A new British Council report, ‘Influence and Attraction: Culture and the Race for Soft Power in the 21st Century’, discusses global trends in cultural relations and soft power. Anne Bostanci explains.

States work hard to create and protect their influence in their dealings with other states. You could see it as a race or competition –...]]>

A new British Council report, ‘Influence and Attraction: Culture and the Race for Soft Power in the 21st Century’, discusses global trends in cultural relations and soft power. Anne Bostanci explains.

States work hard to create and protect their influence in their dealings with other states. You could see it as a race or competition – like a beauty or popularity contest among nations. But it’s more complex and more serious than this analogy suggests.

A new British Council report, Influence and Attraction, argues that mutuality and genuine understanding of one another are critical elements of what is called ‘soft power’. The best outcome is not winning an advantage at another country’s expense, but co-operation and exchange. The UK is in a strong position of soft power after last year’s London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and is well-connected to the rest of the world. The report explains why mutuality is so important, through a wealth of evidence.

Olympic cauldron (image credit Heatherwick Studio)

Governments and culture are interdependent

Governments should understand that they operate in a world in which culture and politics are interdependent. Global communication is getting faster and more frequent, and much of what people want to talk about is culture. One example is the way in which Gordon Brown’s trip to India in January 2007 for trade talks was overshadowed by widespread anger in India caused by racism towards the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the popular UK television show ‘Big Brother’. Instead of talking about commerce, the then-Prime Minister found himself having to answer questions about reality TV.

Stream/download the debate of 18 June 2013:

The many facets of cultural relations

There are diverse actors involved in cultural relations, from nations and cities, to institutions, NGOs, businesses and individuals. The report suggests dividing countries first by size – small or large – and then by whether their cultural profiles are established or emerging.

Cultural relations activities span from formal to informal activities, and inward- versus outward-facing activities. Contemporary cultural relations go beyond the classic aim of boosting a country’s popularity just outside that country. Internal efforts at cultural relations are increasing too. Cultural relations can help create an environment for constructive political and social change, as in Burma or during the Arab Spring.

Tunisian activists (image credit: Magharebia)

Are China and other emerging powers about to take the lead in soft power?

One important trend in global cultural relations is how much more seriously Asia, the Middle East and Brazil, Russia, India and China (the ‘BRIC’ countries) are taking soft power. Recently, these countries have been investing heavily and starting large-scale cultural projects. The prime example of this is the spectacular rise of China’s Confucius Institute. This trend is particularly interesting when contrasted with developments in many Western countries, where shrinking budgets, cut-backs on foreign language broadcasting and restrictive visa regimes for foreign tourists and students are common.

China's Terracotta Warriors

The report presents a global breakdown of international cultural relations institutions and activities. This covers the institutions of a diverse sample of countries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and the UK.

The benefits – to the UK and other countries

Cultural relations are also about creating concrete benefits to the UK and other countries. These include trade and investment resulting from the trust gained from cultural relations activities. This is not restricted to the UK’s already highly developed creative industries, but extends to other trade and investment.

Another benefit is the ability of culture to bring people together – even those with very different world views, so they can work on international problems together.

To find out more, read the full report.

Image of a performer in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival courtesy of ‘Edinburgh Blog’ via Flickr under Creative Commons license.

More and more students enrol on UK higher education programmes outside the UK and naturally, there are plenty of questions to consider. As Sri Lanka gears up to welcome 100 delegates to the first ever South Asia Series of Global Education Dialogues, Tony Reilly, our director in Sri Lanka, offers a few of those questions...]]>

More and more students enrol on UK higher education programmes outside the UK and naturally, there are plenty of questions to consider. As Sri Lanka gears up to welcome 100 delegates to the first ever South Asia Series of Global Education Dialogues, Tony Reilly, our director in Sri Lanka, offers a few of those questions on Transnational Education (TNE).

Millions of well-wishers around the world have been praying this week for one of the world’s most remarkable human beings, Nelson Mandela. I count myself among those who have been touched down the years by this supreme statesman’s humility, humanity and simple, yet profound wisdom. During my time with the British Council in South Africa back in the nineties, I had the unique honour and privilege of meeting Madiba in person on two separate occasions. His physical presence and the aura around him has stayed with me since then – as have some of his wise words.

