Culture can serve as a foreign policy resource for projecting identity , build ties, and expand its capacity for international influence. Minister-Counselor Nathalie Peter discussed this approach at the conference “Culture as a Strategic Resource for International Engagement,” held on April 15 at the School of Management and Social Sciences.
The event was organized by the Department of International Studies and the Culture, Politics, and Society Research Center.
Peter is a career diplomat and a graduate of the Artigas Institute of the Foreign Service. She has held positions at multilateral organizations and various embassies, and currently works in the United States as Minister-Counselor, heading the Economic and Commercial Department of the diplomatic mission. She is also a professor of Cultural Internationalization in the Graduate Program in Cultural Management at the University of the Republic.
Culture and Soft Power
During the conference, Peter explained that the internationalization of culture goes beyond the circulation of cultural goods. It also encompasses the promotion of artists, works, and content, the building of partnerships, and access to new audiences.
In that context, he addressed the concept of soft power (soft power): a country’s ability to attract and persuade through means other than economic or military power. Culture, he noted, is one of its components.
Peter discussed the opportunities offered by cultural diplomacy to increase Uruguay's visibility and strengthen its international standing.
A Foreign Policy Strategy
The conference addressed the cultural factors that influence the international perception of countries and the need to develop strategies tailored to specific audiences.
Peter argued that cultural diplomacy must be aligned with foreign policy objectives. From this perspective, the dissemination of cultural expressions takes on a diplomatic dimension when it is part of a strategy geared toward specific goals.
To carry out this work, he emphasized the importance of understanding one’s own culture and communicating it authentically, as well as building networks, forging partnerships, identifying opportunities, and managing projects. She also noted the need to coordinate public and private resources.
Digital technologies, he added, make it possible to expand the reach of these initiatives and generate data on their results. “The impact of cultural diplomacy is measurable,” he stated.
The conference content relates to SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, due to the economic and labor dimensions of the cultural and creative industries, and to SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, due to the role of cooperation and coordination between public and private actors. Both are part of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to address global challenges by 2030.
https://youtu.be/eVBMQV3MxuQ