Partners in Cultural Diplomacy

Meridian International Center was founded in 1960 and is a leading non-partisan, not-for-profit institution dedicated to strengthening international understanding. It is well known for building global partnerships through leadership exchanges and international collaboration. This work is strengthened by its Art for Cultural Diplomacy program that organizes high quality exhibitions in collaboration with government ministries, museums, artists, collectors and experts around the globe. For over 25 years, Meridian has employed art to build bridges among people worldwide and its exhibits have traveled to 320 cities in 44 U.S. states and 50 countries.

Meridian exhibitions are conceived as educational tools to share aspects of other cultures with audiences in the United States and also to provide information about American culture with people abroad. These projects serve as a basis for community-wide partnerships in Washington, DC, around the country and globally. They are based on the premise that exhibits and exchanges, performance events, and discussions of related cultural topics can serve as catalysts for constructive dialogue. Meridian’s Art for Cultural Diplomacy program places great value on collaborations with like-minded organizations dedicated to furthering cultural diplomacy and this presentation with Global Heritage Fund is a case in point.

Created in 2002, Global Heritage Fund’s (GHF) mission is to save the most significant and endangered cultural heritage sites in developing countries. Carried out through scientific excellence and community involvement, these efforts focus on conservation and responsible growth at key World Heritage Sites. Preserving such extraordinary monuments protects important elements of our collective cultural heritage from being lost. It also inspires learning, instills pride, and stimulates economic opportunities for local communities.

GHF projects are selected using strict criteria and each initiative follows a comprehensive methodology termed Preservation by Design®. This approach integrates master planning, scientific conservation, community engagement, and local partnerships. GHF’s work with governments, regional partners and academics is an important vehicle for promoting cultural diplomacy. There are currently twelve GHF projects in ten countries and these preserve structures and the physical evidence of cultural heritage; advance education about, and protection of, endangered heritage sites; promote community involvement; and build a major international conservancy to save our global heritage.

Meridian and GHF recognize that economic development and cultural heritage are topics around which people of different cultures, ethnicities, and religious beliefs can work together. To carry out this project, both organizations agreed that the most compelling way to tell the story was to identify primarily local photographers living in or near some of the endangered archaeological and cultural sites. A series of criteria was developed for the kinds of images each photographer should share, among which people-to-people interactions, the tangible benefits of conservation work, and the ways in which problems endemic to each locale are being addressed through the efforts of GHF. As photographs were submitted, both institutions worked closely to select those that best depict these issues. The resulting exhibition, Preservation by Design, exemplifies our respective missions in reaching out to people from other cultures and underscores the importance of cultural diplomacy in laying the foundation for global understanding.