Education sits at the heart of our work in the British Council. Creating opportunities for people worldwide and education go hand in hand. Mandela’s own personal journey enabled him to capture and communicate the transformative power of education:

Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine that a child of farm workers can become the president of a nation.” – Nelson Mandela

His wise words have been whirring through my busy brain this week as my team and I prepare to kick off the inaugural session of the Global Education Dialogues: South Asia Series. The opener in this six-part series of discussions between governments, universities and industry welcomes 100 delegates from ten countries to Colombo to engage in debates on critical higher education issues and policy.

UK higher education programmes outside the UK

In meeting new challenges, universities globally are becoming increasingly innovative about where and how they operate and respond to demand. From a UK perspective, last year saw 517,000 international students enrolled on UK higher education programmes being delivered wholly outside the UK, as opposed to 435,000 students that studied at home campuses. The rapid expansion in what we call Transnational Education (TNE) throws up a range of challenges for host governments, higher education providers, students and their parents who recognise the doors a good education can open up for their children.

So, what’s going to be on the agenda in Colombo next week? The theme of the inaugural session of the South Asia Series is ‘Transforming Higher Education in South Asia’; a timely discussion for Sri Lanka and the region with the increase in TNE provision. For me, there are some really nuggety questions and tensions that need to be unpicked and unpacked. Among some of the hot topics, I’m particularly interested in:

Access vs quality

TNE increases access and affordability to internationally recognised higher education programmes, but how is quality monitored and maintained?

Same programme, same student experience?

Many TNE providers market their programmes with attractive blurbs stating that students will finish up with the same internationally recognised qualifications as students studying on home campuses. However, what about the entire student experience? How does this differ and does it really matter?

Private vs public

As private higher education expands exponentially what impact does this have on public universities? Is a two-tier system an inevitability in many countries? Can the privatisation of higher education raise overall standards?

How you can participate

Many of these questions will be surfaced, debated, and challenged in Colombo on 18 and 19 June. In addition to the 100 delegates from South Asia and the UK taking part in these timely face-to-face discussions, there are ample opportunities for people around the world to follow, engage in and actively contribute to the series of educational policy dialogues taking place in South Asia and the UK. The second session of the South Asia Series will be held in London, followed by subsequent sessions in Dubai, Mumbai, Dhaka, and finally in Lahore.

Please join the conversation online to turn this into a genuinely global debate:

On Twitter, follow @BCGoingGlobal or contribute to the hashtag: #EducateSAsia

On LinkedIn: Join the group, Global Education Dialogues South Asia.

Debate on a related topic: Will technology make teachers obsolete?

Photo of University College London by ‘Happy Chef’ on Flickr under Creative Commons license.

The Selector, our global weekly radio show for new UK music, has teamed up with The Crypt Sessions to bring you ‘Amped’, a monthly video series with UK artists.

The transcript below is of the latest ‘Amped’ video, in which The Selector’s DJ Goldierocks interviews Brighton indie-rockers British Sea Power. Lyrics to their song...]]>

The Selector, our global weekly radio show for new UK music, has teamed up with The Crypt Sessions to bring you ‘Amped’, a monthly video series with UK artists.

The transcript below is of the latest ‘Amped’ video, in which The Selector’s DJ Goldierocks interviews Brighton indie-rockers British Sea Power. Lyrics to their song ‘Loving Animals’ are included further down.

Watch the session:

DJ Goldierocks: So, Goldierocks here for Amped, and I’m joined with three of British Sea Power! Hello gentleman!

British Sea Power: Hello!

DJG: You are on your fifth album – that’s quite an accomplishment. Do you think the writing process feels as fresh as it did when you first started?

BSP: I don’t know, the first record you ever make is sort of the most important thing you think you’ll ever do in your life and then you can’t do that every time – five times in a row [laughs].

BSP: This album for me was less dramatic stories, pretty much about everyday life, I thought. And they are just stories that you end up thinking about wandering around Brighton listening to the music, and that’s how you end up with female pornstar bodybuilders…

DJG: You’ve got such a vast and loyal, loyal fanbase. Do you think your eclectic view of the world is what they really resonate with?

