Join world leaders, policy makers, corporate and media executives, diplomats, artists, cultural entrepreneurs, and philanthropists as they discuss the role of media, arts, and culture in promoting mutual understanding and sustainable human security. Registration for the 2009 Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum is now closed. Interested press may complete this form to learn more about the Forum.

Watch more video clips from Aviles, Spain on our multimedia page and follow the forum on Twitter at using the hashtag #aspencdf.

The Aspen Institute and Centro Niemeyer are pleased to announce the second edition of the Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum was held from September 15 to 17, 2009, in Aviles, Asturias, Spain. This premier convening on cultural diplomacy was an independent and worldwide program of the Aspen Institute's Global Initiative on Culture and Society. It was hosted by the newly established Centro Niemeyer, also known as the Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Center, which was designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and conceived as a magnet for talent, knowledge, and creativity.

In the face of an increasingly global interconnection of diplomacy challenges and opportunities, the annual Cultural Diplomacy Forum answered the need for a high-level global platform that was both neutral and action-oriented, and where trends and approaches could be thoroughly analyzed and workable strategies developed. Given the fundamental and indisputably growing relevance of culture to world concerns, the Forum provided a unique setting for world leaders to reflect on policies and actions - both public and private - that engage difference across societies, promote mutual understanding, enhance international relations, and sustain peace-building efforts. The Forum viewed cultural diplomacy as the development and use of media, arts, and cultural assets in international political, social, economic, and educational exchanges. Aware that the concept of cultural diplomacy was once perceived as a monopoly of governmental agencies, the Forum placed great value in convening diverse stakeholders from the public sector, the business community, and civil society for dialogue, professional networking, stewardship, and cooperative engagement.