On behalf of the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy, it is my great pleasure to introduce our latest exhibition, Common Tides: Linking People of the Asia-Pacific and the United States.

For the past 40 years, Meridian International Center has created neutral environments that encourage cultural collaboration and international understanding, where individuals from all levels of society can find common ground. The Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy (MCCD) engages audiences around the world through compelling exhibitions, forums, educational initiatives, and exchanges that forge more stable relationships and foster genuine respect.

Common Tides highlights the history and future of relations between the people of the United States and the Asia-Pacific, a vast region that encompasses more than 30 nations and territories and almost three billion people. Americans have a vested interest in this part of the world, in trade, security, cultural exchanges, education, science and technology, and humanitarian aid, as well as through the U.S. Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and our shared focus on youth development, leadership training, environmental stewardship, and business opportunities.

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Public Diplomacy at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs for their vision in this project. I am also grateful to our consulting scholar, Dr. Scott W. Harold, for his expertise and guidance.

Lastly, I am delighted to recognize the efforts of the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy staff for its comprehensive storytelling in Common Tides: Terry K. Harvey, Vice President of Cultural Programs; Lindsay Amini, Director of Cultural Programs; Athena Hsieh, Cultural Programs Coordinator; Cole Fiala, former Senior Cultural Programs Associate; and Madlyn Kaufman, Cultural Programs Associate; as well as research assistants Gala Cude-Pacheco, Connor Goldrick, Meghna Saha, and Jennifer Soucy.