BSP: Well you can sort of guess who’s going to be a Sea Power fan, if they haven’t got much hair and they are a bit portly, there’s a good chance they are a Sea Power fan – but that’s only half of them.

BSP: I think there’s a lot going on. There’s people who like us for a variety of reasons. Some people just like going crackers at the front and some people might like more thoughtful things.

DJG: You have your own lager and bitter and chocolate and tea – is this true?

BSP: Yeah, we make them and then they run out. When we did the ale we drank loads and we got told off for drinking our own supply, don’t think we made any money on that [laughter] – just drank it all.

BSP: You always need something like a back-up job in life, if the music doesn’t work out. You can do a corner shop.

DJG: You have played all over the world — amazing places. If you could play anywhere that you haven’t done yet, where would it be?

BSP: International Space Station!

BSP: Well, I was going to say that but then he’s just done that song up there, and so he’s kind of done it – you don’t want to do it second, do you? I’m happy just here! [laughter]

DJG: Well, I’m glad we’re making your dreams come true! British Sea Power, thank you very much!

BSP: Thank you!

Lyrics: British Sea Power ‘Loving Animals’

In for the kill in for the kill in for the kill

Feel so good I wanna fight now maybe I will

Maybe I might

Bang the bomb bomb drop the bombs over the world

This is how it’s meant to feel

I dont know in for the in for the kill in for the kill

Sky high sci-fi high over the hills

Into the mist

Loving animals loving animals

I want you to know that it’s wrong man

Uniform uniform mind disorder

Luminous seventeen you ran away and joined the circus

That’s the way the wind blows that’s the way you started to think

High wire high wire high wire high wire tricks

Make it quick

Loving animals loving animals

I want you to know that it’s wrong man

I’m bent once more over the abyss

I lay down

I’ll take one shot I’ll take a hit

Composers: Yan Scott Wilkinson, Neil Hamilton Wilkinson, Martin Noble, Matthew Wood, Abi Fry, Phil Sumner

Publisher: Westbury Music

Listen to The Selector, the British Council’s weekly radio show for new UK music:

View more videos in the ‘Amped’ series by The Crypt Sessions and The Selector.

British Council Director Afghanistan, John Mitchell, explains how the value of a nation’s cultural life cannot be underestimated, and what can be done to restore it where it had previously been suppressed.

In Afghanistan, the British Council’s arts work is broadly themed ‘restoration of voice’. This great title – not coined by me – reflects...]]>

British Council Director Afghanistan, John Mitchell, explains how the value of a nation’s cultural life cannot be underestimated, and what can be done to restore it where it had previously been suppressed.

In Afghanistan, the British Council’s arts work is broadly themed ‘restoration of voice’. This great title – not coined by me – reflects our desire to play a part in the restoration of Afghanistan’s cultural life and identity.

Afghanistan has incredibly rich culture and traditions but during the Taliban years these suffered tremendously. Music and painting were banned; theatre and cinemas closed; the world-renowned Buddhas at Bamiyan were destroyed; priceless artefacts were sacked from museums – all aspects of heritage and culture were brutally suppressed.

I’m not sure I can really get my mind around what it must be like to live through such times – the removal of so many of the things that enrich our lives and the parts of our being that only art seems to reach. What could it have been like?

Desperate times for Afghanistan, but thankfully the situation is slowly improving. Aspects of the country’s cultural voice are gradually being restored through the work of many dedicated people and organisations. Two of my favourites, supported by the British Council along with others, are:

Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) is the first music school in Afghanistan. It teaches students from ages of 9 – 22, but focuses on disadvantaged children – over 50% come from orphanages. These students receive general and musical education and are helping ensure continuation of musical traditions in Afghanistan. It’s an incredible school, founded by an inspirational director, who has just become the first Afghan to be presented with the Royal Philharmonic Award. Find them on YouTube:

The beginnings of Turquoise Mountain Trust were rather different – it was founded by Rory Steward MP following discussions between The Prince of Wales and President Karzai – but it too is really making a difference. It focuses on urban regeneration and teaching traditional crafts – jewellery, calligraphy, miniature painting, ceramics, woodwork – thus helping ensure that centuries-old crafts and traditions are not lost forever. Importantly, artisans’ products are now being exported to western markets, and a sustainable economic model is thus being developed. Fabulous organisation.

