Robert Sterling Clark Foundation Report on Cultural Exchange and Cultural Diplomacy

Monday, October 13, 1:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Cottonwood B, M1/Street Level

Organized by Margaret Ayers, president, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. Presented by Margaret Ayers; with Aimee Fullman, cultural policy consultant, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; Karen Brooks Hopkins, president, Brooklyn Academy of Music; Ralph Samuelson, senior advisor, Asian Cultural Council; and Sandra Gibson, president and CEO, Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

A new report commissioned by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation on U.S.-based cultural diplomacy and cultural exchange after 9/11 will be published in Summer of 2008 to prompt a new administration to create a proactive program in support of international cultural exchange. This research brings together data on public and private support for cultural exchange as well as research on the challenges, successes, smart practices and trends of engagement by participating arts and cultural organizations. Additionally, it looks at the history of public-private partnerships and the new technologies being utilized in the promotion of cultural content for public diplomacy purposes. This session builds on the introductory conversation begun at the 2007 GIA conference on this same subject. We hope to galvanize the members of Grantmakers in the Arts by giving participants the tools to make the case for supporting cultural exchange and to make them aware of the other players and concurrent policy conversations that affect the future of cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy.