Wednesday, September 16th Daily Dispatch from the 2009 Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum

September 16, 2009

Avilés, Asturias, Spain, September 16, 2009 – Today was the second day of the Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum, a convening of the Aspen Institute and the Centro Niemeyer, in Avilés, Asturias, Spain. The Forum, which runs September 15-17, 2009, seeks to champion the role of arts, media, and culture in resolving conflicts, encouraging tolerance, building peace, creating jobs, and, in turn, fostering sustainable security around the globe. Video clips will be available on www.aspencdf.org, and updates will be featured on www.facebook.com/aspeninstitute and #aspencdf on Twitter. For more information on sessions and speaker bios download our program book at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/files/content/images/cdf/aspencdf_program2.pdf.


Reporters and editors: Broadcast-quality audio and video available for a number of sessions. For more information, contact Jennifer Myers at jennifer.myers@aspeninstitute.org.


Quotes:



  • “We use culture to improve the overall health and security of Braddock.”
    John Fetterman, Mayor, City of Braddock, Pennsylvania


  • “Everything comes down to musical relationships. The health of our planet now is going two ways: one, it’s in need of tuning and we’re the ones to tune it.”
    Michael Fitzpatrick, Composer and Cellist


  • “A critical element for peace is culture.”
    Emilio Cassinello, Director General, Toledo International Centre for Peace


  • “…the transformative power of using culture to create a community that is attractive to people.”
    Dana Gioia, Director, Harman-Eisner Program in the Arts, The Aspen Institute; Former Chairman for the National Endowment of the Arts


  • “Any time you don’t have parity, you can’t have negotiations. Each side has to feel pain.”
    Jean-Francois Angevin-Romey, Politico-Military Analyst and International Security Specialist, Corporate Operational Strategies


  • “Military power is rarely in a position to solve conflicts.”
    Gerlinde Niehus, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO

Tomorrow’s Highlights:



  • 10:00am CET: “Protection of Cultural Property: War, Looting, and Criminal Acts” Corine Wegener, President of the US Committee of the Blue Shield; Robert Wittman, Robert Wittman Inc, FBI Art Crime Team; Andras Riedimayer, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University; Lynn Nicholas, Historian and Author of The Rape of Europe; Jean-Pierre Jouanny, Crimianl Intelligence Office, General Secretariat, INTERPOL; and Eleanor Fink, Philanthropy Advisor, World Bank Group


  • 11:45am CET: “Restitution of Stolen Art” Julien Anfrus, Director General, International Council of Museums; Monica Dugot, Vice President, Christie’s; Claudia Von Selle, Art Lawyer, Berlin; and Thomas Kline, Partner, Andrews Kurth LLP


  • 1:15pm CET: “Financial Security: Global Economy and Arts Markets” Pablo Alonso, Founder and President of EUROCAPITAL Advisors; Pamela Auchicloss, Chief Executive Office, Artists Pension Trust; Michelle Constant, Chief Executive Officer, Business and Arts in South Africa; and Luis R. Cancel, Director of Cultural Affairs, City of San Francisco


  • 4:15pm CET: “Culture as a Political Priority: Sustainable Security” Cynthia Schneider, Former US Ambassador to the Netherlands, Brookings Institution; Raymond Tshibanda, Minister of International & Regional Cooperation, DR Congo; and Kenton Keith, Senior Vice President, Meridian International Center


  • 5:45pm CET: “Closing Remarks” Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President, Policy and Public Programs, The Aspen Institute; Guillermo Corral, Director General, cultural Industries Spain; Mercedes Alvarez, President, Niemeyer Foundation and Regional Minister of Culture in Asturias; and Damien Pwono, Executive Director, Global Initiative of Culture and Society; Director, Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum, The Aspen Institute

Cultural Diplomacy Forum Online:



*Editors note: Images from the Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum are available upon request.*


For more information about the Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum, please contact:






Jennifer Myers
The Aspen Institute
202-286-1680
jennifer.myers@aspeninstitute.org

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