MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IS THE BEDROCK OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

CRISES REMIND US TO LISTEN AND BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER, TRANSCENDING DIVISIONS LIKE POLITICS AND EMBRACING OUR SHARED HUMANITY

Anycrisis is a reminder that we should all take more care to listen to one another, and above all to be kind to one another. No matter what divides us, including politics, we can always find unity in our shared humanity. But first we have to understand one another, and that’s where cultural diplomacy can play a role.

That’s why the United States’ cultural diplomacy efforts –from our professional and academic exchange programmes, via cultural heritage preservation efforts, to visits by star athletes – are all ultimately focused on building mutual understanding. Mutual understanding is the foundation of a community’s resilience, and resilience is what ultimately helps us emerge from crisis stronger than we were before.

THE UNITED STATES’ CULTURAL DIPLOMACY EFFORTS ARE ALL ULTIMATELY FOCUSED ON BUILDING MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

Freedom And Inclusion Strength Societies

CULTURE EMPOWERS THE DYNAMIC INTERPLAY OF DIVERSITY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND BOTH SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COHESION, DRIVEN BY THE CREATIVE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES AS DRIVERS OF GROWTH

Cultureis inclusive. Culture is a kind of capital that helps us shed light on both the path we take in Sweden and the image we convey around the world.

Cultural promotion is a central and strategic tool in our foreign policy. It is anchored in Swedish values that are, in turn, entrenched in international law: human rights and the principles of democracy, inclusion, transparency and diversity. Our basic premise is that societies grow stronger when there is freedom and inclusion.

Culture strengthens the interplay between cultural diversity, human rights and social and economic cohesion, on the basis of the creative and cultural industries as drivers of growth.

AT A TIME WHEN WAR IS ONCE AGAIN RAGING ON THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT, LEAVING DEVASTATING DESTRUCTION AND DESTROYED LIVES AND SETTLEMENTS IN ITS WAKE, CULTURAL RELATIONS MUST MORE THAN EVER BE DEPLOYED AS A TOOL FOR DIALOGUE, PEACE AND SAFEGUARDING THE FUTURE

Sweden is a country that ranks very highly on indexes for human development, quality of life, health, education, human rights, competitiveness, equality and economic prosperity. We have experiences and best practices that we are ready to share.

At a time when war is once again raging on the European continent, leaving devastating destruction and destroyed lives and settlements in its wake, cultural relations must more than ever be deployed as a tool for dialogue, peace and safeguarding the future. Sweden supports investigative media and civil society here in Serbia, both of which provide the oxygen that democracy requires.