Institute for Cultural Diplomacy
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The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) is an international, independent, non-partisan, and non-profit focused on cultural diplomacy with headquarters in the United States and Germany. The institute is at the center of a global network of public sector, private sector, and independent partners. Its work is divided into two main areas: 1. Research and analysis of the best practices of cultural diplomacy, and 2. The application of this research in programs that have been created to serve as new forms of cultural diplomacy.
It’s inter-disciplinary programs comprise the three main pillars of icd: the High Profile Network (senior experts and decision makers), the Forum for Young Leaders (participants between the ages of 28-38 with between three to five years professional experience and demonstrated leadership abilities) and the Global Community (open to the public, these events bring together local and regional communities to discuss issues of global importance).
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[edit] Philosophy
The institute for cultural diplomacy believes that access is a human right that everyone deserves. Access to food, access to education, access to medicine, and access to peace are only a sampling of the basic needs and desires of humans. icd’s mission is not to provide these specific human rights to the global community, but rather to strengthen the relationships that allow for this access: relationships between governments, relationships between cultures, relationships between young generations and relationships with aging generations. The institute for cultural diplomacy’s philosophy is that that in order to have a stable relationship between two or more people, cultures or countries three components are absolutely necessary: dialogue, understanding, and trust. Only when these three elements exist in a deep and sincere form is it possible to discuss true cooperation in the economic, political or economic sense. It is exactly these two elements which unfortunately are most often missing from the international relations global arena in the twenty-first century.
[edit] Partnerships and programs
Partnerships and programs, along with all other events affiliated with ICD, make up the three pillars of ICD: High Profile Network, the Forum for Young Leaders, and Global Community.
[edit] High Profile Network
By invitation only, approximately forty cultural, business, government, and academic leaders from around the globe convene for one to three days to explore and work on specific issues of international significance. Such an international and interdisciplinary gathering of leaders is always a noteworthy event and produces discussions and results so unique that one can never fully anticipate the complexity and direction of the outcome in advance. By keeping the discussions off the record, icd creates an engaged environment in which participants feel comfortable being spontaneous, straightforward and honest in their interactions, leading to true innovation and creativity among a diverse group of leaders.
[edit] Forum for Young Leaders
The forum for young leaders program is designed for young professionals (between the ages of 28 and 38) from around the world to engage in the diplomatic process and form a sustainable network of cultural diplomats. Each year, a balanced mix of professionals engaged in business, political, and cultural affairs is competitively selected to participate.
[edit] Global Community
icd insists that one must think both globally and locally - and act accordingly. Therefore, icd has created community outreach programs allowing the local community to engage in diplomacy that has global impact. icd’s global community provides an arena where people can become a part of the diplomatic process in their own backyard. icd hosts regular roundtable discussions where regional leaders and cultural diplomats lead groups through discussion on specific issues that influence local and international communities. icd’s monthly Stammtisch meetings in local cafes and bars are thematically informal and open gatherings, focusing on intercultural exchange. In addition, icd runs--in collaboration with Lexia International--a multilingual tandem program, and hosts periodic guest lectures where exceptional individuals such as leaders, writers, artists, and cultural diplomats discuss his or her work with the local community.
[edit] History
Conceived initially as a research journal in April 1999 by Mark C. Donfried, the institute, in its current form, was co-founded by director Mark C. Donfried and advisory director Matthew B. Murrell. The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy is an international independent non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to the study and practice of cultural diplomacy. The institute is guided by the core philosophy that dialogue, understanding, and trust are essential to avoid political, economic, and cultural clashes and identifies cultural understanding and exchange as the key factor in supporting bridging the gap of intolerance and misunderstanding. This includes bringing together individuals and groups from different cultural and professional backgrounds and fostering an exchange of their ideas through conferences, publications, roundtable and panel discussions and its unique Young Leaders’ Forums.
Recognizing the lack of emphasis on cultural matters in international discourse and policy, icd was envisioned as a vehicle for initiating a more sustained dialogue between countries and, most importantly, between cultures. The idea for icd emerged from a conversation between four individuals: Pierre Buhler (former head of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in NYC, and diplomatic advisor to the French Defense Minister), Dr. Robert Paxton (Columbia University), Dr. Thierry de Montbrial (director of the institut français des relations internationales), and Mark C. Donfried (who would proceed to become co-founder and director).
From that initial idea, icd has expanded into two offices in Berlin, Germany (an official tax exempt German “gemeinnützig Verein” not-for-profit organization) and New York City, USA (a legally separate, official tax exempt US not-for-profit 501c3 organization)
The institute for cultural diplomacy has focused in the last years on the research and analysis of the significant evolution of the science of international cultural diplomacy. It is also proud to now be successfully running many of its own programs of what it calls civil society-based cultural diplomacy, such as its programs bringing young leaders together in sustainable bilateral and multilateral networks and those reaching out to local and regional communities that find themselves within a newly emerging “global community.” It is non-partisan and not-for-profit; it is international and is striving to be as neutral as possible in every sense. icd has been bringing experts and practitioners together for years with a modest goal: to determine if societies are asking the right questions concerning cultural diplomacy. As a result, the questions are clearer; however, as more questions are asked, more questions arise, and the answers are constantly evolving. To its credit, icd’s network has expanded to every continent and beyond the academic field to include the political, cultural and economic. The institute has partnerships with governments, universities,NGOs, and private sector companies around the world; as it gains experience each year, so too does it gather momentum and strength. icd’s mission is not to single-handedly change the world, but more unassuming, it hopes to help build the sustainable bridges between civil societies that will provide communities with access to the resources they need to improve their own situations, with their own hands.
