Since the early 20th century, especially reflecting upon the experience of the First World War, we humans have made tremendous efforts to bring peace to the world by establishing new institutions both in the international and national levels with an aim to having a diplomatic cooperation and discussions in the international arena with the concept of Internationalism and interconnectedness. As we are all aware, the League of Nations and the United Nations were implemented, which is followed by emergence of a plethora of international organizations. In the national level, on the other hand, cultural institutions such as British Council (BC), Goethe-Institut (GI) and the Japan Foundation (JF) are, including their predecessor institutions, in principal, established in hope of contributing to build peaceful international environments. The missions shared by 3 cultural institutions have been developed in accordance with the concept of Internationalism and interconnectedness by promoting mutual understanding and cultivating favorable cultural relations among states and nations.

However, such cultural institutions as BC, GI and JF are, currently, exposed to at least two immense pressures; involvements in the war of propaganda amidst the rise of nationalism and difficulties in assessing the effectiveness of cultural projects.

With this background in common, academic experts on international relations as well as cultural practitioners and professionals will explore the role of culture in the terms of diplomatic endeavors especially in the context of the current world situations. We do hope our discussion will inspire those who are interested in international relations culture and diplomacy, from diplomats, cultural experts and practitioners to the general public so that they can think further about the possibility of international cultural practices beyond the dichotomy of internationalism and nationalism.

We hope that this symposium will provide insight into the cultural diplomacies and promoting international cultural relations of three respective countries in the current changing world, and it will inspire the participants to be more exploring into their future collaboration and development.

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Program Schedule (Bangkok Time, GMT +7)
12:30 PM Open registration
1:00 - 2:30 PM Part I: Cultural Diplomacy: Its concepts and Interpretations in Each Nation

Moderators and Discussants:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kitti Prasirtsuk,
Vice Rector for International Affairs, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
 
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Natthanan Kunnamas,
Jean Monnet Chair and Jean Monnet Modules Coordinator,
Director of Interdisciplinary Department of European Studies,
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
 
Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Shibasaki Atsushi,
Komazawa University, Faculty of Global Media Studies
 
Mr. Ronald Grätz,
Secretary General, IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Germany
 
Dr. Xin Gu,
Senior Lecturer, School of Media Film and Journalism, Monash University, Australia 
Expert, UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expression

2:30 – 3:00 PM Coffee Break
3:00 – 4:00 PM Part II: Cultural Exchange in Practice: Motivations behind Planning and Participation

Moderator:
Yoshioka Norihiko,
Director General, the Japan Foundation, Bangkok
 
Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda,
CEO and Artistic Director of Bangkok Art Biennale 2020, Thailand
 
Sasapin Siriwanij,
Artistic Director of Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM)
 
 Maren Niemeyer,
Director, Goethe-Institut Thailand
 
Andrew Glass,
Country Director, British Council Thailand

4:00 - 5:00 PM Part III: Wrap UP: So anyway for Diplomacy or beyond?


For more information, please contact
Tel. 02 2608560-3  
Email: [email protected]  
Website: www.jfbkk.or.th  
Facebook: The Japan Foundation, Bangkok