster cross-cultural understanding and a passion
for learning. Highlights of its educational work include Silk Road Chicago, a yearlong, city-wide 20062007 artistic and
cultural celebration that brought together the City of Chicago, Chicago public schools, the Chicago Symphony, the Art
Institute of Chicago and other cultural/educational institutions; Along the Silk Road, a comprehensive social studies
curriculum developed in partnership with the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education; and a
series of residencies in museums and universities around the world. The Project also regularly visits local schools and
arts organizations, and conducts workshops in conjunction with its performances worldwide.
The Projects current educational focus is Silk Road Connect (SRC), a middle school pilot program (with
450 students and 50 teachers in its initial year) that uses cross-disciplinary content, hands-on experiences, and the
transformative power of the arts to spark a lifelong passion for learning. SRC was developed at the invitation of theNew York City Department of Education as part of its Campaign for Middle School Success, to address a nationwide
crisis in middle schools with students failing to become engaged in learning. SRC schools are located in underserved
inner-city communities with high percentages of African-Americans, Dominicans, Southeast Asians, and Yemenis. The
program is designed to establish the sixth grade as a platform for future academic success; promote the integral
role of the arts in learning; support an inquiry-based classroom culture; and help students discover new identities as
citizens of a global community. SRC complements middle school world history curricula and opens pathways to cross-
disciplinary exploration in language arts, math, science, art, and music.
The Projects long-term goal is to develop SRC as a flexible, sustainable, and transferable model for passion-driven
learning that can be adapted to a wide range of educational settings. Toward this end, the Project is working with the
Harvard Graduate School of Education to assess SRC and develop an SRC laboratory to train educators from across
the U.S. and around the world.In July 2010, the Project renewed a five-year affiliation with Harvard University that brought its headquarters
to the Harvard campus to enrich ongoing explorations of the Silk Road as a metaphor for cultural exchange and
interdisciplinary collaboration.
The Silk Road Project is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization and seeks support from individuals, foundations
and corporations for all of its activities, including performances, commissioning of new music, community outreach
and educational programs. For more information about supporting the Silk Road Project, please contact Christopher
Marrion, Development Director, at [email protected].
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
23/38
1www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top left: Sixth Grade Students in Silk Road Connect Live Program: June 2010 at American Museum of Natural History in New York City. (Photo by Jennifer Taylor)
Top right: Yo-Yo Ma joins JHS 185 student orchestra to culminate first year Silk Road Connect program in New York City. (Photo by Jennifer Taylor)
Lower: The Silk Road Ensemble performing Layla and Majnun with Azerbaijani mugham vocalists. (Photo by David OConnor)
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
24/38
18 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Dr. Daniel Sheehy
Washington, DC | www.festival.si.edu
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Festival) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement. It was founded in
1967 to provide a venue on the National Mall for ordinary, culturally diverse citizens from across the United States and
other nations to highlight and share their profound, creative, and expressive community-based traditions.
Now in its 44th year, the Festival attracts more than one million visitors annually and reaches another
40 million through national and international media. Having featured more than 20,000 musicians, artists, performers,
craftspeople, workers, storytellers, and others who demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and aesthetics from 90 nations
and every region of the United States, the Festival is a model of research-based presentation of contemporary living
cultural traditions.
The Festival is conceptualized and executed with community-based tradition-bearers. It draws upon the research
and presentational skills of more than 800 folklorists, cultural anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, and numerous othe
academic and lay scholars, and hundreds of technical staff, heads of state and government officials, and the businesscommunity in the United States and around the world all in collaboration with local tradition-bearers.
The Festival has had a strong impact. Many states and several nations have remounted Festival programs and
used them to generate laws, institutions, educational programs, books, documentary films, recordings, and museum
and traveling exhibitions that fully reflect and engage citizens from diverse ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds. The
Festival has energized tradition-bearers and their communities, and thus helped to conserve and create cultural and
economic resources.
The Festival has influenced Smithsonian collaboration with UNESCO and development of the Al Ain Centre for
Music in the World of Islam (a project of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage). It has also been involved
with the work of the Aga Khans Trust for Culture and Music Initiative for Central Asia, the International Library of African
Music in South Africa, and the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology in India.
