The Aspen Institute Global Initiative on Culture and Society was created in August 2007. It seeks to build a neutral platform for reflection, network building, policy formulation, leadership development, and resource mobilization in the fields of media, arts, humanities, heritage, and socioeconomic development. The Initiative values and promotes the increasing recognition of the power of artistic and cultural expression to enrich human lives by provoking reflection, stimulating creative solutions to societal challenges, sustaining livelihoods, and illuminating the conditions necessary for social change. The work of the Initiative fosters leadership and raises awareness of the vital importance of arts and culture for sustainable development, the strengthening of international relations, the pursuit of happiness, and the promotion of peace through:

• High-profile roundtables and discussion panels on critical arts and humanities issues
• Influential forums and summits for the mainstreaming of arts and culture in public policy debates and actions
• Seminars for leadership development
• Network building for cooperative engagement
• Arts and culture planning and advisory services

Dr. Damien M. Pwono, an international culture and development professional who served as Senior Program Advisor at the Rockefeller Foundation, Program Officer at the Ford Foundation, Secretary General of the International Music Council at UNESCO, and Visiting Faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, is the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Initiative on Culture and Society.