Previous Articles

A Forum about Germany's foreign cultural and educational policy

The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a forum entitled « Make it Move » in Berlin from April the 13th to April the 15th.

April 26th, 2016
20160426_A_Forum_about_Germany_001.jpg

These last few years, the role of Germany’s foreign cultural and educational policy has been growing constantly. In a world where ideologies are often diverted to enhance violence and where the cultural aspect of international conflicts is very important, one thing appears to be very clear: against the misuse of culture, we need to exchange ideas and work together in the fields of culture, education and sciences. This is the goal of the German foreign cultural and educational policy in order to allow different cultures to connect while preserving their own identities.

In order to promote its policy, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a forum entitled « Make it Move » in Berlin gathering people from all over the world. The main purpose of this forum was to show, with practical examples, the importance of the social power of culture and to present the most successful initiative like the « Schools, partners of the future » one.

The Forum focused on three main axis during three different events. The first one centered around the concepts of « school », « education » and « future » gathered more than 300 students, teachers and school’s headmasters from 30 different countries on the Westsaal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April the 13th. They mainly discussed the benefits of the « Schools, partners of the future » initiative which is helping children to learn German in 120 countries thanks to their own exchange experiences.

The second event was the « Long Night of Ideas » on the night of April the 14th during which 15 of Berlin’s cultural institution such as the « Gorki theater » and the « Berliner Festspiele » have set up a program for artists, scientists and political leaders to meet and discuss common matters like the concept of beauty, cultural diversity and Germany’s colonial history.

The third and final event was « Culture and Foreign Policy Live » on April the 15th with brought to the general public a synthesis of the two previous events. Workshops, public presentations and contributions from artists allowed the public to take a common look at the challenges of the future.

This forum celebrated the German foreign cultural and educational policy in each of its components including culture, education, science and sports and was a great example of the benefits that are coming from the practice of cultural diplomacy.

References:

News from Berlin
Pierre Even, Berlin Global