The Festivals most distinctive and enduring contribution has been the development of a multilogue on the NationalMall with and among the diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic communities, organizations, institutions,
and the people whose traditions and aspirations are studied and represented there. The 1997 Festival program,
Sacred Sounds: Belief and Society, brought together Palestinians and Jews in Israel musical tradition-bearers,
cultural scholars, and policymakers who otherwise did not associate or communicate. This program was exemplary
of the power of carriers of tradit ional culture to bridge deep, often bitter, historical divides.
The Festival has also been successful in engaging young visitors through games, storytelling, verbal arts, dance,
and toy making that are passed on generationally in families and communities, and it has been successful in reaching a
larger international audience online.
The Festivals annual budget is approximately $4 million ($1.5 million from the Smithsonian and $2.5 from funders
and revenue generating activities). Those interested in helping the Smithsonian Folklife Festival should contact Daniel
Sheehy, at [email protected].
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
25/38
1www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: 2002 Festival Opening Ceremony: Mark van Tongeren teaches throat singing to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Sam
Brownback, and Smithsonian Secretary Larry Small. (Photo by Jeff Tinsley) Lower: Palestinian and Israeli musicians perform together as part of the Musics of Struggle program (1990)
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
26/38
20 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
World Digital Library, Library of Congress
Librarian of Congress: James H. Billington
Director: John Van Oudenaren
Washington, D.C. | www.wdl.org
The World Digital Library (WDL) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement. WDL was initiated in late 2005
through a proposal sent to UNESCO by the Library of Congress to establish a free-access, multilingual digital library
to showcase the cultures and historical achievements of all the worlds countries. WDL objectives are to promote
international and intercultural understanding and awareness, expand multilingual and culturally diverse content on the
Internet, provide resources to educators and contribute to scholarly research, and build knowledge and capacity in
the developing world. The guiding philosophy is that people can come to understand each other better by learning to
appreciate and share with the rest of the world what is best in their own cultures.
WDLs initial effort involved technical development, outreach to potential partners, and capacity building in selected
countries. The WDL website was launched in April 2009. As of August 2010, WDL had 99 partners from 62 countries,
including cultural institutions in the Arab world and in Israel, China and Taiwan, and Russia and countries of the formerSoviet Union. The WDL interface functions in seven languages Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese,
Russian, and Spanish; and the sites content is available in more than 40 languages.
More than 11 million users have now visited WDL from every country in the world. Eighty-nine percent of the traffic
comes from outside the United States. The heaviest use to date is in Spain, the United States, China, Brazil, Mexico,
France, Argentina, Russia, Portugal, and Colombia. Iran and Venezuela rank in the top 20 countries for 2010. Spanish
is the most heavily used interface, followed by English, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic.
The WDL web site has won numerous awards. Key features include multilingualism, high-quality content of cultural
and historical importance; consistent, high-quality metadata that allow for searching and browsing across cultures
and time periods; item-level descriptions; curator videos; advanced zoom features to enhance user understanding of
content; Web 2.0 features (content can be shared, downloaded, and re-purposed); and a heavy emphasis on speed and
performance.WDL standing committees bring together curators, scholars, and technical staff. The result is a network of
cooperative relationships. In March 2010, WDL partners adopted a charter to establish a governance structure. The
Library of Congress will be WDL Project Manager for the first five years.
WDL has established digital conversion centers in Cairo at the National Library and Archives of Egypt (NLAE)
and in Baghdad at the Iraqi National Library and Archives (INLA). INLA has begun to digitize its copies of the earliest
periodicals published in Iraq, a rare, at-risk collection dating from 1860 to 1930. With assistance from the Carnegie
Corporation of New York, a digital conversion center was established in early 2010 in Kampala at the National Library
of Uganda (NLU). Each of these projects involved the purchase of high-end digitization equipment, and installation and
training by five-person teams from the Library of Congress.
WDL plans in the next several years to expand its website and use; further develop its production network; and
provide for additional capacity building in developing countries.
The World Digital Library costs on the order of $3.5 mill ion a year. Those interested in helping the Library of
Congress in this respect should contact John Van Oudenaren, at [email protected].
