[lg policy] The Future Role of Foreign Cultural Policy: Talking to the World

[Harold Schiffman]

The Future Role of Foreign Cultural Policy
Talking to the World



In this age of globalisation, new and different ways of relating to
one another are required if we are to develop the skills and
understanding needed in our modern world. In his essay, Klaus-Dieter
Lehmann, president of the Goethe Institute, takes a look at what lies
ahead for foreign cultural policy in the coming decade



Klaus-Dieter Lehmann is convinced that without a cultural dialogue
that truly seeks to understand the culture of the other, humankind
will not get anywhere: "Although the dialogue itself brings no
guarantee of success, without it we have no chance at all."
 | Globalisation and modernisation have not brought about a unified
world. On the contrary, the world is once again strongly segmented, a
situation that has been further exacerbated by the financial and
economic crisis.

This development is no temporary phenomenon. Global competition has
brought about a change in the world's spheres of power and influence.
Emerging economies such as China, India and other Asian countries are
going to make their presence felt in the coming decade and that will
have consequences for the West.

Asia will become increasingly important in the hierarchy of financial
centres, with Hong Kong or Shanghai taking over from London.

The consequences of social change

The economic dynamism of these countries, which is comparable with the
Industrial Revolution in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth
century, has also brought social dynamism. Top-down control is
becoming less and less possible; political pressure is growing;
friction and turbulence and migration flows are the result.

Many of these countries have young populations who are increasingly
claiming the right to choose their careers and partners for
themselves. Many are familiar with the Internet. Family and clan ties
are dissolving due to the increasing mobility of the young.

It is Utopian to believe that global control systems could produce a
solution when the necessary trust is lacking even in the respective
societies themselves. The climate conference in Copenhagen provided a
striking example of this. Our opportunities have less to do with
global models of explanation and much more with local or regional
links and analogue translations.

When one considers the reasons for the successful development of
Europe over the past 500 years, one quickly arrives at the following
elements. One reason is, of course, the economy, which is reflected in
the capitalist entrepreneurial spirit and the consumer society and is
based on the relevant scientific knowledge.

Then there is Europe's legal and political system, which is based on
private property rights and individual freedom as well as a specific
cultural and artistic identity.

The emerging economies have now adopted the West's entrepreneurialism
and the necessary scientific and technical know-how. The necessary
process of social change that is a direct consequence of the economic
transformation, on the other hand, is not happening, or only very
slowly.

It takes the form of prohibitions rather than reforms, silence rather
than public discourse. The coexistence of the human community is,
however, first and foremost, a cultural achievement.

Questioning rigid clichés

This brings us to the most exciting question of the new decade. Will
we engage with cultural developments, be open or cooperate? Will the
Western concept of the Enlightenment have a chance with individual
freedom and separation of powers, or will it result in a
radicalisation brought about by one-sided modernisation and orthodox
torpidity?

 | We have to find a way of engaging in a critical and imaginative
discussion with and in the world, one which pays homage neither to
universalism nor cultural relativism, which challenges our rigid
stereotypes and endeavours to gain an understanding of the culture of
the other. Without this kind of cultural dialogue we will not get
anywhere. Although the dialogue itself brings no guarantee of success,
without it we have no chance at all.

It allows alternatives to be sought rather than encouraging a fixation
with conflict; it allows for process rather than stagnation; and it
makes us sufficiently self-critical by providing us with knowledge of
the other.

Cultural dialogue is not like sport. Sport has fixed rules that apply
to all participants and a referee who ensures fair play. Cultural
dialogue is more complex. It combines individualism and independence;
it sees in the diversity of cultures a multiplicity of forms of
expression that can be of mutual benefit through the exchange of
knowledge and experience.

It is, therefore, not suited to competition between the systems. Nor
is it a suitable instrument of hegemony. The accomplishment of the
human rights conventions is binding and not negotiable.In 1970, Ralf
Dahrendorf drew up guidelines for foreign cultural policy – guidelines
that Germany should also take to heart for the decade 2010 to 2020.
"What we give," he said, "is only as good as our willingness to take.
Openness for differences is, therefore, one of the principles of our
foreign cultural and educational policy."

This describes exactly how the Goethe Institute fulfils its role
today. It does not stand for cultural export and "nation branding",
but rather for a contemporary, multifaceted view of Germany, for
public debate, for reflection, for fundamental values, in other words.
It is not the knowledge society but the learning society that provides
the pattern for Germany's foreign cultural policy.

It is not globalised cultural power that will create opportunities for
the future, but rather cultural encounters and appropriate networks.
This is not going to be easy, the devil is in the detail and a great
deal of stamina will be required, but it is precisely this that
constitutes a credible foreign cultural policy for the new decade.

