Summary
Frances Stonor Saunders looks at the role of cultural diplomacy in spreading liberal British values around the world.
The British Council and the BBC World Service, both part-funded by the Foreign Office, are the two most important institutions of British cultural diplomacy.
The British Council organises exhibitions and events at its offices around the world with artists such as Grayson Perry. He feels that the fact his work deals with controversial themes is part of his attraction for the cultural diplomats keen to convey the values of liberalism by saying, "Look what we put up with in our country: a cross-dressing potter who's talking about the evils of advertising."
The BBC World Service is editorially independent but is funded by the Foreign Office.
Frances Stonor Saunders explores the tension between the fact that cultural diplomacy has an official purpose yet the endeavours it seeks to promote need to maintain freedom and independence as a mark of a liberal society.
Contributors include Grayson Perry, Timothy Garton Ash and Sir Sherard Cowper Coles.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
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| 0:36.0 | Thank you for downloading this podcast from the BBC. |
| 0:40.0 | This week, analysis cultural diplomacy, |
| 0:43.0 | Francis Stona Saunders |
| 0:45.0 | examines how the UK government uses culture |
| 0:48.0 | as a tool of soft power |
| 0:50.0 | and asks whether it does any good for culture or diplomacy. |
| 0:55.0 | Some years ago the award-winning artist Grace and Perry travelled to Budapest to take part in a group show organized by the British Council. Strange as it may seem, this meant that the |
| 1:05.4 | transvestite Potter had become a player in British foreign policy. |
| 1:09.7 | Soft diplomacy, I'm never quite sure how it works exactly. I mean I knew they were the kind of |
| 1:16.0 | government cultural wing. I'd realize it was instrumental in some way. The |
| 1:22.2 | British Council as the UK government's |
| 1:24.2 | designated cultural diplomacy outfit, is responsible for exporting the best of |
| 1:28.4 | British values and achievements to the world. Its activities are construed by the foreign policy elite as a vital element |
| 1:35.0 | and advancing in the national interest. I wondered about Grayson Perry's next mission. |
| 1:39.8 | How far would he be prepared to go for Queen and Country? |
| 1:42.7 | Iran maybe? |
... |
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