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
27/38
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
28/38
22 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
World Monuments Fund
President and CEO: Bonnie Burnham
New York, NY | www.wmf.org
World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement, with 45 years of experience
and over 600 projects in more than 90 countries. WMF has long been a pioneer in the conservation field. It has an
established record of building connections among the broad range of professionals engaged in the management of
the built environment around the world. Beginning in the early 1990s, WMF furthered efforts to forge stronger working
relationships between the fields of historic preservation and environmental conservation. Now, it plans to develop a
formal long-term collaborative program with other institutions concerned with sustainability of the built and natural
environments.
Sustainability InitiativeWMF is undertaking a Sustainability Initiative to build stronger ties in the U.S. and
internationally between the nature and culture establishments and between the construction and preservation arms of
the architecture community. The purpose is to bridge the traditional divide between the built environment and natural
environment establishments and develop an integrated strategy to achieve sustainability in both areas. Buildingsaccount for up to 40 percent of worldwide energy consumption and approximately 50 percent of all the raw materials
that humans take from nature. The debris caused by construction, rehabilitation, and demolition constitutes nearly half
of all the waste generated in higher income countries. The built environment thus contributes significantly to climate
change, consumes vast amounts of resources, and generates considerable landfill waste.
Among the most substantive contributions the heritage field can make to sustainability is its work with
communities. By focusing on cultural contexts and social relationships, the heritage field has developed effective
tools for engaging stakeholders in planning processes that help to shape collective visions for communities and their
environments, recognizing both cultural and natural values. These processes help to foster civic participation, identify
shared views about quality of life, and ensure long-term sustainability of conservation efforts by responding to local
conditions.
WMF is planning a multi-phase program launched over a period of three years: an invitational colloquium (spring 2011) to bring together scholars and professionals from a range of disciplines
to focus specifically on the intersection of historic preservation and global sustainability; a working group of institutions (beginning 2012) interested in potential partnership through project collaboration
and/or funding; and collaborative research and field conservation projects (201314), developing the themes and objectives
identified by the working group.
WMF has a history of successful thematic initiatives, including its Jewish Heritage Initiative, the World Monuments
Watch, and Modernism at Risk. Each initiative has created a grassroots response to the issues identified by WMF as
areas of major concern.
The budget for Phases 1 and 2 of the program is $225,000. Partial funding is in hand. Phase 3 will address
specific field projects and will be financed through fundraising as key projects are identified. Those interested in helpingWMF with its Sustainability Initiative should contact Hedy Roma at [email protected].
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
29/38
2www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: Angkor, Cambodia, 9th 13th century
capital Khmer Empire and World Heritage
site, the subject of a World Monuments Fu
20 plus year program of conservation and
restoration.
Bottom: Angkor roof stone removal (2008
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
30/38
24 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
Founding Artistic Director: Liz Lerman
Managing Director & CEO: Jane Hirshberg
Washington, D.C. | www.danceexchange.org
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (Dance Exchange) is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement (recognized
specially for engaging citizens of all ages and occupations in the art of dance). Dance Exchange is a professional
company of dance artists that creates, performs, teaches, and engages people in making art.
Within a decade of its founding in 1976, Dance Exchange introduced its distinctive artistry and unique approach
to community engagement in international residencies in Sweden, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia. Since 1993,
it has engaged in community projects and collaborations with partners in Poland and Lithuania. In addition, through
ArtsLink, artist/administrators from Siberia, Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania spent time at Dance Exchanges Maryland
headquarters to observe/participate with the company on the road in the U.S. Other international partnerships have
taken Dance Exchange to Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Mexico, England, Guyana and Japan. Upcoming partnerships will
take Dance Exchange to Belgium, Sierra Leone, and China.Last year, Dance Exchange made two visits to Japan. The first visit started in Fukuoka where the company
worked with performers of varied ages and abilities to create a site-specific performance in a school. From Fukuoka,
the company traveled to Beppu for several workshops with artists. It then went to Sapporo to develop work that was
performed on the return visit in March. Tamami Yamada, a choreographer who has worked on several projects with
Dance Exchange, was a primary collaborator and led follow-up rehearsals with the participant groups in February. The
host organizations in Sapporo targeted older community members. During the second visit to Sapporo, the company
worked with community participants to complete a new piece that was featured in its concert performance with
additional pieces from Dance Exchanges repertory.