Innovation, interaction, inspiration

In response to the impact of altered global conditions, the Goethe
Institute has undergone a major structural reform that can be summed
up in three words: innovation, interaction, inspiration.

The innovation comes from the various Goethe Institutes scattered
throughout the world – around 140 of them in all – and the
distinctiveness and effectiveness they gain from drawing on local
knowledge and experience. The interaction is down to the regions,
which – through the transfer of responsibility for finance and content
– are in a position to network independently, thereby ensuring the
visibility and sustainability of the programme.

 | The network takes on a quality of its own. Inspiration comes from
the head office, which through service, evaluation and identification
feeds back into the cycle the best, most creative developments on the
German cultural scene and provides for creative partnerships.

A solidly grounded foreign cultural policy, however, requires the
acceptance of the country in which it originates. Germans need to
understand that there is no longer any clear distinction between the
domestic and the foreign; they are no longer separate worlds. New and
different ways of relating to one another are required if we are to
develop the necessary skills and understanding needed for the world.

An export nation such as Germany does not just sell machines, it also
projects an image of itself, its lifestyle and environment.

Moreover, Germany has become a country of immigration. In this regard,
our ability to integrate still needs to be improved. Starting in 2010,
the Goethe Institute will increase its socio-political involvement in
the language field, in pre-integrative initiatives, in early childhood
education, in certified integration courses and in the training of
teachers of German as a foreign language.

German as the key to integration

The German language is the key to integration. There are now writers,
musicians, filmmakers and artists of non-German origin who consider
themselves quite naturally part of German culture. This year the
Goethe Institute and other cultural organisations will be working
together with the German Federal Foreign Office to turn 2010 into the
Year of the German Language.

In spring 2010, the Goethe Institute's new European strategic
guidelines will be made public. A key theme will be "Neighbourhoods",
introduced by means of a conference this year and dealing with
opportunities and possible courses of action in relation to both the
immediate neighbourhood and the European neighbourhood.

Only where a skilled handling of the immediate environment is
demonstrated can credibility be given to dealings further afield. The
Treaty of Lisbon has given new significance to European foreign
policy. | This must also apply to European cultural and educational
policy. Moreover, the coming decade needs to see a clear commitment to
the teaching of two foreign languages in European schools.

English is the lingua franca in most of Europe. The obligation to
learn a second foreign language is therefore important not only for
the survival of German, but also as an important prerequisite for
Europe's ability to engage in dialogue. Europe is a continent of
translation and the Goethe Institute is an important player in
European language policy.

Over the past two years, the success of the Federal Foreign Office's
priority programme, "PASCH" (Schools, Partners for the Future), has
put the German language back on the road to success at global level.
As part of this campaign, the Goethe Institute is setting up language
departments in 500 school systems abroad where German can be taught up
to university entrance level.

New language dynamism

In collaboration with German schools abroad, over 1,500 schools
throughout the world will be offering German language courses to this
level in 2010. In addition, the Goethe Institute is setting up its own
language learning centres, particularly in China, India and Africa.
The new decade will then usher in a new era of vitality for the
language. A successful German language policy is the most effective
economic stimulus package Germany could wish for.

The infrastructure programme "Culture and Development" will be an
important component of foreign cultural policy for the future. Its
objective is the creation of a cultural infrastructure, particularly
in developing and emerging countries, by means of which existing
creative potential can be developed in a sustainable way.

The Goethe Institute provides the expertise, devises the planning
projects and assists the partners with their implementation. This can
involve the construction of theatre, museum or library complexes and
the training of filmmakers, cultural managers, publishers or
journalists.

Such a professional approach creates stable partnerships and allows
for the establishment of long-term relationships for programme work.

The Goethe Institute has also taken on a major task with the
development and project management of the "Germany Years". As an equal
partner of the Federal Foreign Office it has the task of coordinating
the joint venture's work in the areas of culture, science and business
in the respective countries. Vietnam is the venue in 2010; India in
2011/2012. By focussing on the issue of "urban spaces", this "Germany
Year" will be addressing a topic of crucial importance to India.

The range of activities shows that the different strategies and
approaches depend on the structure of the countries and regions as
well as on existing potential and expectations. At times it may well
seem as if it is easier to create visions and define goals than to
actually reach these goals and realise these visions, but it is the
getting there that counts – that is our task.

Klaus-Dieter Lehmann

© Der Tagesspiegel 2010

Translated from the German by Ron Walker

-- http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-1052/i.html
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents.
Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal.
(H. Schiffman, Moderator)

For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to
https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/
listinfo/lgpolicy-list
*******************************************

_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list