Ukraine: A Watershed Moment for Corporate Diplomacy

By Ambassador Stuart Holliday, CEO of Meridian International Center  Today, companies are the new diplomatic actors central to addressing the world’s shared challenges. A solemn anniversary. February 24th marked one year since the unprovoked, full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Throughout the past twelve months, the response by the Ukrainian forces in effectively driving back the Russian advances has surprised leaders across the globe, none more so than Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the effectiveness of the Ukrainian military’s answer to the invasion is not the only response Putin may have miscalculated. The solidarity of the allied nations in standing...

Continue  

Now On Display: Museums x Diplomacy

Museums Connect was a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). This initiative partnered museums in the United States with museums abroad to help foster cross-cultural engagement and exchange. On this episode of cultureXchange, we speak with Dr. Richard J.W. Harker, author of Museum Diplomacy: Transnational Public History and the U.S. Department of State, about this program and the role it played in connecting transnational public history with international diplomacy.   Episode Transcript Hello and welcome to cultureXchanges, a podcast at the intersection of the humanities...

Continue  

Soviet Love Songs: Cliburn x Khrushchev

In 1958, at the age of 23, Texan pianist Van Cliburn won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow with his own arrangement of the beloved song “Moscow Nights.” Throughout his career, Cliburn continued to return to the Soviet Union for many televised performances and developed a lasting relationship with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. On this episode of cultureXchange, we speak with Maggie Estes, director of communication and digital content at the Cliburn Foundation on Cliburn’s legacy and how music plays a role in cultural diplomacy.   Episode Transcript Hello and welcome to cultureXchanges, a podcast at the intersection...

Continue