In each city, Dance Exchange conducted a series of workshops focused on dancing with senior adults, text and
movement composition, and Liz Lermans Critical Response Process (which advances the development of artistic
works-in-progress through a multistep, facilitated dialogue between artists, peers, and audiences). Concurrently,company members worked with local dancers and community members to develop a new section of Dance Exchanges
community-based work, 613 Radical Acts of Prayer. Dance Exchange explored elements that were integrated into a
work then in development entitled Drift, which looks at the impact of human activity on the way our landscape changes
over time.
Dance Exchanges primary partner for its work in Japan is the Japan Contemporary Dance Network (JCDN) an
organization that has been instrumental in securing resources for the companys work there. In addition to the support
provided by the Festival and by JCDN, Dance Exchange received funding from the Boeing Corporation to support its
ongoing work in three Boeing cities: Washington DC area, Houston, and Tokyo. During its March visit, Dance Exchange
extended invitations to Boeing employees in Tokyo to participate in workshops it was leading in the community.
Dance Exchange is committed to dance as a multi-disciplinary art form and consistently seeks to create works
addressing concrete subjects vital to contemporary life. Dance Exchange also engages community participants notjust to bring the benefits of dance into diverse communities and individual lives, but also to deepen the content of
contemporary dance with the authentic voices, movements, and presence of the people encountered.
Dance Exchange spends $80,000 each year on its international activities. Those interested in helping Dance
Exchange with these efforts should contact Jane Hirshberg at [email protected].
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
31/38
2www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (2010) Ami Dowden-Fant, Benjamin Wegman, and Sarah Levitt in Blueprints of Relentless Nature, choreographed by Keith Thompson.
(Photo by John Machtig)
Lower Liz Lerman and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (2009) Workshop with multi-generational cast of dancers and community members in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo courtesy of JCDN)
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
32/38
26 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
Asia Society
President: Vishakha N. Desai
Director, Cutural Programs and Performing Arts: Rachel Cooper, New York, NY
www.asiasociety.org
The Asia Society is a Best Practice of international cultural engagement, specifically for its leadership in combining cultural
engagement with broad international relations. The Society helps provide a broad-based understanding of all aspects of
Asia and the Pacific. By placing creative expression at the center of a more comprehensive understanding of cultures, the
Society provides a depth and breadth that are crucial to an understanding of the world we share.
Asia Society has introduced American audiences to the work of Asian artists in the visual, performing and media
arts. Contemporary visual artists have included Dinh Q. Le from Vietnam, Montien Boonma from Thailand, and Zhang Huan
from China. The first performance of sitar maestro, Ravi Shankar from India, began a legacy of Asian performing arts
presentations and tours that have crossed the United States over the 54 year history of the Society from traditional
music and dance from Burma, Indonesia, Iran and Korea to contemporary companies such as Cloud Gate Dance Theatre
of Taiwan, Chorus Repertory Theater of Manipur, and Iranian singers Hafez and Shahram Nazeri. The Asia Societyscommissioning of new work involving Asian and Asian American artists such as Chen Shi Zheng, Rudresh Mahanthappa
and Yin Mei has fostered vibrant exchanges leading to new productions. Large-scale initiatives have included Dance the
Spirit of Cambodia(where 30 Cambodian artists toured to 12 American cities, with a full panoply of educational activities)
andMuslim Voices: Arts and Ideas(a New York city-wide 10-day festival and two day symposium which the Society
organized with BAM and NYU). Muslim Voicesmajor web site was created by the Asia Society,
www.muslimvoicesfestival.org.
The Societys three-year Creative Voices of Islam in Asiaprogram includes:Performing arts festivals and national tours (accompanied by a web site, lectures, and people to people
exchanges) Muslim Voices: Arts and Ideas, the Pakistani Qawwali U.S. tour, and the Carnegie Hall performances
of Iranian singers Shahram Nazeri and Hafez Nazeri.
Museum Exhibitions such as Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art of Pakistan.Educational exchanges such as those connecting students in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan with American
high school students.Original research such as Making a Difference through the Arts: Strengthening Americas Connections with Asian
Muslim Communities, and original research and recommendations on arts and culture in Muslim majority countries
in South, Southeast, and Central Asia.Network creation among leading American performing arts presenters, managers and funders and Indonesian
artists, managers and cultural leaders.
