Debate | StepTalks
The Ties that Bind: The Role of Cultural Diplomacy in U.S.-European Relations
- Sherry Keneson-Hall
- Date
- Thursday 2 November 2017
- Time
- Series
- StepTalks: science at the Spanish Steps
- Location
- Wijnhaven
Turfmarkt 99
2511 DP The Hague - Room
- Spanish Steps
“Cultural diplomacy is the linchpin of public diplomacy; for it is in cultural activities that a nation’s idea of itself is best represented. And cultural diplomacy can enhance our national security in subtle, wide-ranging, and sustainable ways. Indeed history may record that America’s cultural riches played no less a role than military action in shaping our international leadership, including the war on terror. For the values embedded in our artistic and intellectual traditions form a bulwark against the forces of darkness. … Cultural diplomacy reveals the soul of a nation.” – U.S. Department of State, Report of the Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy (2005)
The United States and Europe have a strong relationship based on shared values and aimed at maintaining and spreading peace and prosperity. But what has been the role of cultural diplomacy in forging the strong bond between the U.S. and Europe? And what forms does it take today? What is it like to work as a diplomat and how do you end up becoming one?
You are cordially invited to attend this presentation and to participate in the Q&A.
About the speaker
Sherry Keneson-Hall, Public Affairs Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, has worked for the Department of State as a diplomat since 2002. In addition to The Hague, she has served in Public Affairs Sections in Conakry, Guinea; Brussels, Belgium; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Prague, Czech Republic. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia and a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, Rhode Island. Before working as a diplomat she worked as a journalist for the “Daily Independent” newspaper in Ashland, Kentucky. During her graduate studies she taught American Government and International Relations at the University of Rhode Island.