There are many other areas of cultural development in Afghanistan – film is another – and whilst there’s still a very, very long way to go, progress is being made and Afghan voice is being restored. This has to be good news!

Find out more about our offer in Afghanistan.

Read more blog posts from Afghanistan.

We interviewed award-winning Georgian playwright Lasha Bugadze about his new play ‘The President Has Come to See You’ – currently on at London’s Royal Court Theatre. He tells us how war affects a people and its artists, among other things.

‘The President Has Come to See You’ opened last night at the Royal Court Theatre....]]>

We interviewed award-winning Georgian playwright Lasha Bugadze about his new play ‘The President Has Come to See You’ – currently on at London’s Royal Court Theatre. He tells us how war affects a people and its artists, among other things.

‘The President Has Come to See You’ opened last night at the Royal Court Theatre. What is it about?

The play is set during the war between Russia and Georgia in 2008. At the time, people were expecting the Russians to bomb the governmental buildings and it was rumored that our president would not sleep over in the presidential residence. The Russians did not bomb government buildings in the end, but waged war in other parts of the city and the country.

I decided to write a play about the president, excluding any battle scenes. The president finds himself in the occupied city and has to spend the night in the streets – literally. He wanders around different places and cannot find peace anywhere. Eventually, he ends up in a reality show, where he finds safety. In a way, we were living inside television back then – our destiny was being written in TV shows.

The play is mostly about losing your personality and life history. War is characterised by this. Everything that used to be significant, necessary and essential loses its meaning. One’s biography joins those of many others, of the whole country. The president had become one of us that day and we became his twins (regardless of whether people were sympathetic towards him or not). But even if it sounds desperately tragic, it can be extremely funny. We were all out of our minds back then, which is reflected in this play.

How did the play come about?

When I was 23, I met Elyse Dodgson, head of the international department of the Royal Court Theatre, at the Moscow Art Theatre. When she asked if I could speak English, I proudly refused. As I found out later, Elyse wanted to involve me in the Royal Court residency for emerging writers. It seems I was pretty strongly influenced by the Soviet-blended-with-Georgian skepticism towards foreigners. Otherwise, how can I explain my total lack of understanding of the significance of the moment?

Time passed, and, thanks to the British Council, I met Elyse Dodgson again and became part of a group of Georgian and Ukrainian writers whom the Royal Court Theatre would train for two years.

See photos with Georgian and Ukrainian writers at the Royal Court:

Since then, I’ve written six drafts of my play, all of which were translated by Donald Rayfield, the distinguished historian and expert on Georgian culture. I met fantastic actors including Toby Jones, who is absolutely unique. I am grateful to all these individuals.

You also met Tom Stoppard [prolific playwright] thanks to this project.

When I met Tom Stoppard, I told him that I loved his ‘Arcadia’ and he was confused: Where had I heard of ‘Arcadia’? He said he looked for stories in newspapers. He turned out to be not very talkative, a modest and, in a way, exhausted man.

What’s the theatre scene like in Georgia? What heritage are you drawing upon?

Georgian theatre has an enormous tradition. We had some fantastic directors in the 20th century: Kote Marjanishvili (who used to work with Stanislavsky), Robert Sturua (Sturua’s Shakespeare and Brecht of the 80s happen to be my first theatrical impressions). I had the honor of Robert Sturua directing my play a couple of years ago. I learnt so much during his rehearsals, which, in my opinion, were more interesting than the final performances. I still remember these impressions.

Did the instability in Georgia in recent years affect your writing?

Indeed, it did. One must be a Schostakovich to manage working while a war is going on. Schostakovich used to say that, even if bombs drop on my head, I will not stop writing music. Despite this, war strips you of your personality. One who says that extreme conditions are necessary for a writer or an artist to produce good work is either lying or lacks talent or is an amateur. Writing is only possible in peace and loneliness, so you need to be able to shut out the bombs.

Lasha Bugadze’s play ‘The President Has Come To See You’ is on at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 11-15 June 2013. Buy tickets.

The play is presented as part of The Royal Court Theatre’s International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project, with additional support from the British Council.

Read more: ‘Roadkill’ play raises awareness of sex trafficking.