|
The "Global Cultural Initiative" consists of four key partnerships, as outlined below, with additional partnerships to be added in the future.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Partnership
Through this new cooperative initiative, the Department of State and the Kennedy Center will build upon the strengths of both institutions to coordinate and enhance programs that bring American culture and expertise to cultural institutions and diverse public audiences around the world.
A series of projects - including arts management training programs, a collaborative children's theater series and international arts festivals - will focus on providing management and performing arts training, educating children and adults about the cultures of other countries, and exposing foreign audiences to American artists and art forms. With the goal of sharing the American value of inclusiveness for all, special emphasis will also be placed on reaching people with disabilities by working with VSA Arts - a Kennedy Center affiliate - to conduct programs with disabled artists in selected countries.
The American Film Institute Partnership
AFI PROJECT: 20/20: The American Film Institute will partner with the State Department, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services in this international filmmaker and film exchange, designed to foster cross-cultural understanding, promote appreciation of shared values and diverse perspectives, and underscore the importance of free expression in the creative process. Through the AFI FEST in Los Angeles and international film festivals and other venues in the United States and abroad, this project will bring together American and foreign filmmakers to share their films with each other's audiences, encouraging dialogue and engagement on universally shared themes and issues from different points of view and cultures.
The National Endowment for the Arts Partnership
International Literary Exchanges: Building upon the National Endowment for the Arts' poetry anthology project with Mexico, the NEA, working with the State Department, will establish International Literary Exchanges, a program designed to initiate literary translation projects and publications between the United States and other countries. Projects are in development with Pakistan, Russia and Mexico. The program will provide American readers with access to literary works from abroad and foreign readers access to highly talented American writers, especially poets.
The National Endowment for the Humanities Partnership
Landmarks of American History and Culture: In partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities under its We the People program-launched by President Bush in 2002-the State Department will further promote understanding of the United States and American democratic principles by welcoming international participants-classroom teachers, educational leaders, and representatives of cultural and educational agencies-to the one-week, NEH Landmarks Summer Institutes for K-12 teachers. These institutes combine lectures and small-group discussion with experiential learning by bringing participants to sites in the United States where our nation's history was made. Alongside teachers drawn from throughout the United States, international participants will explore the events and places that shaped American history and have an opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives with Americans.
|
