Future of Cultural Diplomacy Updates

你好! 今日は! 안녕하세요! Bonjour! Hola! Hallo! Ciao! नमस्ते! γεια σας! Salve! ᐊᐃᓐᖓᐃ! Osiyo!

We are delighted to share the news of the Future of Cultural Diplomacy activities this coming Spring.

Seminar Series - Cultural Diplomacy and Arts Education: A Conversation with Sherrie Westin, President of Sesame Street

March 24th, 12:00pm-1:15pm EST

For over fifty years, Sesame Street has proven itself capable of adapting to different cultures and celebrating diversity. In fact, Sesame Street has become the longest street in the world—reaching and teaching children in 150 countries around the world.  This session will examine how Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, uses the power of media and Muppets to bring proven, locally-tailored early education to millions of children around the world across languages and cultures, while addressing challenging topics like public health, HIV awareness, and the global refugee crisis. This session will also touch on the advocacy aims of Sesame Street, and the impact that their unique programming has had in the field of education.

Soft Power & Cultural Diplomacy Study Group

February 18th, 25th, March 4th, 25th |10:30am-12pm EST

We are excited to move forwards with upcoming Soft Power & Cultural Diplomacy Study Group sessions this spring! These sessions are designed for anyone interested in learning more about these two topics in addressing foreign relations.  Over the course of four sessions, participants will become familiar with the history of cultural diplomacy and will better understand how the power of the arts has repeatedly been deployed by governments to help achieve foreign policy objectives. The group will analyze historical examples and hear from current practitioners. Furthermore, the group will be asked to envision future uses of cultural diplomacy as a tactic for addressing current foreign policy challenges.

Key Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

  • Gain an understanding of cultural diplomacy and its relevance to the government and artistic sector.

  • Learn about important global cultural diplomacy initiatives and analyze their outcomes.

  • Explore the use of cultural diplomacy and soft power as tools to further U.S. foreign policy objectives.

  • Assess present-day foreign affairs and national security challenges in a cultural context, and consider how cultural diplomacy and soft power can play a role in seeking resolutions.

  • Discuss why cultural diplomacy is not always successful and what can be done to prevent this from happening.


The Future of Cultural Diplomacy Initiative explores how to harness the power of culture to advance foreign policy objectives.  It aims to fill an important but often overlooked angle in current foreign policy debates and add a valuable dimension to co-curricular discussions in international affairs at Harvard and beyond. This series was conceptualized by Carla Dirlikov Canales, an Arts Envoy for the U.S. Department of State, a world-renowned opera singer, and current Fellow at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. It is co-sponsored by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School. 

We hope you can join us! Please register in advance via the links provided above and do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Warmest,

The Canales Project

Carla Dirlikov