For many Americans, the events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath still cast an ominous shadow over
regions
of Asia where more than half of the worlds 1.6 billion Muslims live. Dismantling cultural stereotypes requires building
knowledge cross-culturally through dialogue and exchange in a range of fields and domains. Creative Voices of Islam in
Asiachallenges pervasive American misperceptions of Islam by fostering an understanding and appreciation of creative
voices within the multicultural societies of contemporary Asia.
Asia Society staff members also use their substantive knowledge, language ability and contacts in Asia to present a
multidimensional picture that includes the historical, religious, political, social, and economic aspects of various projects.
Performances, lectures, demonstrations, artist panels, and written materials provide the larger context for each performance
The web and YouTube and other social media have become a crucial and dynamic aspect of the Societys work.
The Asia Society spends $3.8 million each year to support its international cultural engagement activities.
Those interested in helping the Society with these efforts should contact Shayne Doty | Vice President External Affairs
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
33/38
2www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Top: Fakir of Pakistan as part of Sufi Music Festival at Asia Society, July 2010. (Photo by Nadler)
Bottom: Eiko and Koma (New York based modern dancers) with Cambodian dancer at Peace Asia Society (2007).
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
34/38
28 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
The work of the nine Task Forces began in the fall of 2009, each one representing a specific area of internationalactivity and citizen diplomacy. Each Task Force is led by two co-chairs and made up of members selected by the
chairs themselves.
These nine groups met periodically throughout the year to determine guidelines for selecting proposals from
organizations vying for a top ten best practices slot, the format and content of their presentation at the Summit,
and drafting three measurable outcomes that will allow the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy to monitor each Task
Forces progress during the ten-year Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy which aims to double the number of
American citizens engaging in international activity and address the global challenges of the
21st Century.
The co-chairs were given complete control over the Task Force, including decisions that needed to be maderegarding the process to solicit, accept and select the top ten proposals from organizations in their field.
(*Note: If a Task Force members organization submitted a proposal, that member was removed from the selection
process to avoid conflict of interest.) The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy has not and will not receive any
compensation, monetary or in-kind, from the organizations or individuals on the Task Forces or organizations or
individuals whose proposals were selected for the top ten. The selection of these top ten proposals was solely on
merit and is the result of work completed by the individual Task Forces, not the U.S. Center for
Citizen Diplomacy.
The top ten list for each Task Force was selected from a pool of applicants that submitted a two-page proposal with
the intention of being considered in the top ten. If an organization did not submit a proposal, they were not under
consideration for the top ten..
TASK FORCE PROCESS
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
35/38
2www.USCenterforCitizenDiplomacy.org
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (2010) Benjamin Wegman and Stephanie Miracle in Drift, choreographed by Cassie Meador. (Photo by John Machtig)
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
36/38
30 INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE
The International Cultural Engagement Task Forces measurable outcomessupport of the Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacys goal of doubling the
number of American citizen diplomats in the next 10 years.
OUTCOMES
Summit showcase of on the order of 10 exemplary existing and proposed new
international cultural engagements that demonstrate the importance and effectiveness
of these activities in enhancing mutual understanding, respect, and trust so as to
strengthen peace, stability, and social equity, and reduce risks of conflict.
Increased recognition and support for international cultural engagements that strengthen
understanding between people in different parts of the world.
Measured through media coverage and financial support data.
International and/or national annual awards for best practices under the auspices
of the President, Secretary of State, or a council of notables.
Measures will need to be developed for judging best practices.
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT BEST PRACTICE
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
37/38
The U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy was made possible by the following
generous sponsors and contributors. We celebrate these gifts and express our gratitude
for the impact theyve had, now and long into the future.
IN KIND CONTRIBUTORS
The Honorable Charles T. Manatt
Saturation Productions
PRESIDENTIAL SPONSORS
In support of the USCCD Web site and the
2010 National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy program
CORPORATE DIPLOMAT SPONSOR
Anonymous Family Foundation
GLOBAL CITIZEN DIPLOMAT SPONSORS
CITIZEN DIPLOMAT SPONSOR
DIPLOMAT SPONSORS
In support of International
Cultural Engagement Task Force
In support of International Cultural
Engagement Task Force in partnership with
the National Endowment for the Arts
In support of K-12 Education Task Force
FRIEND OF THE SUMMIT | NON-PROFIT SPONSOR
8/12/2019 International Cultural Engagement Task Force Report
38/38